A lot of Southern Suburbs garages were built long before anyone thought about automation. Timber doors in Newlands and Claremont swell in the winter damp, older garages in Rondebosch and Wynberg have very little headroom, and double doors on Constantia properties are heavy. Put a motor on a door that’s out of balance and it won’t last.
So we look at the door first, then the motor. Here’s the full range of our garage door automation services.
The springs carry the weight of a garage door, not the motor. If the springs are tired or the door drags in its tracks, the motor strains and fails early. We check balance, springs, cables, rollers and tracks before recommending a repair, an upgrade or a new motor.
Motors chosen for the door type, size and weight, including low-headroom setups for older garages and quiet belt drives where there’s a room above.
Snapped springs, frayed or slipped cables, noisy rollers and bent tracks. Springs are replaced in matched pairs so the door stays balanced.
Replacing tired or noisy motors, adding battery backup and setting one remote to open both your gate and garage.
We cover the Southern Suburbs: Rondebosch, Rosebank, Newlands, Claremont, Kenilworth, Wynberg, Plumstead, Diep River, Bergvliet, Meadowridge, Constantia, Bishopscourt, Tokai and Kirstenhof. See our Claremont and Rondebosch garage door pages, or the full Southern Suburbs area.
That’s usually a torsion spring snapping. Don’t keep running the motor, as it can strip the drive. Contact us and we’ll replace the springs and rebalance the door.
Cape Smart Automation has worked on Cape Town gates and garage doors for over ten years. We explain what failed, what it costs to fix, and whether an upgrade is worth it. If a door only needs new springs and a service, that’s all we’ll quote. About us.
Older doors, winter damp and heavy timber cause most of the call-outs we get in the area.
A torsion spring has snapped and the motor is now trying to lift the full weight. We replace both springs as a matched pair and rebalance the door so the motor isn’t overloaded.
Damp swells wooden panels and they bind in the tracks, so the motor reverses. We adjust the tracks and rollers, reset the force limits and suggest sealing the timber.
Often the trolley has disengaged or a drive part has worn out. We diagnose it on site and repair it. Our motor running, door not opening guide explains the common causes.
We fix the door properly, explain what we did and don’t sell you parts you don’t need.
We assess balance, springs and tracks before touching the motor, so the fix actually lasts.
Every job ends with a test of the safety beams and auto-reverse, so the door stops before it hits a car or a child.
We also handle gate automation in the Southern Suburbs and can pair both to one remote.
The questions we get asked most often on call-outs in the area.
Both springs were fitted at the same time and have done the same number of cycles, so the second one is usually close to breaking too. Replacing only one leaves the door unevenly balanced, which strains the motor and cables. A matched pair keeps the door level and saves you a second call-out a few weeks later.
Often, yes, as long as the door is sound and moves smoothly by hand. We inspect the timber, hinges, springs and tracks first. If the door is warped or rotten, a motor will only make things worse, and we’ll tell you honestly whether it’s worth repairing or better to replace the door before automating it.
Disengage the motor and lift the door halfway by hand. A balanced door stays roughly where you leave it. If it drops, shoots up or feels very heavy, the springs have lost tension or one has broken. Don’t adjust torsion springs yourself: they hold a lot of energy and can cause serious injury.
Most modern motors have a backup battery that keeps the door working through normal outages. If yours doesn’t, or the battery no longer holds a charge, we can replace it or upgrade the motor. Every door should also have a manual release so you can open it by hand if the battery is flat.
Call 083 518 5545, WhatsApp us or use the form below. Tell us your suburb and what the door is doing.
