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Garage doors are an integral part of any home and having them function correctly is vital if you’re to be able to access your garage as and when you need to. While you may simply press a button for your garage door to open and close effortlessly, there are in fact, many cogs and tension springs involved in the process, and if these malfunction or break, getting them fixed quickly can be a hassle. Getting your garage door serviced regularly is a great and more affordable way of preserving it and helping to ensure that it continues to function as it should.

Here is all you need to about garage door springs:

Torsion springs and how they help your garage door function:

Tension springs are mounted overhead or on either side of your garage door, and when the springs are mechanically wound up, tension is created and stored in the springs. When your garage door is opened or closed the energy moves from the springs, into the mechanism that connects to the cables and allows for the door to move.

How long do tension springs last?

A lot will depend upon how frequently your garage door is used, but in general, tension springs can last anything from 3 years up to 7. If the springs in your garage door need replacing, there will be several signs to look out for:

  • Stretched springs – if the springs are stretched and elongated when the garage door is in the closed position, then this is a strong indicator that the tension is missing
  • Gaps in the springs – the spring may have snapped if you can see a gap that is around 2 inches long
  • Crooked door – if the door is at an angle when being opened or closed, there may be a problem with the tension springs
  • Misaligned – if the top section of the door is misaligned
  • Slack cables – if you can see that one or more of the cables are slack

Ways to preserve the longevity of the springs:

The best and most affordable way to prevent you from having to replace your garage door is to regularly service and repair the springs. Ensure that your door is weatherproof, perform your own visual checks periodically to help spot and identify issues before they become a big problem and if you can see or hear an issue, don’t waste time in calling the professionals. Any problem
with the springs in your garage door will need assessing and repairing quickly to prevent further more costly and inconvenient repairs from having to be undertaken further down the line.

NEVER attempt to repair the tension springs in your garage door yourself, unless of course, you happen to be a qualified and experienced garage door repair person. There are countless things that can go badly wrong when attempting to fix a garage door yourself, for both you and the door, and you could end up having to pay out more money to fix a bad D.I.Y. repair job.

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