Maintaining Your Garage Door Springs

September 14th, 2014 Posted in Garage Door Springs
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If you have ever had your garage door spring break, you know it can be a highly inconvenient situation. In one quick snap, your garage door goes from easily sliding up and down to virtually immobile. While all springs will eventually need replacement, there are ways to increase the life of your spring through regular maintenance. By taking care of your garage door spring, you can prevent most spring failures from catching you off guard. 

Basic Garage Door Spring Maintenance

Garage door springs are designed to safely allow your door to easily open and close with minimal impact on the opening device. Most springs have an expectant lifespan of 10,000 cycles of opening and closing. However, if not maintained properly, this life-span can be cut drastically short. A few basic maintenance tips to get the most time and cycles from your garage door springs include: 

  • Balancing your door. A poorly balanced door will create excess wear on your spring. Make sure your door is balanced correctly to allow for easier movement up and down the tracks.
     
  • Prevent rust. A rusty spring will not last long; the rust causes both the spring and the coil to weaken and become more likely to break. Lubricating the spring every few months can keep rust away.
     
  • Garage door tune-ups. A properly functioning garage door lessens the wear and tear on your spring. Schedule a tune-up with your local garage door repair company each year to ensure all parts are in good working order.
     
  • Preventive replacement. If your spring lasts for 10,000 cycles, opening two to four times a day, it will last for about five to seven years. Instead of waiting for the inevitable, consider replacing your spring once it approaches or has passed this mark. Consult your garage door service technician during annual tune-ups about when you should replace your spring.

Posted on behalf of Habpro

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Garage Door Spring Replacement

June 3rd, 2014 Posted in Garage Door Springs
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Garage door springs are an essential element to make automatic garage doors open and close. The springs are used to counterbalance the weight of the heavy garage door to make it easy for the motor to open and close the door easily. The springs are equally balanced by the weight of the door. For instance, a door that weighs 150 pounds will require a spring force of 150 pounds to pull against the door. Balancing garage door springs can be very dangerous because of the tension applied on the spring when it is stretched. It is always, ALWAYS best to call a garage door specialist when any part of your garage door needs to be repaired because most repairs involve replacing or adjusting the garage door springs. Many accidents, injuries, and deaths have occurred from do-it-yourself home repairs. 

Torsion springs are used to balance a garage door by applying torque to the shaft with drums at each end. A cable is attached to each drum and extends to the bottom fixture at the bottom of the door where it is secured. In order to have a balanced system, the torsion spring must unwind and wind as the garage door opens and closes. Extension springs are typically mounted along the sides of the garage door or above the horizontal tracks. These springs stretch and contract as the door opens and closes to counterbalance the weight of the door. Whenever there is damage to a spring or cable, there is a high possibility that a cable could snap or that the door could fall. Because of this risk, only a trained and licensed professional should handle any type of garage door spring repairs. 

A garage door spring replacement is often essential whenever a garage door is not functioning properly. However, it is important to know that this repair is a highly dangerous one and should be left to the professionals. Call your local garage door repair company for any assistance that your garage door needs.

Posted on behalf of Legacy Garage Doors

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Garage Door Spring Replacement

January 3rd, 2014 Posted in Garage Door Spring Replacement
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Typical garage doors can weigh up to 300 pounds or more, depending upon the size as well as the material used in the door.  All garage doors use springs to support the weight of the door and the springs are tightened and loosened as the garage door undergoes tens of thousands of opening and closing cycles.  Basically the springs exert a force equal to the weight of a garage door, making the door effectively weighing nothing when the door is opened.  Although very durable, eventually these springs will wear out and break from use.   When this happens, it is still possible to open the door, however you will be lifting the full weight of the door. 

Garage doors use either torsion springs or extension springs to support the weight of the door.  Although they do the same thing the springs are located in different places, with torsion springs being located at the top of the garage door, while extension springs are located on the sides of the door.  

Replacement of either type of spring should be done by a licensed and insured garage door contractor for a number of reasons.  The main reason is because of safety.  Garage door springs are under a great deal of tension during and after the installation process.  The correct installation is required in order to avoid serious injury or even death.  In addition, often there are specialized tools required to add tension to the spring once installed.  A qualified and highly trained technician will be able to install these springs quickly economically and most importantly safely!

