Understanding Broken or Faulty Garage Door Springs
Your garage doors are most likely one of your home’s largest moving parts. They are constantly opening and closing for your vehicles, your family, and your friends. This movement and continual wear and tear, in addition to changes in temperature, can eventually cause garage door issues including broken or faulty garage door springs.
And when garage door springs do give out, you may think you – as a home or business owner – can handle this repair. However, replacing garage door springs is a job for trained professionals. Unfortunately, you can’t predict exactly when your garage door springs will break but you can be on the lookout for warning signs.
Torsion and Extension Springs
Torsion and extension springs are the most important component of garage door operation, and both create the necessary counterbalance that allow garage doors to operate smoothly.
Torsion springs – These wind around a shaft which is attached to the garage door via cable drums to exert a torque force that causes rotation. These springs apply constant energy so that garage doors open and close at a controlled, continual motion. Torsion springs either wind, allowing the garage door to shift from an up and open position to closed, or unwind to open the door. The size and weight of your garage doors determine the length of the torsion spring as well as how many springs you will need.
Extension springs – These are attached to the pulleys or cables of the counterbalance assembly. As the counterbalance parts move apart, extension springs exert a counterforce through extension rather than rotation. Like torsion springs, extension springs vary depending on the weight of the garage door.
While torsion springs are the preferred spring because they have a longer service life and require fewer parts, extension springs have value and are used in both residential and commercial garage door applications.
How Long Do Garage Door Springs Last?
Torsion springs typically last longer than extension springs. They are constructed to have an average life cycle of 15,000+ uses. Doing the math, if you were to open and close your garage doors just once a day, you can expect torsion springs to last approximately 20 years. Most homeowners and business owners utilize their garage doors at least twice a day, at the beginning and end of each day, so you may need to consider replacing torsion springs sooner than 20 years.
Extension springs have an average life cycle of 10,000 uses. Opening and closing your garage doors one time a day for a year will result in extension springs lasting approximately 13-14 years. However, it is best to plan on extension springs lasting 9-10 years.
Identifying Worn Garage Door Springs
Besides your garage doors not opening or closing properly, there are other signs that your garage door springs are worn and need replaced.
- Look for any gaps between the springs – Gaps in your extension or torsion springs indicate wear. Worn garage door springs cannot be fixed and reused. They must be replaced!
- Do a manual test – Turn off your automatic opener and open it manually. A good indication that your garage door springs are going bad is if your garage door is extremely heavy or it slams to the ground.
- Pay attention to alignment – If your garage door is crooked, a spring on either side could be broken.
- Listen for unusual noises – A loud or grinding noise may indicate there’s a bigger issue than just needing a shot of lubricant.
When you encounter a broken or faulty garage door spring, the team at Overhead Door Company of Toledo™ has the training and experience to handle any of your garage door problems.
Repairing Garage Door Springs
There can be many reasons why your garage doors are not working properly, and as a home or business owner you may attempt to troubleshoot the garage door spring repair.
Fixing broken springs is a job for a professional! Garage door springs are under an incredible amount of tension and pressure. A novice could sustain significant injury trying to replace a broken garage door spring. Also, if your garage door is open and a torsion or extension spring is broken, the garage doors could cause injury by crashing down on a DIY-er trying to fix the problem.
We cannot stress it enough — it is in your best interest to call a professional garage door technician to handle any garage door spring repair!
Emergency and Preventative Maintenance for Garage Door Springs
Overhead Door Company of Toledo™ is your residential and commercial garage door maintenance expert. In addition to responding to garage door emergencies, Overhead will proactively service your garage door with a general inspection to make sure your doors and springs are in proper working order.