The spring on your garage door is what allows you to open and close this large door with ease. Garage doors weigh hundreds of pounds and without a spring to mitigate this heavy weight, it would take some strength to pull it up and keep gravity from slamming it shut. Heavy-duty springs are the workhorse of a garage door system – knowing the basics about these springs can help you maintain your garage door and opening system. Here are four things you should know about your garage door spring.
- Torsion and extension springs. Garage doors either have torsion or extension springs. Most garage doors with an opening system have torsion springs that wind and recoil to release energy to move the door.
- Torsion springs wear out. The continuous winding of the torsion spring wears out the material over time. Eventually, the spring will break, often without warning. When this happens, the garage door will no longer be easy to open.
- Cycles for springs. You can gauge how soon a spring will wear out on the number of cycles (opening and closing). Most torsion springs will last about 20,000 cycles, so the more times per day you use it, the quicker it will need replacement.
- Replacement. You can wait until a spring breaks to replace it, but then you may be stuck until it can be replaced. Proactive replacement is best, but never attempt to do this yourself as it can be dangerous. Leave spring replacements to a garage door professional.
Garage door springs make life easier and require little maintenance to work day in and day out. Just perform annual service on your opening system and keep the system lubricated to reduce stress on your spring to make it last longer.
Posted on behalf of:
Habpro Garage Doors
Dacula, GA 30019
770-985-3355
