$100 off any door & motor combo.
Free tune-up with any service repair.
$100 off any door & motor combo.
Free tune-up with any service repair.
⚡Same-day service
🛡️ Licensed #1093920
📝 Free written quotes
⭐ 100% satisfaction guarantee
1,000+ reviews
CA #1093920
Often within hours
Family-owned, San Marcos based
Door hanging crooked, or is a cable coiled on the garage floor?
Why San Diego County homeowners choose Door Dorks
More than a thousand neighbors have rated Door Dorks 5 stars since we opened our San Marcos shop in 2009. Call about a broken cable and you reach the technician who will fix it, not a lead service that sells your job to whoever is closest. North County is the only area we have ever served.
Because we are local, we know the doors around here. The coastal salt air in Oceanside, Carlsbad, and Encinitas rusts cables faster, and the heavy custom doors up in San Elijo Hills put more load on them. We size and replace the right cable for your door, and check the springs and drums while we are there. Cable service is part of our full San Marcos garage door repair.
Educational
When a spring snaps, the cable loses tension and slips off the drum. Fixing it without replacing the spring is a temporary fix, so we check both. See our spring repair.
Salt air off the coast corrodes steel cables, especially in Oceanside, Carlsbad, and Encinitas. Rusted strands unravel and snap.
They fray over years of use as individual wires split and unwind. Once you can see fraying, it is on its way out.
A cable off the drum is usually a symptom rather than the fault itself. It normally follows a broken spring or a door that has come off its track, so we find the real cause instead of just re-seating the wire.
A door that has come off its track drags on the cables and can pull one loose. Read about off-track doors.
Do not use the door. We will fix it today.
Broken cable symptoms
A cable usually shows warning signs before it lets go. Call us if you notice any of these.
The door hangs crooked, with one side higher than the other.
The door is stuck open or jammed part-way.
A steel wire is loose, coiled on the floor, or bunched up near the bottom.
The door drops fast instead of lowering in a controlled way.
Grinding or scraping as the door moves.
When replacement is necessary
The cable is frayed, rusted, snapped, or off the drum.
We do the cable replacement in pairs so the door stays balanced.
We fix the root cause too, usually a spring or the drum, so it lasts.
The cables look fine but the door is heavy or uneven.
The real problem may be a broken spring or a worn roller.
The door has come off its track and needs realigning.
It depends on what actually failed, and we would rather tell you that than publish a number we cannot stand behind. Here is what we look at, and you get the exact price in writing before any work begins.
| What we look at | Why it changes the price |
|---|---|
| Size and weight of the door | Heavier doors need heavier cable |
| One cable or both | We replace in pairs to keep the door balanced |
| Condition of the drums | Worn or damaged drums get replaced too |
| What caused the failure | A broken spring or an off-track door is additional work |
This is why we do not advertise a flat cable price. If a spring broke or the door came off its track, that is the real repair and the cable is the symptom, so quoting cables alone would set the wrong expectation.
Replacing a whole door? We offer financing too. Ask about our current promotion when you call.
Safety: never run the door on a broken cable
If a cable just broke
Stop using the door and do not press the opener.
Keep people, pets, and cars clear of the door.
Leave it as it is and call us for same-day service.
Door stuck or hanging crooked? We do same-day cable repair.
A door stuck open leaves your house exposed, and a door stuck shut traps your car. Either way, we keep same-day slots open across North County and are usually there within a few hours.
Why a cable rarely fails on its own
Your garage door has two steel cables that run from the bottom brackets up to the drums at the top, working alongside the springs to carry the door’s weight. They are under constant, heavy tension.
Because they share that load, a cable almost never fails by itself. Most of the time a spring breaks first, the tension drops, and the wire slips off the drum or snaps. That is why replacing only the wire is a short-term fix. We inspect the springs, drums, and rollers on every cable call and quote the real repair, so the door works safely and does not fail again next month.
How our garage door cable repair works
Tell us the symptoms. We schedule a same-day or next-day visit across San Diego County and Temecula.
We check the cables, springs, drums, and rollers, then hand you a firm written price before we start.
We safely release the tension, replace the cables, and correct the root cause.
We balance and test the door, lubricate the system, and back the work with our satisfaction guarantee.
No shortcuts
A cable replacement with us is more than swapping a wire. Here is what you get every time.
A full inspection of the cables, springs, drums, rollers, and door balance.
The root cause fixed, usually a spring or drum, so it does not fail again.
A firm written price up front and a 100% satisfaction guarantee.
Correct-gauge replacement wires, and both replaced for even balance.
The door tested for travel, balance, and safe operation, then lubricated.
Honest advice, with no upsell.
We service every system
We carry cables, drums, and springs for just about every door, so we can match the right parts to almost anything.
What San Diego County customers say
A 5.0 rating from more than 1,000 verified customers across Google and Yelp.
Door Dorks are one of the most honest companies I have done business with for our home…Nathan fixed everything the door needed and was very nice and professional explaining everything. This type of honesty and integrity is hard to find!! I highly recommend Nathan and Door dorks for your garage door needs!
