How to Prevent Garage Door Cables From Breaking
Garage doors are complex pieces of machinery. If the cables break, homeowners can often do little more than assess the damage and attempt patchwork fixes. We all need garage doors working throughout the day, so keeping them in top shape will significantly reduce sudden cable breaks. Here’s a guide to garage door cables, how they break, and what to do about them.
Types of garage door cables
Depending on the type of garage door system, there can be more than one cable to provide adequate weight support and lift.
In torsion-spring systems, torsion cables run along the door edges and loop around. These cables are responsible for holding the doors steady. They are made from durable materials but will wear out eventually, especially if the garage doors cycle multiple times a day.
For garage doors with an extension spring, extension cables run alongside a pulley system to secure the doors and allow for seamless operation.
A third cable type, and one that most garage doors should have (but mostly extension-spring systems), are safety cables. Safety cables run along the spring to keep them in place. If the spring snaps, the safety cable ensures the pieces stay on the cable instead of whipping all around the garage, risking personal injury or property damage.
Why do garage cables break?
Garage door cables can break for several reasons.
Torsion and extension cables are wound around their drums when the garage doors open and close. If the cable happens to wind up incorrectly, it can jam the drum and unbalance the door. Cables can also unwind from their drum entirely; if this occurs, they will need to be rewound before the doors can open or close again.
Cables often wear out over time. Most cables are rated for a particular number of cycles; towards the end of the lifespan, the material may be thinned out or weakened. High moisture levels can rust the cable if the insulation wears out, which only expedites their deterioration.
While they might seem like solid pieces of wire, garage door cables are really metal ropes. Like all ropes, they may fray over time, which reduces their ability to withstand weight and stress and can cause them to snap. Additionally, since each cable is made from smaller wires, one broken wire eventually snags on the others, and the problem cascades until the entire mechanism fails at the most inopportune moment.
How to prevent breaks?
The only surefire way to prevent cables from breaking is to spend a bit of time every few months to check their condition. Heavier garage doors (such as wide wooden models) require more force to open and can wear out cables within months given frequent use. Inspect the cables for fraying or loose protrusions, and remove any debris around the pulleys that the line might snag on. If the cables or the pulley system carrying them look worn out, it might be best to replace them. Once the cable breaks or needs repairs, contact a professional garage door service for assistance.
Quality Overhead Door, Inc. is a full-service garage door installation and repair company for both residential and commercial customers in the GIlbert area 480-838-8850.
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Quality Overhead Door Inc
1750 N. Rosemont., Ste 107
Mesa, AZ 85205
Office: 480.838.8850 Fax: 480.964.9942
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