Garage Door Spring Issues – Identifying them

You might have a few questions yourself, like “Is my garage door dangerous if my springs are damaged?” or “Will it be expensive to repair my springs?” or “Shall I attempt to fix my own springs if they are in fact the problem?” Don’t worry; our Buckhead, GA technicians can answer these and any other questions you may have. All you have to do is read this rest of this page.

The basics, first!

Ask most folks what opens their garage door and they’ll quickly tell you their remote or their garage door opener. In a way, they are correct but the real unsung hero in all these thousands of openings and closings are your springs. That’s right; your hard working torsion or extension springs do the actual heavy lifting each time you access your garage door. Garage door springs can last for over a decade; in fact, springs count their life “expectancy” by cycles. One complete cycle equals to one opening and one closing of your garage door. Your extension springs average about 10,000 cycles per set and if you have the newer torsion springs, you can double that number to 20,000. If you use your garage door an average of 3 times per day, you can count on at least 9 years of reliable and safe spring performance and usage from your extension springs and double that for your torsion ones. That’s a lot of heavy lifting and lowering, so you can really appreciate what these “power lifters” do for you and your convenience!

Extension Spring Facts

Your extension springs (if you have them) are located on either side of your garage door. These expand when your garage door opens. They are found in mostly older homes as most new builders outfit their properties with the newer torsion springs. If you have extension springs they should last for about a decade with average use and maintenance.

Torsion Springs

These are the newer version of garage door springs in mainstream use. These are located at the top of your garage door on the inside. Instead of expanding like the extension springs, your torsion variety will turn. There are fewer working parts and thus, these newer springs tend to last longer than their extension counterparts. It’s worth noting that torsion springs last about twice as long as the others but they do cost a little more, too so you have to weigh the pros and cons of both types for yourself when buying a set. On average, your torsion springs require less maintenance and are also much safer than the extension springs which can be dangerous enough to maim and even kill if damaged as they can fly with terrific force; sometimes even through a wall or a windshield!

Indicators of spring damage

So, the question arises; how do you know if you are dealing with damaged garage door springs? See if any of these indicators apply to you:

Does your home or business garage door look tilted to one side or lopsided when either open or closed? It may look slightly unhinged at the top and noticeably lean to one side. This almost always indicates that at least one of your springs is in need of repair or replacement.

When your garage door was rising did you notice that the ascent was slower than usual, then it starting lifting very fast?

Did your garage door start to go up and then suddenly stop in mid-rise?

Were you operating your garage door (up or down) when you heard a loud bang or snap sound? You may have still been in the garage or gone inside when you heard it but it still sounded like something “big” broke! Did you look around and see no visible damage?

When operating your garage door does one side move faster than the other?

Is your car stuck inside your garage due to a door that simply won’t open? Your remote won’t open it and neither will your wall switch.

After tapping the wall switch does it seem that your rising garage door is moving up strangely? Like one side is doing all the work and simply dragging the other side along?

Battery problems?

One often-asked question involves your remote’s battery. Is that the problem or is it your springs? This is actually very easy to check; simply test your battery and see if it is still working. You can use your battery tester or if you don’t have one, you can purchase one for less than $10 locally or online. You can also take your remote’s battery to any number of local stores that test batteries for free like K-Mart, Wal-Mart, Target and Home Depot. If your battery was low or weak, just replace it and you should be good to go.

Don’t DIY!

DIY stands for Do It Yourself and if you’ve identified your garage door problem as spring related, it’s best that you rely on the pros for help. As stated earlier, springs can be dangerous and even if the job was safe, it is still time consuming and tedious. Using the right garage door spring service can be convenient, affordable and offer peace of mind, knowing that your springs were either repaired correctly or replaced professionally. While you don’t have to use our experienced and skilled garage door professionals, it is a smart thing to work with an established garage door shop in your area and ensure that the work gets done safely and expertly.