When to Replace Your Garage Door Springs?

Garage door springs are the most vulnerable parts of the whole system. Your overhead garage door is being used a lot, even if you don’t realize that. Think about each time you need to bring out your generator or that tool for today’s DIY, or simply use your door to take the garbage bins out. When you raise and lower your garage door, the springs stretch and relax, due to this repetitive stress, garage door springs wear over time. Determining when to replace garage door springs can be complicated, especially when you’ve got old but still working springs.

Garage door springs need experience and skill to install due to the potential accidents in the course of installation.

Why Should You Do It?

Garage door springs are a potential cause of accidents if installed in the wrong manner or worn out. These springs expand and contract when you operate the garage door; therefore, they hold a vast amount of energy in order to balance your overhead door. In case the spring is worn out, it can break, and small pieces can fly into someone or something, thereby causing injury or other damage.

Of course, you do not want this to happen, that is why you should always use the below means to counter-check your garage door springs for replacement.

When to Replace Garage Door Springs - These Are the Signals

There are two types of garage door springs. They work differently and therefore show different signs of wearing out. Let’s first understand how the two types of work.

Torsion springs

Torsion garage springs are torque-powered springs that provide the torque needed to open and close your garage door. The springs are made by tightly winding coils of metal together. That’s why they help your door opener that raises and lowers the garage door.

They are simple and have fewer parts compared to extension springs. They are the safest sure to the less impact they cause in case they break. There are a lot of types of torsion springs.

Steel rolling door torsion springs.
Standard gauge door torsion springs.
Torque master torsion springs – these have their springs enclosed within the shaft. They are the safest among the three since even when the springs break, they rapture and remain contained within the shaft.

Extension garage door springs

This type of spring works by expanding and contracting when you open your garage door. They are the most dangerous, in case they break, the potential energy, (especially when stretched) causes them the rapture and fly out to cause damage and injury.

Due to their high risk of causing harm, they are usually used together with safety cables to contain them, in case they rapture. However, they are relatively cheap compared to torsion springs, which explains why they were are the most used type of springs in the past. There are many types:

The clipped ends extension springs have clipped ends that lower the stress mounted on the springs. Therefore they tend to last longer among the three.
Open looped extension garage springs have looped wires at the end.
Double-looped has two looped wires at the end.

Here are the signs that your garage door springs need a replacement.

Torsion springs

Torsion springs wear out after a period of use. Although they are less likely to rapture in case they break, broken ones shall lead to a tough door to operate. If these are the type of springs of your garage door, check them in the following manner to avoid impromptu inconveniences. We have two easy methods to detect a failure in your torsion garage door springs.

The first method involves turning off your automatic garage door opener. After turning it off, raise the door manually using your hand and feel it’s movement. After opening, a door with operational springs shall hold on the top without too much movement. If your garage door does not hold up or move too much, then the springs are faulty and need replacement.

The other method is manually opening your garage door halfway. When you reach halfway, a door with intact springs shall hold in position. If you notice that your door feels heavy and is forcing to return, then the springs are worn out. Also, if your door feels too light, then the springs used on it are not the right size of your garage door.

Torsion springs are long-lasting and can go up to ten years or less depending on the regularity of use.

When to Replace Extension Springs

To detect a failure in your extension springs, you can use the methods discussed for torsion springs. In addition, the below methods can work for extension springs.

The first method is checking the coils of your extension springs. If there are gaps in between the coils, that indicates worn-out steel. When the steel making up the coils wear, it weakens and cannot produce enough power to open your garage door.

Usually, you have two extension springs fixed to the two ends of your door’s edges. Check their alignment, if the four are imbalanced, that is an indicator that one or all of the springs are worn out and cannot hold the door properly.

How Do You Replace Your Garage Door Springs?

As hinted earlier, replacing your garage door springs needs to be done with care, due to the many risks involved. Removing the worn-out springs and installing new ones should be strictly done by an experienced garage door repair service. Professional service shall ensure the process is done smoothly and in a secure manner, thereby eliminating the destruction risks.

At a few, professionals shall handle the whole process, from troubleshooting for the actual problem to fixing your garage door springs professionally and safely.

A Final Word on When to Replace Garage Door Springs

Garage door springs should be replaced as soon as you detect a failure. Due to the risk involved in fixing garage door springs, a professional overhead garage door repair service should be your next help. In addition to doing it professionally, they save you all the work.

Regularly check out for the above signs, especially when your garage door springs age. Other minor door repair services can be done by yourself. However, if you have no skills, you should seek help when it comes to garage door springs.

When to Replace Your Garage Door Springs?

Why Should You Do It?

When to Replace Garage Door Springs - These Are the Signals

Torsion springs

Extension garage door springs

Torsion springs

When to Replace Extension Springs

How Do You Replace Your Garage Door Springs?

A Final Word on When to Replace Garage Door Springs

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Warranty Policy

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