Did you hear a sudden loud noise from your garage that was reminiscent of fireworks? You might notice when you check it out, that the spring on the garage door is suddenly bisected into two pieces. You might guess it’s not too difficult to repair, but in fact, repairing garage springs is a dangerous operation that should only be attempted by professionals. A garage door’s full weight is passed through it’s included spring system, a weight that can range between a hundred and twenty five to three-hundred pounds – serious weight that’s no joke. Here’s a guide from the garage repair experts here at Garage Door Repair Chicago on garage springs, and what exactly makes their repair such a technically difficult operation.

Kinds of Garage Door Springs

Torsion Springs are placed above the garage door, inside a tube – and will remain inside the tube even if the springs break. Extension springs, by contrast, are located above the horizontal tracks on the garage door, and will contain any broken extension spring in place even when they snap – if the correct safety cable is installed. Both these types of springs completely support the weighted mass of a garage door, and are engineered to minimize the door’s weight to between eight and ten pounds – so that you can easily lift it by hand, manually, if need be.

Spring Endurance

The majority of 10,000 cycle spring systems can last anywhere between five and seven years – depending on how often you use your garage (the door opening and shutting is considered a single cycle.) There’s also “doublelife” springs that are manufactured to last up to 20,000 cycles. Most normal households will reach the 10,000 cycle number within five years.

It’s essential tha tyou’re familiar of how the entire spring lifting system of the garage door works before you try to implement any sort of repairs. Tube based torsion springs are connected to drums that coil the cable lifts, which are in turn attached to brackets at the lower half of the door. The way this looks is that when the door is closed, the lifting cables will be taut like the strings of a violin or musical instrument. If you happen to own a double sized garage door, it will be much heavier, and the force on the spring lifting system will be much greater. 

Most garage door openers are able to lift around two-hundred-and-fifty pounds, or even more – meaning that they can lower that amount of weight – which is incredibly dangerous. There’s zero reason you should ever take the risk of this danger by using your garage door if a spring is broken. 

If a spring does break, first, close your garage door with your opener, and then unplug it. Give a licensed garage door repair expert a call, and they will arrive directly at your location for an emergency repair in a matter of minutes. It’s essential not to underestimate the safety risks of using a broken garage door. 

Preventative Action

If you want to avoid having to deal with a broken garage door spring, it’s essential that you get your garage door inspected and lubricated twice a year. It’s smart to do this in Autumn and Spring, as garages are most often used during Winter. While you’re lubricating your garage door springs, use a regular oil for metal, and wipe off any extra oil with a clean cloth. Doing so protects the springs from the degradation of rust, as well as the awful noise of the coils grinding together – not to mention highly extending the use of your garage door spring.