Residential Spring Changes

Did you know that your residential spring has a "life cycle?" For a majority of residential garage doors that's 10,000 cycles. A cycle is defined as one open and one close. The springs are one of the most important (and dangerous) parts of your door. Garage doors weigh hundreds of pounds, their springs counter balance the weight, making them light for both manually lifting the door or the electric operator. Without springs, you would be lifting hundreds of pounds.

Over time and use, garage door springs will eventually break. It's not a matter of "maybe" but rather a matter of "when." And when they do, you should contact the experts.

Identifying a Broken Spring & Next Steps

Garage door springs typically break when the door is in the down position, often making a loud bang. You will be able to tell that your spring is broken as the once singular spring is now in two pieces as pictured below.

Due to spring's life cycle, if your door has multiple springs we highly recommend replacing both, even if only one is broken. It will cost more up front, but you will be saving money in the long run by not having to call for a second repair when the other spring snaps.

We cannot stress this enough DO NOT attempt a spring repair on your own unless you know what you're doing. Garage door springs are under immense pressure and one wrong move could lead to severe lacerations or even loosing a digit.

Torsion vs. Extension

Up until this point, we have discussed the most common type of garage door spring that you'll find in a home - the torsion spring. However, a less common (and even more dangerous) spring type that will sometimes be found in old homes are extension springs. These springs go back along the track of the door rather than sitting at the top. Extension springs are rare and have largely become obsolete given how dangerous they often are. When an extension spring snaps it can sometimes fly off like a projectile leading to serious injury.

While we will work on doors with extension springs, we do not sell them. Any garage door needing a new spring will be quoted to be equipped with a torsion spring system.