Garage door repair
Garage Door Spring, Cable and Track Repair in Newark
Springs, cables, rollers and doors that have come off track. Our technicians fix the cause, not just the symptom, and check the whole door before they leave.
Signs your garage door needs repair
Garage doors usually warn you before something breaks. Some of the warning signs are easy to miss because the door still works.
- The door is slower or louder than it used to be
- It shakes, jerks or stops partway
- One side sits lower than the other
- There's a gap in a spring above the door
- A cable looks frayed or slack
- Rollers wobble or have come out of the track
If you notice any of these, call us before it gets worse. Small repairs cost less than a door that's fallen or jumped its track.
Broken spring repair
Broken garage door springs
Most garage doors in Newark use torsion springs. They're the big coiled springs on a metal bar above the door. When one breaks, there's usually a loud bang, and afterward you'll see a gap in the coil. The opener may strain, lift the door a few inches and stop, or not move it at all.
Springs wear out from use. Each one is built for a certain number of cycles, and an older door that opens many times a day reaches that number sooner. Rust speeds it up, which is worth knowing if you live near the bay.
We replace broken springs with springs sized to your door's weight and height, then balance the door and test the opener. On two-spring doors, we'll usually recommend changing both.
For more on how springs work and how long they last, see spring repair on our main site.
What a spring repair includes
- Removing the broken spring safely
- Installing springs matched to your door
- Checking cables, drums and bearings for wear
- Balancing the door so it stays where you leave it
- Lubricating moving parts
- Testing the opener and its auto-reverse
Cables
Garage door cable repair
The lift cables run from the bottom corners of the door to drums on the spring bar. They do the actual lifting, so a frayed or snapped cable usually leaves the door crooked or stuck. A cable can also slip off its drum when a spring breaks or the door hits something on the way down.
We usually recommend replacing both cables together, then re-seat them on the drums and check the bottom brackets they attach to. Those brackets are under tension too, so they're not a do-it-yourself job.
More detail: cable repair on our main site.
Rollers
Worn or noisy rollers
Rollers guide the door along its tracks. Old steel rollers with worn bearings grind and rattle, and cracked rollers can let the door slip out of the track. Replacing them is one of the easiest ways to make a door quieter.
Swapping old steel rollers for nylon ones makes a noticeable difference. Read more in our guide to quieter garage doors, or see roller replacement on the main site.
Off-track doors
Garage door off its track
A door comes off track when its rollers leave the metal track on one or both sides. Common causes are a car bumping the door, a broken cable, worn rollers or a bent section of track. The door may hang at an angle, bind halfway or stop moving.
Stop using the door, and don't press the remote again. Each time the opener runs, the door can twist further or bend panels. If you can, unplug the opener and keep everyone away from the opening.
We'll secure the door, straighten or replace damaged track, re-seat the rollers and find out why it came off, so it doesn't happen again next week. More on this on our main site's off-track repair page.
Until we get there
- Don't run the opener
- Don't try to force the door up or down
- Unplug the opener if it's easy to reach
- Keep kids, pets and cars away from the door
- Call (510) 400-5151 and describe what you see
Repair questions
Should I replace both torsion springs if only one broke?
On a door with two springs, we usually recommend it. Both springs went in at the same time and have done the same number of cycles, so the second one is often close behind. We'll explain the trade-off and you decide.
Is it safe to use the door while I wait?
If the spring or a cable is broken, or the door is off its track, no. Leave it where it is and keep people and cars clear. A door that's only noisy is usually fine to use until we get there.
Can you fix it on the first visit?
Usually, yes. We carry the springs, cables, rollers and hardware that most Newark garage doors need. If your door needs an unusual part, we'll tell you right away and give you a time.
Need a repair in Newark?
Call (510) 400-5151. We're open 24/7, and same-day visits are the norm.