There a lot of moving parts involved in your garage door – one of the largest and most complex pieces of your home. The springs are one of the more important parts of this mechanical ensemble, so you will want to make sure they stay in good working order. First, though…

What are Garage door Springs?

Excellent question. Their job is to counteract gravity. They make the door light enough for you (or your garage door opener) to easily lift. Torsion springs are probably mounted right about the door and they keep the door balanced. A balanced door will be easy to lift and take the same amount of pressure to open or close. Extension springs are likely mounted about the garage door track and they use the force of the spring to pull the door up. Given the job that they do, you can see why the springs are particularly important. You can help extend their life with by keeping them lubricated. But then you may ask…

How do I Know When to Replace Them?

Another excellent question. The average spring life will be about 10,000 cycles. At an average of four cycles a day, the spring would be expected to last seven to nine years. If you use your garage door more often than that, the life expectancy will be measurably shorter.

The spring may need to be rebalanced much sooner than that. If the spring loses a bit of tension, it may affect the operation of your door. Then, the spring just needs a little bit of maintenance, not necessarily replacement – it still has the rest of its life ahead! To test if your springs need attention:

  • Test that the door stays up when released from the opener in the up position. If either of the bottom rollers move past the line between the vertical and horizontal track and stay below the line, then the springs need to be adjusted.
  • Pull the door to a mid-level position. The door should rest there without moving up or down. It should be supported by the strength of the springs. If not, the springs need to be adjusted.

If your door is particularly heavy to lift and the springs are more than 4-years-old, your springs are in the break range and you should consider having them replaced. Then, you will have to ask…

What do I do When my Springs go Bad?

Call us! Do not attempt to repair or replace springs yourself! People have been seriously injured – even killed – trying to fix springs on their own. These springs lift doors that are hundreds of pounds, so they hold an extremely dangerous level of tension. It is important to replace bad springs – and it is important that they are replaced by a professional!