Garage door has stuck open

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
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Sat 2 Feb 2013 23:22
Garage door has stuck open - Happy Blue!

Help!

My 'up and over' garage has stuck in the open posiiton. Do not understand the mechanics, so cannot work out how to fix it. Are there any experts in the back room who can advise?

Thanks

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Sun 3 Feb 2013 08:25
Garage door has stuck open - Chris M

Occassionally mine will pop out of the top of the side runners if it's opened with a little too much enthusiasm. A good tug fixes it.

What sort of mechanism is it. Canopy gear where the spring runs along the top of the door, or retractable where the springs are vertical each side?

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Sun 3 Feb 2013 08:51
Garage door has stuck open - Happy Blue!

Think its a sping across the top.

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Sun 3 Feb 2013 09:10
Garage door has stuck open - Chris M

The mechanism is quite primative. As the door is open, you won't be able to easily see the spring/cables. It could be one of the cables has jammed - they wind round grooved connicle spindles and can tangle if the door goes up too quickly. If the cables aren't jammed, my guess would be it's jammed in the runners.

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Sun 3 Feb 2013 10:12
Garage door has stuck open - 72 dudes

After the fix, give all the springs and runners a going over with WD40.

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Sun 3 Feb 2013 10:37
Garage door has stuck open - nortones2

I used clean engine oil, from a little squirty can whose generic name I cannot remember. Made the thing work much smooother.

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Sun 3 Feb 2013 13:44
Garage door has stuck open - SlidingPillar

Use proper oil, not WD40.

WD40 does have its uses but is a poor lubricant and will attract moisture.

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Sun 3 Feb 2013 14:47
Garage door has stuck open - csgmart

I had the same problem with my garage door a few years back. A lack of oiling on my part caused the spring and complete mechanism to seise. It cost me a pretty penny to get it replaced - if only I had oiled it regularly all would have been fine. A valuable (and expensive) lesson.

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Sun 3 Feb 2013 15:10
Garage door has stuck open - unthrottled

WD40 does have its uses but is a poor lubricant and will attract moisture.

WD stands for Water Displacement! I agree that it is a poor lubricant though. More liked a solvent.

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Sun 3 Feb 2013 16:52
Garage door has stuck open - Happy Blue!

Hmm

Think its a major repair/renewal job.

Ouch

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Sun 3 Feb 2013 17:54
Garage door has stuck open - john farrar
Usually you can release the spring(be very careful!) and unwind/untangle the wires. You can then retension the spring(requires a couple of spanners). The instructions are available on the net or sometimes are supplied with the door. However, only try this if you are reasonably handy as the spring could injure you.
These doors should ideally be lubricated every 6 months.

I have had to do this with a couple of doors and have successfully recovered them at no cost either financially or physical!

If you do not feel confident then the manufactures will send out an engineer.
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Sun 3 Feb 2013 18:37
Garage door has stuck open - Chris M

If it's a Henderson type arrangement, you don't need to untension the spring to replace the cables. With the door closed, you just need to turn the spring by a quarter turn and insert a large nail, or similar, in the hole provided. That's enough to release the tension on the wires.

Replacement doesn't have to be expensive. Wickes do them for £350. Ours was made by Wessex Doors although Wickes supplier may have changed. Easy DIY job. I fitted one about 7 or 8 years ago and it works well with little maintenance. We use the garage every day.

Edited by Chris M on 03/02/2013 at 18:39

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Sun 3 Feb 2013 19:48
Garage door has stuck open - Happy Blue!

" With the door closed"

That's the problem. Its not and won't!


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Sun 3 Feb 2013 21:59
Garage door has stuck open - Chris M

It's still jammed open?

What have you been doing all day!!

;-)

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Mon 4 Feb 2013 03:39
Garage door has stuck open - 1litregolfeater

If it's a Henderson type door, I expect one of the cables has rusted after many years of lack of maintenance.

Ebay can be quite dear for garage door bits, do a wider trawl.

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Mon 4 Feb 2013 12:27
Garage door has stuck open - Happy Blue!

Being repaired tomorrow. Either £75 or £98 depending on the cause.

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Thu 7 Feb 2013 02:43
Garage door has stuck open - 1litregolfeater

Whoa boy! Gather up that old brake cable off the Raleigh Roadster, clamp it over the rusty bit at the bottom.

£0

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Thu 7 Feb 2013 08:19
Garage door has stuck open - Happy Blue!

Nope. I don't do DIY.

£100.98 inc VAT for a nice fix and service.

SWMBO is happy and therefore so am I..

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Thu 7 Feb 2013 21:41
Garage door has stuck open - MikeTorque

That's good to hear.

What did they have to do to fix it ?

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Thu 7 Feb 2013 22:37
Garage door has stuck open - Smileyman

I did this 3 weeks ago! Shutting the door it hit something on the way down and jammed open.

I called a garage specialist who visited me later the same day - the metal guide wire on one side had become entangled. He also serviced the door (WD40 on the metal wire helps keep it sweet). Cost was not too bad, £40, with a receipt - not cash in hand!

I told Mrs Smileyman later that evening .....

Edited by Smileyman on 07/02/2013 at 22:39

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Sat 9 Feb 2013 18:20
Garage door has stuck open - Happy Blue!

My £100 job included: -

"Re-align and rewind the cables, realign the roller brackets into the tracks, resecure the tracks onto the timber subframe, retension the spring and lubricate the tracks."

Seems like they almost refitted the whole door assembly.

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Sat 9 Feb 2013 18:46
Garage door has stuck open - Avant

You did very well to get all that for £10, given that at least £50 must have been for call-out. Either he's a very honest tradesman or your negotiating skills are superb.

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Mon 11 Sep 2017 07:00
Garage door has stuck open - Regans12

It's good to know that you have done this work on a very genuine cost.But normally for garage door repair the cost is about £50.

(Link deleted - bad luck, spammer)

Edited by Avant on 11/09/2017 at 23:37

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Mon 11 Sep 2017 09:23
Garage door has stuck open - FP

You almost definitely know that when an old thread is resurrected it's solely for the purposes of planting spam.

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Mon 11 Sep 2017 13:29
Garage door has stuck open - KB.

Indeed, FP, you're spot on there.

My two pennor'th (all that time ago) would have been to have ditched the up and over and forked out for an electric/remote controlled roller door.
Pure luxury compared to up and overs in my humble opinion.

Having said that, I did have an electrically operated up and over once (done by a professional fitter) and it worked well for years ... but I did keep it greased/oiled/adjusted/whatever. But the roller doors I've since owned or recommended to others have been great.

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