FAQs

By far cable or wire issues on up and over doors.
And worst still, a lot are user errors.
For Canopy up and overs using a coiled torsion spring across the top of the door the design is inherently flawed.
One shaft with a cable on each end, winding round a cone or common name bobbin.
If the door is brought up or down by an extreme side, or perhaps brought down upon something such as a wheelie bin and the door jumps then a cable may jump, thus resulting in a crooked, angled, slanted or wonky door.
Worst still this may cause the door to jam and not close if the cable has become extremely tangled.

To exhasertabe the issue even further modern garage doors feature an extra safety system called an anti drop device.
Which intentionally jams a door in the event of a cable failure to ensure it doesn’t fall upon anyone.
A great idea, but may prevent you from securing the door without professional assistance.

Also the older Garador range of doors require a lot of repairs, but luckily the parts are still available as such a popular range of doors.
For the Mk3 / Mk3c and C90 type it can be one or a combination of broken springs, cables and spindle wheels.
And Mk4 will be a spring or two.
95% of these parts we carry in stock.

Firstly – where possible we will try to attend the same day or failing that the next day.
Average time to repair a door provided we have the required parts 1 hour.
However if we cannot complete on the first visit will we endeavour to secure your door and if required help you free your car or any items you may need until our urgent repair.

Ultimately only you can make the final decision regarding repairing or replacing but at the same time we feel you should be helped to make an informed decision.
First consideration may not be financial. The repair will be quicker than replacing.
Even basic White standard doors will take 1 – 2 weeks to complete.
Are you in a position to be able to wait?
Most repairs we complete on the initial visit.

However, can the door be safely repaired!
If we are in any doubt we won’t repair a door we don’t feel would live up to your or our expectations, be suitable, offer a lasting repair or be safe.
In that situation we would happily offer advice and options as to what to do next.

Finally, financial.
A repair will be cheaper than a new door
But is the cost of the repair viable?
Will the investment be worth it to you in comparison of the value towards a new door?
Do you feel it will be worth it?
Especially considering the age or condition of the door or any plans you might have in the future that include the garage door, such as an extension or alteration?

It may sound like scare mongering but Garage door repairs have the potential to be extremely dangerous.
Pretension springs have no soft setting and once discharging cannot be stopped.
Tensioned cables around fingers are not worth thinking about!
Unsprung doors are extremely heavy and can seriously hurt you or others around you.
Many times we attend to a customer with a bandaged head, a cut finger or hand or a Black eye.
Even missing teeth!

With automated door applications the motor will not only have the power to hurt or crush you, but they can also write off the door they are automating!

Comically on more than one occasion we have gone to a home where the customer has tried to repair the door themselves and locked themselves in and we have had to rescue them!

Please leave to somebody like us with 25 years + of experience.

Don’t panic.
Forcing the door will probably make the issue worse and more expensive.
Please call us to discuss.
If it’s automated we will usually have a suggestion as to how to temporarily get around the issue until we can attend.
Manual doors are more tricky but we are always here to help.
And most times we will be able to attend within a suitable time scale anyway.

Quick answer – Yes.

Certainly where cables or cones and cables are involved, yes we always do both sides.

For springs ideally both sides, but there may be a financial aspect to be discussed prior to repair.

Basically a safety issue, it thinks something is in the way.
Not as straightforward as it may sound, depending upon the age of the door.

Most modern doors reply upon force sensitivity to prevent them from crushing anything.
This will be set up during installation.
For older doors the smoothness, lubrication and strength of springs will change over time and hopefully it shouldnt require any more than a quick service and reset.

For roller doors it isn’t quite as straightforward.
Does the door utilize a laser beam / photocells? Is something blocking the beam or are they defective?

Is there a safety system built into the bottom edge of the door? Known as a safety edge.
And is it functioning correct or at all?
Usually these issues will require an inspection and test by us to determine the source of the problem.

In reality not quite a straightforward question.
Quick answer would be most likely but not always practical.

If it is an up and over type with horizontal tracks hanging from the ceiling then the answer is yes.
These doors are called retractable or slide away.
Provided there is enough room above the door to suspend the automation.

If the door is trackless canopy type it’s a little more confusing.
If the door is a Hormann, or a Garador manufactured after 2002 then a conventional ceiling suspended automation unit can be employed with the use of a canopy bow arm converter.
However other door brands need to be considered very carefully and probably best to avoid, as they may lack the panel strength to offer a reliable solution.
However trackless doors can be made tracked quite easily so do please contact us to discuss.

Other door types again we would say usually can be made automated.

Quick answer – yes.

With the use of an emergency manual override. EMR
In the instance of an issue or power cut and there were another entrance into the garage you could enter the garage and disengage the automation, IE pull a little toggle of rope and disengage the door from the operator allowing the door to be opened manually.
This motion can be extended to a locked cylinder in the door panel, locked on the outside which you can insert a key and draw the cylinder out with the rope attached allowing a sharp pull to disengager ther automation externally.