When a lift cable snaps or slips off its drum, the door can hang crooked, stop partway, or refuse to move. We replace broken cables and bottom brackets for homeowners across Mercer, Crawford and Venango Counties.
A garage door that sits lower on one side, or a cable hanging loose beside the track, usually means a lift cable has failed. The door is still connected to springs under heavy tension, so it should stay put and unused until it is repaired. Gateway Garage Doors LLC repairs and replaces garage door cables from our base in Sandy Lake, with no travel charge anywhere in our service area. Call (724) 893-4874 and we will get you on the schedule.
Ron was extremely responsive and we set up an appointment one day later — a Saturday at 8am. He was on time, very efficient, did great work, and was on his way in about an hour. The service and price were excellent and he was just a really nice person. Highly recommend.
Within 15 minutes of leaving a message I had a call back — they were out that same morning. Surveyed the situation, gave me options with pricing, and performed the repair immediately right there. Cannot praise them enough for their expertise, professionalism, and response time!
Very fast service fair price would recommend to anyone.
Ron did a great job. Very friendly and professional. Fixed my issue quickly and I am very satisfied.
Punctual, friendly, explained everything clearly. When we asked if we should do preventative replacement of a part on our non-broken door, recommended that it'd be safe to wait out its lifespan. Great value — less than half of what another repairman estimated.
The big companies could take lessons from Ron — super nice guy with excellent communication and quality work. It was a pleasure. Thanks again Ron!
Very professional, honest, and at a good price. Work was done quickly and everything was cleaned up. Highly recommend and will use again.
Reasonable price. Had garage door opener replaced and really appreciate the excellent service. Would not hesitate to recommend this company to anyone. Thank you for the excellent and friendly service.
Great price. The technicians arrived punctually, presented themselves professionally, and demonstrated exceptional courtesy. They provided a clear explanation of the issue and proceeded to repair my garage door opener. I was highly satisfied.
Great price. I recently worked with Gateway Garage Doors to install a door on one of my rentals and they did a great job! I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for the repair or installation of a garage door.
Our garage door cable broke last night. I sent a text at night and received a reply at 7:00AM — they were here at 8:00AM. Ron arrived promptly, gave a very reasonable quote, repaired it quickly and thoroughly, and came in a little below the estimate! Highly recommended!
Contacting Gateway Garage Doors was quick and simple; I appreciated being able to send a text instead of having to call. After reaching out, I quickly received a response and, within 30 minutes, had an appointment scheduled for the following morning. Ron was punctual, polite and professional. Overall positive experience!
Great service!!!
Great price.
5 stars.
Great price. Ron is great!
Your door has two lift cables, one on each side. The springs supply the lifting force, and the cables carry that force to the bottom of the door so both sides rise together.
On a door with torsion springs (the springs on a bar above the door), each cable winds onto a drum at the end of that bar and runs down to a bottom bracket at the lower corner of the door. On a door with extension springs (the long springs above the horizontal tracks), the cables run through pulleys and tie off near the track.
Extension spring doors should also have a separate safety cable running through the center of each spring. That cable does not lift the door. It holds a broken spring in place, and the Door & Access Systems Manufacturers Association lists it in its garage door safety tips. We cover safety cables on our garage door spring replacement page.
These steps keep the damage from spreading and keep everyone clear of the door.
Our technicians start by securing the door so it cannot move, then take the tension off the springs before any cable work begins. From there:
Before any parts go on, we explain what we found and what the repair will cost.
Sometimes the cable is not broken at all. It went slack and jumped off the drum, often after the door came down on an object, a bottom bracket gave way, or a spring broke. If the cable and drum are undamaged, we rewind the cable and set the tension. If the cable was kinked or crushed when it came off, we replace it.
The bottom bracket is where the cable attaches to the door, and it sits right at floor level. Snowmelt, road salt dripping off vehicles, and water that pools at the threshold all collect there through a Northwestern PA winter. When the bracket or the cable loop rusts through, the cable lets go. If the bracket is corroded, we replace it along with the cable.
Cable repair starts at our $99 minimum service call, plus parts. There is no travel charge anywhere in our service area.
Cable jobs vary more than most repairs, so we do not list a flat price. These are the things that change the cost:
We give you the price before the work starts. If a spring needs replacing too, our spring prices are listed on the garage door spring replacement page.
We repair cables on attached garages, detached garages, and homeowner outbuildings such as pole barns, on doors up to 12 feet high. Taller and heavier doors use longer, thicker cables, so we size the replacement to the door rather than using one stock length. We work on homes and homeowner buildings only, not commercial properties.
Our service area covers Mercer County, Crawford County and Venango County, including Sandy Lake, Grove City, Mercer, Hermitage, Greenville, Meadville and Franklin. See all of our service areas.
Gateway Garage Doors LLC 146 Glenn School Rd, Sandy Lake, PA 16145 (724) 893-4874
Serving Sandy Lake, Grove City, Hermitage, Mercer, Greenville, Sharon, Stoneboro, Meadville, Franklin, Oil City, and surrounding areas throughout Mercer, Crawford, and Venango Counties.
Most cables fail from wear and rust. Every time the door runs, the cable bends over the drum or pulley, and over the years the strands start to break. Rust at the bottom bracket, where water and salt collect each winter, weakens the cable right where it attaches to the door. A door that is out of balance, a worn pulley, or a door that came down on something can also overload a cable and break it.
No. With one cable out, all of the lifting force pulls on one side of the door. The door can twist, jump the track, or drop without warning, and running the opener can bend the track and damage panels. Leave the door where it is, keep people and vehicles clear, and do not pull the emergency release. Call us at (724) 893-4874 to schedule the repair.
A cable that is broken, frayed, kinked or rusted gets replaced, not spliced. A cable that has only slipped off its drum can often be put back on, as long as the cable, the drum and the bottom bracket are all in good shape. We check all three before deciding, and we tell you which repair the door needs before any work begins.
A door that hangs lower on one side usually has a cable problem on that side: a broken cable, a cable that came off its drum, or one that unwound unevenly. A broken spring, a failed bottom bracket, or a door that came out of its track can cause the same thing. Stop using the door until it is checked, because running it crooked tends to spread the damage to the track and panels.
Not always, but they are connected. When a spring breaks, the sudden loss of tension can let a cable go slack and come off its drum, and a worn cable can snap on a door that is out of balance. We inspect the cables on every spring job. We only replace them when they are worn, frayed or damaged in some other way, so you are not paying for parts the door does not need.
If your door is hanging crooked or a cable has come loose, call Gateway Garage Doors LLC at (724) 893-4874. We serve homeowners from Sandy Lake across Mercer, Crawford and Venango Counties, with a $99 minimum service call and no travel charge.
To see everything we offer, visit the Gateway Garage Doors LLC home page.