Posted on behalf of Legacy Garage Doors

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Replacing Garage Door Springs Is Not a DIY Job

December 7th, 2012 Posted in Garage Door Repairs
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The tension that helps a garage door open and close smoothly is provided by your garage door springs. There are two different types of springs used for this purpose on overhead garage doors. The most common type are coil springs. These are mounted, one on each side, along the rails of your garage door. The second type is a torsion spring. This type of spring is mounted above the overhead door opening of your garage door. 

Over time, these springs can weaken and even break. Because of the amount of tension on these springs and their size, they can be extremely dangerous to individuals and property, if and when they break. Garage door repair professionals have been trained on the safe removal and installation of these springs. For safety reasons, a homeowner should not attempt to repair of replace garage door springs themselves. This is especially true of the torsion springs. 

If one of the coil springs on your garage door should break, a garage door tech will encourage you to replace both springs at the same time. This is not a ploy to get more money out of your pocket. If one of the two springs has already reached the breaking point, then the other spring is likely to be close to that point, as well. In addition, if only one spring is replaced, then your two springs will not match in tension, as once has years of wear, while the other is brand new. It is important to always replace both springs at the same time. 

Keep yourself and your property safe. Call a garage door repair specialist if you see signs that your garage door springs are weakening or if a spring has already broken.

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Garage Door Spring Replacement

April 8th, 2012 Posted in Garage Door Repairs
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Garage doors use heavy duty steel springs to counterbalance the weight of the door and make it easier to open and close.  Garage doors typically weigh hundreds of pounds and even a small single door can weigh 100 pounds or more.

Without the assistance of springs, it would be very difficult for most people to open the garage door and garage door openers would need much heavier duty motors and gears.  With the assistance of properly adjusted springs, a garage door seems almost weightless and is easily opened by hand or by a modest garage door opener.

The two most common types of garage door springs are extension springs and torsion springs.  Extension springs are installed parallel to the door tracks and are connected to the door through a system of cables and pulleys.  As the door closes, tension is placed on the spring and it extends, bearing most of the weight of the door.  The spring contracts as the door opens.

Torsion springs are mounted over the top of the door parallel to the door itself.  Unlike extension springs, torsion springs work by coiling and uncoiling as the door opens and closes.

A garage door spring is good for thousands of cycles of opening and closing the door, but the steel in the spring fatigues over time and all garage door springs eventually break.  A garage door spring is most likely to break when the door is closed or closing because that is when the greatest amount of tension is put on it.  You will hear a loud banging noise when the spring breaks.

Contact a garage door repair service to replace a broken garage door spring.  These springs are under a lot of tension and can cause serious injury or even death if they are mishandled.  Expect to replace both springs at the same time.  If one spring breaks, the other is not far behind and your door will open best with two springs of approximately equal age and strength.

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Garage Door Spring Replacement

February 16th, 2012 Posted in Garage Door Repairs
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If your garage door is hard to open or if you notice your opener straining to open the door, you may need a garage door spring replacement.  Garage doors weigh hundreds of pounds and would be very difficult to open without some type of lifting assistance.  

The garage door springs provide the needed lifting assistance so that a garage door opens easily by hand or with an automatic garage door opener.  Extension springs run along the upper door tracks and extend and contract to provide lift assistance.  Torsion springs are installed over the top of the door opening and work by coiling and uncoiling.

When garage door springs break, the door become very difficult to open and your garage door opener will quickly wear out if the broken spring is not replaced.  A garage door spring can last for years, but they all eventually fail and when they do, they fail without warning. 

Garage door spring replacement should be handled only by an experienced garage door technician.  Garage door springs are under a lot of pressure and can cause severe injuries and even death if mishandled.  An experienced garage door technician has the training and experience to safely replace broken garage door springs.

Fortunately, in most cases an experienced garage door technician can safely replace a broken garage door spring in just a few hours.  If you have one broken spring, it is usually a good practice to replace both springs and to have the door adjusted so that it is well balance and opens and closes easily.

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