Why roller doors need repairs
A roller door is a steel curtain that winds onto a drum above the opening. Heat-treated helical springs inside that drum do most of the lifting, and when they lose tension the door turns heavy, creeps down or flies up, and the motor strains to make up the difference.
Steel-Line lists the signs of a door out of balance: it will not stay up, rolls up loosely, strains the motor, is hard to open or slams shut. Any of them means a professional should set the tension and recheck the balance.
Leave the tension alone
Steel-Line's warning is blunt: do not attempt to tension your roller door yourself, at risk of serious injury or death. The U-bolts on the drum hold the spring tension too, and undoing them can bring the door down hard.
How long the springs and the door last
B&D tests its Roll-A-Doors for 20,000 to 30,000 up-and-down cycles, and says a door opened and closed five times a day will last over 15 years. Steel-Line puts a well-maintained roller door at 15 to 20 years or more, depending on the material and how much it is used.
Spring tension warranties are far shorter. Steel-Line's covers spring tension for 1 year and Gliderol's for 3 months, so look up the install date before booking: a new door may still be covered.
Brisbane wind and roller doors
Brisbane is in Wind Region B on the 2011 wind map, where homes are designed for wind speeds up to 205 km/h from weakened tropical cyclones. A roller door's weak point in wind is its edges.
After Cyclone Yasi in north Queensland, the Cyclone Testing Station found many roller doors first came out of their side guides and then off the drum. Doors with wind locks did better, and some that still failed tore the guides off the building, so the report says the guides and the structure behind them must be built for the sideways load. A loose or bent guide is worth fixing properly, not just bending back.
Roller doors around Brisbane
Under raised houses
Plenty of Queenslanders have a garage closed in underneath. A roller door needs room above the opening for the roll: Steel-Line's figure is 430mm to 510mm for its A and AA series, so tell the door specialist if the roll sits tight against the floor above.
Bayside carports and sheds
BlueScope's salt guide puts Redcliffe and Cleveland in its exposed marine class. Close to the water, hose the curtain down with fresh water and keep sand and grit out of the guides, since rust shows first on springs and tracks.
Bigger repairs
In Queensland a roller door job valued over $3,300 needs a QBCC licensed contractor, so ask to see the licence on a large repair or a replacement.
Before and after the repair
You can
- Clear leaves and grit from the bottom of both guides
- Rinse salt and dust off the curtain with clean water
- Stop using the motor if it strains, and mention it when you tell us the job
Leave to a door specialist
- Setting the spring tension and checking the balance
- A curtain that has jumped out of its guides
- Straightening or re-fixing bent or loose guides
- Fitting wind locks or a wind-rated replacement
What we would do
When a roller door has its tension set, ask the door specialist to check that both side guides are still firmly fixed to the wall. The Cyclone Testing Station found that in strong wind it is the guides that keep the curtain in place, so a loose fixing is worth sorting on the same visit.