When it comes to your garage door, the most common issue you’ll get is a broken garage door spring. This can affect the opening mechanism of your garage door, so how do you get it fixed quickly and efficiently?
In this article, you will learn how to repair a broken garage door spring so you can fix the problem quickly and safely.
How to Repair a Broken Garage Door Spring
The springs in your garage door system play a major role in the operation of your garage door.
Should your springs fall into disrepair, they could cause a major problem for your garage door, your personal safety, and your property. For this reason, we recommend keeping a close eye on your garage door as a way to identify potential problems.
If you find your garage door is operating strangely or making unfamiliar noises during operation, your door may need service and repair. There are several things to consider before repairing a spring, which we’ll go over in detail below.
Here’s how to repair a broken garage door spring.
Why Springs Need Repair
Your garage door springs are probably the hardest working part of your door.
They’re working every day to open and close the door, and so they will wear out over time. They work by stretching and uncoiling and then coiling back up again, over and over again. As you can imagine, this creates tension in the spring and can eventually wear it down.
A Note About Garage Door Springs And Safety
Any good homeowner should know that they need to keep maintaining their garage door, to ensure it’s working at top capacity. You also need to keep an eye on your garage door, as a broken garage door spring can put you in a lot of danger. As you keep using that spring, it will get more and more worn out. You want to ensure that you replace it before it breaks entirely, as this could result in personal injury and property damage.
Which Type Of Spring Do You Have?
To replace a garage door spring, you first need to know what kind of spring you have. There are two main types that you may have, so which one do you have?
Torsion springs: These are the most common styles of springs that are found in garage doors. They’re tightly wound coils of metal, that give your door the torque it needs in order to open. You can have up to four springs on the door, depending on how heavy it is.
There are several different styles of torque spring, so you’ll need to know which kind it is that you have. As a homeowner, you’re most likely to have standard torque springs on your door. These are usually mounted at the top of the door and have a metal shaft running through them to support the spring.
Extension springs: These springs are the ones you’ll most commonly see in residential homes, so you’re more likely to have an extension spring on your door. These work by expanding and contracting, as the name implies, to open your door. These are the springs that are likely to be volatile when they break, so you need to meticulous about replacing them before they get to that point.
These springs should always come with a safety cable, to ensure that they’re fully supported and safer to use.
How To Tell When The Spring Needs Repair
So, how can you know that the springs on your garage door need to be replaced? Here’s what you need to be looking for.
Torsion springs: It’s quite simple to test these springs and check they’re still in good shape. Disengage your automatic door opener and open the door fully. You’re checking to see if the door can hold its weight on its own. If the door stays open, then your springs are still in good condition. If the door starts to close, then they need to be replaced.
You can also open the door halfway, to see if the door can stay open like that on its own. If it can’t, you’ll need to get those springs replaced.
Extension springs: Signs of wear are similar to those in torsion springs, so you can conduct similar tests on your garage door. There are some additional checks you can make, too. For example, take a look at the springs and see if there are any gaps in the spring. If there are, this is a sign that it can’t produce enough tension to open the door anymore.
You’ll also want to take a look at the garage door itself. Are the left and right sides of the door not properly aligned? A spring may be on its way out. Look for general wear and tear on the springs too, to see if they need to be replaced.
Replacing Your Springs
If you feel that the springs need to be replaced on your garage door, then the best thing to do is call in a garage door repair company to come and handle it for you. As detailed earlier, a worn out spring poses a real danger to you and your family. Even those that are experienced in DIY can be in danger if they attempt to change the spring out themselves. It’s much safer to call in an expert to handle to change over for you.
When you call a repair company to handle the spring, they’ll come out and examine it for you, to ensure that it’s the spring that is the problem. They’ll also check the workings of the rest of the door, to make sure there are no other problems that you need to be aware of.
Once they’ve done this, they’ll go over what needs to be done with you, and agree on a price with you. They’ll usually sign a contract with you, to ensure that you both know what you should be paying, and what exactly should be being done to your garage door.
They’ll get to work, and usually within a day, they’ll be able to get that spring fixed for you. Having a fixed spring means that you won’t have to worry about your door being unsafe, and it’ll be working properly for a long time after the repairs.
Fixing your garage door springs is an important job that shouldn’t be neglected. Keep an eye on your springs, and ensure that you get them replaced when needed.