Springs carry the full weight of your door under high tension. This is not a do-it-yourself repair, and we treat it that way.
Torsion and extension springs do the actual work of lifting a garage door. Without them, the opener motor alone would not be strong enough to raise a door that can weigh well over a hundred pounds. When a spring breaks, the door becomes extremely difficult or impossible to lift safely, and the broken spring itself is under enough stored tension to cause serious injury if handled incorrectly.
Most residential garage doors use one of two spring systems: torsion springs mounted on a bar above the door, or extension springs running along the horizontal tracks. Each has a rated cycle life, typically somewhere between seven and twelve thousand open and close cycles depending on the spring's size and the door's weight. We size replacement springs to match your specific door rather than installing a generic size that will wear out early or strain the opener.
A snapped spring is usually obvious: a loud bang, a door that will not lift, or a door that lifts a few inches and stops. What is less obvious is a spring that is nearing the end of its life but has not failed yet. During an inspection we check the coil gap and winding for early signs of fatigue so you can plan a replacement before it fails at an inconvenient time, or fails while someone is standing under the door.
Spring work requires winding bars, correctly rated springs, and an understanding of how much tension a given door needs. This is the single most common cause of garage door related injuries when attempted without the right tools, which is why we handle it as a dedicated service rather than a quick add-on.
We do not recommend it. Torsion and extension springs are under significant tension even when broken, and the winding process has caused serious injuries to people without the correct bars and training.
Most residential springs are rated for several thousand cycles, which typically works out to somewhere between seven and twelve years of normal use, though heavier doors or more frequent use will shorten that.
If your door uses a pair of torsion springs, we generally recommend replacing both together. They wear at a similar rate, and replacing only one often leads to a second failure within a short time.
Call Gulliver Garage Door Services in Athens, NY and speak with a technician about your garage door spring repair & replacement needs.
Call 1 (833) 652-7571