Garage Doors!

[jingscrivvens]

I've come home and DP has told me that the garage door is broken. I've had a look and one of the springs has sheared. The door itself is old (40+ years) so wonder if it might not be fixable, it was hard to find someone to replace the lock.
So I've been having a look online at new doors and I don't know where to start! We don't want anything fancy but something secure, has anyone any recommendations?

Thanks!

We got one from here: www.wessexgaragedoors.co.uk/up-over-garage-doors.php

We got the bog standard cheapest one that wasn't even painted. That was 10 years ago and the only maintenance it has needed is a couple of coats of paint and a spray of WD40 once a year.

The local suppliers usually have fitters but you need to consider if you want to change the look of the garage. We changed metal doors for wooden ones on our double garage as it suited the house a lot more. Bog standard ones work perfectly well.

This happened to our garage door. I searched on the Internet for the brand (Garadoors in our case) and had a look on the web site. Contacted them and they came out and replaced both springs and gave a guarantee for the springs. Not something I'd attempt as a diy job.

Is it an up-and-over with the two springs at the sides?

If so they can be replaced quite easily. When he was replacing his garage door (which he gave me for my sideway) my neighbour unscrewed one of the springs and gave it to me as a spare in case mine broke.

IIRC they are not under tension and hang loosely when the door is all the way down. They probably vary in length and strength according to the size and weight of the door.

I have an idea that Henderson and Garador are two big makers, but look at yours to see if there is a brand name anywhere.

My newer garage has a fibreglass door on it, which seems pretty maintenance free.

I expect there are people who specialise in garage door repairs and fitting. Maybe local carpenters or joiners. They must fit lots when in new builds. I would expect a local trades to be cheaper than a nationwide who might try to sell you a new one.

If you do buy a new one, measure very carefully. You will want a new frame.

BTW you mention security.

Garage doors are notoriously insecure. Little cylinder locks are frail. The door will crumple if you reverse a truck into it, or use a rope on a towbar to pull it off. You can delay casual thieves by using a keylock on each side, there are some sold in pairs for this so you only need one key.

I use padbolts on mine, operated from the inside so a thief doesn't know what he is facing or where it is. Obviously the garage is crammed full of bikes, ladders and lawnmowers, no car.

Thanks for all the advice so far, yes it is a wooden up and over type. Am definitely going to try and get it fixed first and hoping am getting myself all frothed up about this for nothing.

as soon as I looked, up popped this

there are lots of others

Thanks for that Piglet, will go and have a good look at the broken spring today and see what one it is. Looks like its going to cost me a lot less than a new door!