If your garage door suddenly feels impossibly heavy or won't open at all, a broken spring is the most likely culprit. Here is how garage door springs work and what {state} homeowners should know. Our Saint Charles crew is one call away at (636) 259-2070 whenever you need a hand.
Most modern doors use torsion springs mounted on a shaft above the opening; older or lighter doors use extension springs along the tracks. As the door closes the springs wind and store energy, then release it to lift the door. That stored energy is what makes a heavy door feel light.
Torsion springs hold tremendous stored energy and the winding bars can become projectiles if they slip — every year emergency rooms see DIY spring injuries. A trained technician has the right winding bars and the correctly sized spring and finishes the job safely in under an hour.
A two-to-three-inch gap in the coil, a door that opens a few inches then stops, an opener that strains or reverses, or a door that feels like dead weight by hand all point to a spring. You don't always hear the bang.
Springs are rated in cycles — one up-and-down is a cycle, and a standard spring lasts about 10,000 of them, or 7-10 years for a typical family. Rust from {state} humidity, cold snaps that make steel brittle, poor balance, and undersized springs all shorten that life.
If your door has two springs and one broke, replace both. They share the same cycle life, so the second is right behind the first, and doing both at once saves a second service call. A good technician also checks the cables and bearings while they are there.
How long do garage door springs last?
A standard spring is rated for about 10,000 cycles — roughly 7-10 years of normal use. High-cycle springs rated for 20,000+ cycles last much longer and are worth it for busy households.
Why did my spring break in the cold?
Cold makes steel more brittle, so a spring already near the end of its life often snaps on the first freezing morning. It is one of the most common service calls we get each winter.
When you're ready to get it handled, our Saint Charles technicians are standing by. Explore our garage door services, read more on the blog, or see the towns we cover on our service area page. Call (636) 259-2070 for a free estimate.
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