Can You Do This Yourself
A torsion cable under full spring tension is not a DIY repair, period. The cable itself is cheap. The injury risk from a loaded spring letting go while you're working near the drum is not worth it, and that risk doesn't change because your door is newer than the ones a few miles inland. What you can safely check yourself: whether the cable has simply jumped the drum track without snapping (sometimes fixable by hand with the door fully closed and the opener disconnected), versus a frayed or broken cable, which needs the spring tension released properly before anyone touches it. If you can see strands of wire separating near the bottom bracket, stop and call - that cable is close to letting go.
Parts We Carry
We carry standard-gauge galvanized lift cables sized for residential torsion and extension systems, which covers the great majority of doors in this age bracket. Drums, bottom brackets, and the fasteners that go with a cable job are stock items on the truck from Lorain. What we don't keep on hand is oddball cable length for non-standard door heights or older extension-style pulley hardware - that's less common on Avon Lake's newer stock but not unheard of, and if your door needs it, that part has a lead time.
What the Fix Involves
We release spring tension safely, pull the old cable off the drum and bottom bracket, and check the drum grooves for wear before putting the new cable on - a worn drum will chew through a new cable fast if we don't replace it too. Then we re-tension the spring, run the door up and down a few times to check travel, and balance it so the opener isn't doing extra work holding the door at any point. On torsion systems, which is what most Avon Lake doors from the late 80s and after are running, that balance check matters more than people expect - an unbalanced door is often what caused the cable to fail in the first place.
The Cost of This Job
We don't have a posted price for this job to quote here, and giving one without seeing the door and drum condition would be a guess. What we can say: a straightforward single-cable job on a torsion system costs less than one where the drums are also worn or where both cables need replacing. Ask for a number when you call and we'll give you one based on what's actually wrong, not a flat rate that doesn't match your door.
