Garage Door Repair &
Installation in Burien, WA

Most of the Burien doors we work on run extension springs, the long ones stretched beside the track, because the 1950s and 1960s garages were built with them and the headroom often did not allow anything else. When one goes it usually announces itself with a bang. We replace them correctly rated for the door as it weighs now, with containment cables through the coils, and where the headroom allows we offer a conversion to a torsion shaft, which balances the door better and keeps the spring contained.

On the newer doors it is torsion work, both springs replaced together on a double, sized to the measured weight and balanced by hand. Near the water, galvanized springs are worth the small premium. Our broken spring guide explains why not to pull the cord, and the cost guide explains the price.

A new door on a Gregory Heights or Seahurst rambler usually brings the tracks, springs and opener up to date with it, since the 1950s hardware was sized for a lighter door. Eight foot doors are a stock size, so the opening does not need rebuilding. On a mid century facade a flush or simple recessed panel door reads better than an ornate carriage style, and we bring samples to hold against the house.

Near the water we specify galvanized hardware and a finish that stands up to salt air. Associations are uncommon on the older Burien streets, so approval is rarely a step, but where there is one we get the paperwork to you first. Old door removed and hauled. For an honest read on whether to keep the door, see repair or replace, and the installation page covers the rest.

The opener on a 1950s Burien garage is frequently old enough to predate the 1993 rule requiring photo eye sensors, or has sensors that were bypassed because they kept stopping the door. A door that will not reverse on an obstruction is the first thing we fix on any visit. Everything we install meets the current entrapment standard and is tested for reversal before we leave.

On a low rambler ceiling a wall mounted jackshaft unit is often the cleanest answer where the torsion setup allows it; otherwise a belt drive. Battery backup is worth having where the garage has no side door. We check that the Wi-Fi reaches a detached garage before specifying a smart model. The models we fit are on the opener page.

Salt air and old wood are the two things that kill cables in Burien. Near the Sound the cable corrodes at the bottom bracket; on the older wood doors the bottom bracket itself rusts or pulls out of a section that has taken water at the bottom rail. Either way the door drops on one side and jams. On the rest of the doors it is noise: original steel rollers grinding on the way up.

We replace cables as a pair, galvanized near the water, inspect the drums and bottom brackets, and reset the door square in the tracks. Nylon rollers with sealed bearings are the cheapest way to make a 1950s door quieter and keep the bearings from seizing. Hearing something new? See what each garage door noise means for the likely cause.

On a mid century Burien door a tune up is partly maintenance and partly a safety inspection: containment cables on the extension springs, photo eyes on the opener, the reversal, and a release cord that would drop the door if the spring were broken. Near the water it is also the visit that catches corrosion on cables and springs before it becomes a failure.

A tune up here means the door is balanced by hand, the springs retensioned, all hardware tightened, the tracks trued, the moving parts lubricated, the seal inspected, the opener force and limits set again, and the safety reversal confirmed with an obstruction and a broken beam. On houses near the water the lubricant is one that protects against salt air rather than one that washes off. Details on the maintenance page.