Homeowners usually encounter issues with opening and closing their garage doors, one of the main reasons for this is because the garage door spring needs repair or mainteinance. This is due to the fact that the garage door springs are put under immense pressure every single day and it only increases if you frequently open and close your garage door, or if you own a door that is heavier than most.

However, the problem could be something different from garage door springs entirely. There are over two dozen moving parts on garage doors, so it’s important to understand the ins and outs of all of these intricate moving parts and being able to identify where the problem is.

If you don’t feel sure to do this tasks, we will try to teach you more in this post but you can always rely on the licensed and insured technicians here at Beach Cities Garage Doors and Gates to handle this king of problems calling us 888-565-0514

Types of Garage Door Springs

Your garage door springs have one of the most important jobs of any of the two dozen plus moving parts of the system. Your garage door springs keep the door in place and make sure it’s balanced while ensuring it opens and closes smoothly with the least amount of noise possible. It’s no surprise that one of the main service requests we get is to fix garage door springs. The lightest of garage doors weigh around 150 pounds, and the heaviest ones can weigh all the way up to 400 pounds. 

There are two main types of garage door springs: 

• Torsion Springs are mounted on a bar horizontally above the opening of your door. This type of spring uses drums with cables that wrap around them and tighten when the door is opening. As it closes, the cables unravel and loosen in order to close. 

• Extension Springs are mounted on either side of garage doors alongside the track. These springs use safety cables that run through the center of the spring. The springs coupled with cables and pulleys are what lifts the door. These intricate components can malfunction or might not have been installed properly, causing the door to not open the right way.

Obviously, the springs on the heavier doors will be stronger and able to handle more pressure and hold more weight. However, even the toughest of these will eventually require the need to fix garage door springs. Just like the engine and various moving parts of your car will eventually succumb to wear and tear, the same holds true for your garage door system.

Garage Door Spring Dangers

There are several things that you can do in order to avoid the hassle and costs associated with garage door spring danger. For instance, if you have children, make sure that they understand that a garage door is not to be played with. Games such as “beat the door” not only impact the longevity of your garage door, serious injuries can occur if the garage door opener system is treated like a toy. Additionally, we always recommend that you close your garage door entirely every time. Avoid the temptation to keep the door open during the hot summer months to allow air to circulate. Doing so means that the two dozen moving parts of your garage door system must hold the weight of your garage door in place for as long as you decide to keep it partially open. This is a big reason why homeowners require garage door torsion spring repair unnecessarily.

Five things you can do to avoid Door Spring issues and increase its Lifespan

In order to perform proper preventive maintenance, we recommend following these five steps:

1. CLEAN: Taking the time to thoroughly clean equipment and its components on a regular basis ensures a longer service life and a more efficient workplace. In addition, cleaning prevents dirt from clogging parts and thus causing premature wear.
2. LUBRICATE: Greasing according to the manufacturer’s instructions certain elements and locations of the door springs ensures that the equipment operates efficiently and downtime is reduced, as components are better protected from wear, moisture and corrosion.
3. ADJUST: if the equipment is not properly adjusted, it can cause great loss of time and risks in your garaget. To avoid these cases, it is ideal to try to keep the necessary components properly adjusted to ensure that the equipment works uniformly and consistently.
4. INSPECT: Thorough inspection of door springs equipment is an essential part of routine maintenance.
5. DOCUMENTATION: finding good documentation on preventive maintenance of the docks can be very useful to detect possible problems and avoid headaches. For this we recommend you to read our blog and reach the manufacter’s documentation.

If you need any help or have any doubt about the maintenance of your garage door spring do not hesitate to call us.

Expected Lifespan of Your Garage Door Spring

As a general rule of thumb, garage door springs have a lifetime of 10,000 opens and closes. So, if you only open your door twice a day, your springs can last up to 14 years. If you open your door 8 times a day you might need to replace your garage door springs every 3 years.

However a proper maintenance and professional repairs will extend your garage door spring lifespan a good length of time. If you need any repair or help with maintenance just call us