-Sharon C.Our garage door spring recently broke. I love DIY projects, but not this job. We asked our neighbors and many recommended Door Dorks. We couldn’t have been more pleased. Nathan was the tech that came out to fix our spring. Nathan was friendly and got the job done in less than 2 hrs. Thanks Nathan and Door Dorks for a job well done!
-Kevin S.My old wood garage door was in need of an update and so, of course, I called Door Dorks and I can’t be happier! My existing wood door was an odd size and Gina measured, used creative thinking, and found me a perfect door. Matt did a flawless install, very professional, and I’m very pleased. Very fair price and no upselling for things I don’t need. You need to pick Door Dorks!
-Michael M.Charlie and Brandon did a great job. Plus the sales team was helpful getting me exactly what I wanted. The new door matches my existing door. The opener works with my home automation. Install team arrive exactly when promised, was friendly, and got the job done. When they completed, they showed me how everything worked. Great Job.
-William P.Nathan let us know his arrival time, then arrived on time, diagnosed the issue quickly and showed us our options, including all costs. The repair was done right, and he had all the parts with him that he needed. He also fixed another issue for a reasonable cost that could have ruined our door prematurely. We used Door Dorks 8 years ago, and will use them next time we need any garage door issue resolved!
-Sid T.Over the years I have used them, my experience with Door Dorks has alway been excellent. This time office staff tried to help me trouble shoot my problem over the phone. When that didn’t solve the problem, they came out the next morning. Adam arrived when he said he would. Kept me informed as to his progress, was friendly, knowledgeable and professional. Repaired the faulty part and did a complete check and service of my garage door. I’m completely happy. Would give more stars if possible.
-Sue T.Our garage door was making more noise than usual and given past experience, I knew Door Dorks was the right company to help. I was able to get an appointment next day and the technician (Adam) was extremely helpful at walking us through the options of what we needed to do vs. could do if we wanted to be proactive. Highly recommend these guys for any garage door service needs you have.
-Nick H.Nathan communicated with me about when he would arrive, gave me a fair quote, and finished his work efficiently. We had another door company out for an estimate the day before Nathan came out, and he wanted to charge us double what Door Dorks quoted. Then he came down on his price repeatedly when we balked. Door dorks was a much better process.
-Matt S.We just had Door Dorks install a new garage door and motor at our home. We were very pleased with the customer service and professionalism of everyone on the team from Gina (the person that helped us order and select our door and motor), to Nathan (the tech that took measurements and brought samples so we could select the texture and color of the door), Brandon (the tech that helped with the demo and install of our new door and motor, and Charlie (the tech that installed, set up the door and motor, and did the finale walk through). Everyone did what they promised to do, I highly recommend using this company for your garage door needs. My neighbors keep asking about our new door and motor, because the door and motor are a big upgrade to our curb appeal.
-Stephanie D.Huge thank you for the fast, professional care Door Dorks provided at my parents’ home! I requested a quote over Yelp and their response was well within the 10 min average response time. From the Yelp and phone conversations I had with their staff and Adam who was able to come out same day provided additional relief knowing we could have the home secured right away. Adam was efficient, professional, and personable during the whole process from diagnosing the issue to being able to jump right into the repair. From my first inquiry to a finished repair, the whole process took approximately 3 hours and I couldn’t be happier to know that we wouldn’t have to prolong this repair past 24 hours from the break happening.
-Stephanie O.The 2 service men that came out to our house to install our new garage door were amazing guys. Brandon and Charlie knew exactly what they were doing with no hesitation. Once they removed our heavy old broken wood door they replaced it with a beautiful new door. The gentlemen were very friendly down to earth and installed out door in less than 2.5 hours. The fact that they did not leave until the door was properly installed was amazing. These guys are trust worthy hard working door dorks. Thank you Brandon and Charlie!
-Sofia V.
No. With a cable snapped or off the drum, the other cable and the springs carry the whole load, and the door can drop suddenly. Stop using it, keep everyone clear, and call for same-day repair.
Two different things get called cable failure. A cable can wear out on its own, fraying with age and coastal rust until it needs replacing. Or the cable comes off the drum, which is usually a symptom of a broken spring or a door that has come off its track, rather than a fault in the cable itself. A door that has come off its track can pull a cable loose too. We find the real cause so it does not happen again.
Both. The second one is the same age and under the same load, so replacing the pair keeps the door balanced and saves you a second visit.
We do not recommend it. Cables are under heavy tension next to the springs, and releasing that tension safely takes the right tools and technique. A mistake can drop the door or cause serious injury.
Yes. We are based in San Marcos, so we can usually reach your home the same day, often within a couple of hours, and a stuck or crooked door moves up the schedule.
A broken cable is a quick, same-day fix for us. Licensed, insured, 5.0-star, and based right here in San Marcos since 2009.
Call us at
760-290-4564
Text us at
760-290-4564
