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Broken Torsion Spring

Does your garage door stop when it is going up? Did you hear a loud bang, similar to a gun shot? Do the torsion springs above your door seem separated? If so, you might just have a broken torsion garage door spring. Torsion springs are located above the garage door and they are what lift the actual weight of the garage door. Most doors weigh between 150 to 250 pounds and without working springs, the garage door opener cannot lift the door. Attempting to use a garage door opener to lift a garage door with a broken spring can cause numerous parts on the opener to break.

Whenever a spring breaks, the door will not go up. Attempting to lift a door with a broken spring can be extremely dangerous. Attempting to replace the springs yourself is even more dangerous. You should never attempt to fix a broken spring yourself – only experienced, trained professionals should ever touch torsion springs. Also replacing a spring requires expertise to know exactly which spring to replace it with. The correct springs are determined based off the weight of the door. There are hundreds of combinations of springs but only one is correct for your door. It is important to have the correct springs to prevent an array of problems in the future. With the wrong springs, your opener will break much quicker and your door is more likely to come off tracks. It is alarming how many installers use the wrong size springs. Knowing which springs to use can only be determined by experience.

Torsion springs do not last forever, regardless of what some companies claim. “Lifetime” springs do not exist – all springs have a lifespan. Most builders typically install the lowest costing door available and with that generally comes lower cycle springs. A torsion spring life is determined by the number of cycles the spring is rated to last. Whenever the door goes up and down is what is referred to as a “cycle”. The springs that builders install can last as little as 7,500 cycles which means the average homeowner could get 3-5 years of life.

You can rest assured we will replace your springs correctly. We offer 2 types of springs – standard and high cycle. On a 7 foot tall door, our standard torsion springs will last 15,000 cycles and our high cycle torsion springs will last 50,000 cycles. How many years will this last you? That is based off only one thing – usage. For example, with standard torsion spring, if you use your door 4 times a day, you get just over 10 years of life. However, if you use your door 8 times a day, you would get just over 5 years of life. If you use door very little or if you are moving very soon, maybe standard springs would be best for you. If you use your door many times a day or if you don’t plan on moving for a while, high cycle springs would be best for you. Getting high cycle springs will ensure you won’t be stuck with a broken spring for many years to come. Either way, both types of torsion springs we offer work great – it’s just a matter of when the break again.

Garage Door Extension Springs

Does your door stop when going up? Does your door look crooked? Can you see a break in the spring that runs along the side of the tracks? You might have a broken extension spring. Extension springs are generally used on smaller doors like an 8×7 or a 9×7. Extension springs are attached to the bracket that holds the horizontal track to the ceiling. The extend as the door goes down and with one broken the door cannot work properly. Typically one spring is broken and the other is not, however, we would replace both. They have both been used the same amount and springs break based off of usage.

Extension springs last 15,000 cycles. Every time the door goes up and down is one cycle. On average extension springs will last 7 to 12 years. For most people, you know you need to replace your extension springs because it snaps. Sometimes, however, when extension springs get older, they can lose their tension and the spring becomes elongated. This is rare but it does still happen. Basically, the coils are fatigued and when the door is up you can see gaps where the spring is not relaxing properly. When this happens, the spring is useless. It is best to replace the springs at this point rather than overworking the opener which will cause it to last a shorter life.

It is very important that the replacement springs are calibrated for the weight of your door. Using the wrong size garage door springs will caused the to not function properly and could also cause the opener to break much quicker. Replacing extension springs can be very dangerous and if done wrong can harm someone using the garage door.