How a roller door goes wrong
A roller door is a steel curtain that winds onto a drum above the opening, held in balance by helical coil springs that Steel-Line says are heat treated and tempered. When the springs and the curtain stop matching, you can see it: the door won't stay up, rolls up loosely, makes the motor labour or drops hard.
The other fault worth knowing is a curtain that has come out of its side guides. B&D's advice for a door off its guide rails is not to try lifting it back on your own, because a spring or cable may be broken and could hurt you.
Tensioning is not a home job
Steel-Line's warning is plain: 'Do not attempt to tension your Roller Door, at risk of serious injury or death.' Undoing the U-bolts on the drum can let the spring tension go and bring the curtain down with force. A professional sets the tension and checks the balance again afterwards.
Repair it or replace it
Roller doors have a working life, and the makers put figures on it. Steel-Line says that with proper maintenance a roller door can last 15-20 years or more, and B&D tests its Roll-A-Doors for 20,000 to 30,000 up-and-down cycles, which it says comes to over 15 years at five opens and closes a day.
So on an older door with a tired spring, a dented curtain and a struggling motor, ask for two quotes: one to repair it and one for a new door. The door specialist who takes the job can quote for either, and you decide.
When the motor is the problem
Plenty of roller door repairs turn out to be the opener. A roller door opener sits on one side of the opening next to the roll, and Merlin says the manual release cord hangs from the opener itself, so everyone at home should know where it is.
Try a new remote battery and the wall button before booking. If the motor does need changing, Steel-Line says its roller door openers fit most popular brands of roller door, with accessories to suit.
Roller doors around Perth
Built in the state
Two of the big makers build here: Steel-Line serves the West Coast from its own factory in Perth, and B&D's rolling door guide lists a Western Australian factory among those that make its models.
Newer doors and spring cover
Spring tension cover is short. Steel-Line's residential warranty covers it for 1 year and Gliderol's for 3 months, so a newer door that has lost its balance may still be covered.
If it is being replaced
WA's NCC 2022 variation applies AS/NZS 4505 to garage doors in wind region B as well as C and D. If a damaged door is being replaced rather than repaired, ask what wind rating the new one needs for your home.
What we would do
Describe what the door does in one plain line: 'rolls up loosely', 'came out of the guide on the left', 'motor hums but nothing moves'. B&D lists that last one as a sign of a broken spring, so stop using it, and a clear description means the door specialist arrives with the right parts.