Garage Door Spring Repair

Problems with your garage door springs can lead to costly wear and tear on other parts of your garage door system and may even keep your garage door from opening altogether! Although broken springs will need to be replaced, there are some repair techniques that can address a garage door spring that is not optimally balancing your door. Your ProperShop Technician will present all options and help you determine the best choice for your garage door spring repair or replacement.

How Long Do Garage Door Springs Last?

Most residential garage door springs last 5 to 10 years. Garage door spring life expectancy is expressed in the number of “cycles.” The opening and closing of a garage door is one complete cycle. The industry standard for minimum garage door spring system rating is 10,000 cycles, though it is not uncommon to install a “high cycle” spring system rated for 20,000 or more cycles. Spring diameter, length, wire size, and weight and height of door all influence the spring cycle life. How long your springs actually last will depend on how frequently you use your door, proper spring maintenance, environmental conditions (e.g. temperature and salinity) and just plain luck!

What Causes a Spring to Break

Although not all garage door springs will break, all springs will eventually fail at their sole purpose, to properly balance your garage door. When springs do break, however, there are a few common factors at play. Stress from normal wear and tear and high temperatures can both cause springs to stretch or “relax.” Low temperatures can cause springs to become less elastic, also increasing the risk of breaking. The combined effects mentioned will eventually lead to a broken spring. Other factors, such as the development of rust, also cause a spring to break sooner than it otherwise would.

What Causes Problems with Your Garage Door Spring

Beyond slowly “relaxing” and eventually breaking, homeowners rarely if ever encounter problems with their garage door springs themselves. More commonly, conditions in the garage can affect the balance of the door such that the springs may need to be adjusted or changed. For example, wood doors may absorb a significant amount of moisture during the wet season causing the door to be heavier in the wet season than it is in the dry season. This additional weight can disrupt the counterbalance the spring system provides, forcing your opener to lift more weight than designed, reducing the potential life span of your garage door opener.

Different Types of Springs

Garage door springs come in a variety of lengths, inside diameters, wire size and finishes. The length, diameter, and wire size of your springs is primarily determined by the weight and height of your garage door. A trained Technician should use these variables to determine the spring size needed to properly balance your garage door. There are multiple combinations of spring sizes that will balance any garage door, but each will come with a different life span, known in the industry as “cycle life.” The three common spring finishes are oil tempered, galvanized, and powder coated. With proper spring maintenance, all three finishes should offer comparable performance.

Common Problems You May Encounter With Garage Door Springs

The most common problem home owners encounter with their garage door springs is a broken spring, in part because it’s so easy to diagnose. If you think you might have a broken garage door spring, simply take a look at the springs along the wall above your garage door. Perhaps just as common but less noticeable is a “relaxed” garage door spring. Over time, garage door springs can stretch and relax, decreasing the torque they produce at a given point in the door’s cycle. This can cause the door to be unbalanced, which forces your garage door opener to work overtime and potentially burn out sooner than it otherwise would.

Finding the Right Garage Door Spring Repair Company

Although uncommon, some garage door springs may need repair because of improper installation or improper sizing. It is possible to have a properly functioning door for many years without the right spring configuration for your door. In most cases, this will result in expensive fixes to other components of your garage door system. In the worst of cases, this can be dangerous as your springs are responsible for keeping your garage door from crashing down to the ground when disengaged from the opener. Choose a garage door company, like ProperShop, that trains its Technicians to properly match springs to your door’s specifications and offers maintenance plans to keep your springs lubricated and adequately wound.

Garage Door Repair Services Offered by ProperShop Garage

No matter the reason for your garage door repair visit, your trained ProperShop Technician will inspect your garage door springs and all other parts of your garage door system. Whether broken spring, or an unbalanced door due to a relaxed, undersized, or under wound spring, your ProperShop Technician will have everything needed to resolve your garage door spring issues!