Garage Door Cable Repair in Orlando, FL

How Garage Door Cables Work

Your garage door uses steel cables that connect the door to the spring system. In a torsion spring setup, the cables wind around drums mounted on the torsion shaft above the door opening. As the springs unwind and rotate the shaft, the cables spool onto the drums and lift the door. In an extension spring setup, the cables attach to the bottom bracket of the door and run through a pulley system connected to the springs along the horizontal tracks. In both systems, the cables bear the full weight of the door and are under constant tension whenever the door is closed or in motion. The cables are engineered to handle this load, but they are subject to wear. Over time, the strands of the cable fray from repeated cycling, friction against the drum or pulleys, and exposure to the humid, corrosive air inside Florida garages. When enough strands break, the cable weakens until it snaps or slips off the drum entirely.

Why Garage Door Cables Fail in Orlando

Cable wear is inevitable with use, but conditions specific to Central Florida can accelerate the process. Humidity is the primary culprit. Orlando's year-round moisture promotes surface corrosion on steel cables, weakening the individual wire strands well before they would fail in a drier climate. Garages without climate control are essentially outdoor environments in terms of humidity exposure, and the cables sit in that moisture-rich air every day. Heat adds another dimension. The expansion and contraction of metal components as garage temperatures swing between overnight lows and afternoon highs of 130 degrees or more creates micro-stresses in the cable strands over thousands of cycles. A cable that is starting to fray can also be damaged by a worn drum. If the drum surface develops rough spots, burrs, or grooves from years of use, it abrades the cable as it spools on and off, speeding up the fraying process. When we replace cables, we always inspect the drums and replace them if the surface condition could shorten the life of the new cable.

Signs Your Garage Door Cable Needs Repair

Cable issues often give warning signs before a complete failure, and catching them early can prevent a more dangerous and disruptive situation. Visible fraying is the most obvious sign. If you can see individual wire strands sticking out from the cable or the cable appears fuzzy or rough rather than smooth and tight, it is time for replacement. A door that opens or closes unevenly, rising higher on one side than the other, is a common indicator that one cable has stretched, frayed, or partially separated. If you notice your door hanging at an angle when partially open, a cable is likely the cause. Slack in the cable when the door is fully closed is another warning sign. The cables should be taut at all times. Loose cables can jump off the drum and become tangled in the spring system, which compounds the problem significantly. If you hear a loud snap from your garage followed by the door dropping or becoming difficult to open, a cable has likely broken. Do not attempt to operate the door and call us for same-day repair.

Our Cable Repair Process

Cable replacement is a precision job because the cables must be properly seated on the drums, wound in the correct direction, and tensioned to work in sync with the spring system. We begin by securing the door and safely releasing any remaining tension. We then remove the damaged cable, inspect the drums for wear or damage, and check the bottom brackets where the cables attach. If the drums show grooves, burrs, or significant wear, we replace them along with the cables to ensure the new cable has a clean, smooth surface to wind against. We install new aircraft-grade steel cable matched to your door weight and spring setup, seat the cable properly on the drums, and carefully wind the springs back to the correct tension. After reinstallation, we test the door through multiple cycles to verify smooth and balanced operation, checking that both cables track evenly on the drums and that the door sits level at every point in its travel. We also inspect the springs, rollers, and tracks during every cable repair because cable failures often indicate broader system wear that should be addressed at the same time.

Cable Repair and Spring Repair Often Go Together

Cables and springs are part of the same lifting system, and a failure in one component often affects the other. When a spring breaks, the sudden release of tension can cause the cable to whip off the drum, tangle, or fray. When a cable breaks, the door drops unevenly and the remaining cable and spring on the opposite side are subjected to abnormal lateral stress. It is common for us to arrive at a cable repair call and find that a spring is also broken or near the end of its life. We always inspect the full system during a cable repair and give you an honest assessment. If the springs are in good condition and the cable failure was isolated, we will tell you. If the springs show signs of significant wear, we will recommend addressing them at the same time rather than having you deal with a second failure in the near future. Handling both at once saves you a second service call and ensures the entire lifting system is fresh and properly balanced.

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