There’s a good chance that you might not even think about your garage door spring until there’s a problem with it -- and the last time you want to be noticing your spring is when it breaks and you’re stuck in the garage with a door that won’t open! Unfortunately, that might just be your reality though, so let’s talk about garage door springs so you know what’s up.
There are two main types of garage door springs: torsion and extension springs.
Torsion springs are the most common in residential garages. They are tightly wound springs that are visible above your garage door. They use torque to hold the force and weight of your garage door so that it is easy to lift and won’t come slamming down. These are ideal for most doors because they can handle heavy loads and last longer.
Extension springs are mounted on either side of the garage door track. They stretch and contract to hold the weight of the door.
The third type of spring is the torque-master spring system and is exclusive to Wayne Dalton doors. Those are less common and we talk about them in this article.
How long a spring will last depends on how often it is used and how well it is maintained. Most torsion springs last for 15,000 - 20,000 cycles (a cycle is opening and closing your door once). On average, you can expect approximately seven years’ lifespan from your spring.
You’ll know that your spring is at the end of it’s lifespan and has broken by a couple of key factors: you can see a break in the torsion spring, the door is too heavy to lift even manually, and you might have heard a loud bang that sounds kind of like a shotgun.
Breakage can be caused by rust eating away at the metal of the spring (especially in wet or humid climates like North Carolina) or cold temperatures that stiffen the springs and cause them to break more easily. Lubricating your spring with white lithium grease a few times a year goes a long way in helping your springs last as long as possible.
Springs are very dangerous to replace if you do not have experience with them. There is a lot of weight and a lot of force being held in the springs, and you can be seriously injured if you aren’t very careful. Our technicians replace springs all day long and know exactly what will be best for your particular garage door, so give us a call today and we’ll be happy to send a tech out to help get your garage door spring replaced! All of our spring replacements have a 5 year warranty on them, so you’ll be in good hands for years.
If you have two springs, we recommend replacing them both at the same time. Even if only one is broken, both springs have a similar lifespan so the other is more than likely not far behind and will break soon as well. It’s entirely up to you, but replacing both springs at once will save you some time and money in the long run.
If you have a broken garage door spring, give us a call at (984) 289-0959 and we’d love to help you out and answer any more questions you might have!