Your garage door is a complex system of components that work together to open and close your door. One of the most important components is the spring, which does all the heavy lifting of lifting and lowering your garage door. If the spring breaks, the door will not work. A broken spring can quickly snowball into more trouble. When the spring breaks, the cables and pulleys may become loose and you may notice loose cables hanging from the ceiling.
Never unhook the door opener while the door is open, as this can cause serious damage to your garage door or other property in your path, and to you or someone who might be too close. Instead, pull on the red emergency release handle that hangs from the track. The weight of a garage door is determined by its size and construction. For example, a 9 x 7 foot door with a single row of windows weighs 135 pounds. This is where springs come in; they counteract the weight of your door and do all the heavy lifting for you.
Most doors are constructed with 10,000-cycle spring systems, meaning that if you use the door an average of four times a day, you'll perform 1500 cycles in just one year. Springs don't usually benefit from additional protection because they are installed close to damp and cold outside walls. Manufacturers galvanize their springs up to 30-40%, but even with this protection, the springs still rust. For homes in cold environments, temperatures below -130 F (-25 0C) can cause coils to become brittle and break. If your garage door uses a two-spring system and one of the springs breaks, the other spring will continue to be under considerable stress. It is best to lock the door rail on both sides until proper repairs and replacements can be made. It is important to never try to fix broken springs yourself; instead, call a professional at Jarusewski's garage door service.
Most standard garage doors come with two springs; it's more efficient and cost-effective to replace both garage door springs at the same time, assuming they're the same age and have the same number of cycles (openings and closures).For best results, biannual lubrication of metal parts that rub against each other can help extend the life of springs. Additionally, it is important to never walk directly under the garage door as a malfunctioning spring can cause it to slam unexpectedly.
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