Cable snapped? The door is hanging on one side.
Lift cables carry the door's weight from the springs to the bottom corners. When one lets go, the door drops crooked and can jam in the track. We replace both cables, re-seat the drums and hang the door level again.
Pair of lift cables, time on siteAbout 1 hour
Sound familiar?
- A cable hanging loose beside the door
- Door lifts crooked, one side first
- Frayed or rusty strands near the bottom bracket
- Cable jumped off the drum
- Door stuck at an angle in the opening
- Loud snap followed by a crooked door
What we do
We secure the door first, so it can't drop while we work. Then we unwind the spring tension safely, replace both lift cables (they wear together), check the drums for grooves or cracks, and re-hang the door level.
Salt air is the usual cause in the 561: the bottom of the cable sits against the wet weather seal and rusts from the inside. If your cables rusted, we'll show you the strand and use galvanized replacements.
How long it takes
Typical time on site in Palm Beach County. We confirm yours on the phone, and you get a written quote before we start.
| Job | Typical time |
|---|---|
| Lift cables, pairBoth sides, door re-hung level | 45 – 75 min |
| Cable drums, pairGrooved or cracked drums | 45 – 60 min |
| Pulleys and safety cablesExtension-spring doors | 30 – 45 min |
| Bottom bracketsRusted or bent corner brackets | 30 – 60 min |
Don't pull on it
A loose cable is still connected to a spring under tension. Don't tug it, don't try to rewind it on the drum and don't run the opener. Unplug the opener, leave the door where it is and call. If your car is trapped inside, say so and we move you up the list.
Questions about broken cable repair
They were installed together and carry the same load. The second one is usually frayed too. We show it to you before quoting.
No, but one often causes the other. We check the springs on every cable job and show you anything we find before doing more.
About an hour for most doors, done in one visit.
Related services
Doors for a brighter tomorrow. Starting with yours, today.
A person in the 561 answers. Tell us what the door is doing and we'll tell you how long it takes before we come.