If you resemble most people, you probably have paid extremely little attention to your garage door springs. While reasonable, this oversight is likewise a bit unreasonable. There’s no single part on your garage door and garage door opener that is more vital to the raising and lowering of the door. That’s one reason for paying some respect to the springs. Here’s another: Garage door springs threaten! Really hazardous.

If you are having difficulty with your garage door, it might be because of a problem with the springs. The garage door springs break and can be replaced. There are vendors who offer replacement springs for DIYers, and there are DIYers who have replaced the springs or carried out a garage door spring repair safely and effectively. Carefully weigh the dangers versus the rewards in this task prior to choosing to tackle this task.

This post is not a how-to on garage door spring replacement. It is intended to familiarize you with garage door springs and some of the maintenance duties you can perform yourself.

2 Types of Garage Door Springs

There are 2 different kinds of springs used on garage doors. Torsion springs are connected simply above the closed garage door, while extension springs are located above the upper tracks on both sides.

Garage Door Springs and Your Safety

Garage door springs are securely wound, suggesting they are under a great deal of tension. When they break or when some unwary DIYer attempts to adjust them, they can trigger a great deal of discomfort. Wise DIYers understand that this is one household chore that is best left to the pros. If your garage door is old, or if it is revealing indications of age, let a knowledgeable contractor check your garage door springs.

However if the springs are simply squeaking and otherwise making a lot of sound, there are some things you might want to do prior to employing the soldiers. A little squeak does not always indicate a big problem, anymore than an aching head suggests a brain growth. Use some garage door lubricant to the springs and see if it makes any difference. If it doesn’t, you may have a major issue brewing.

Garage Door Safety Cables

The two kinds of garage door springs talked about above work in a different way. A garage door with extension springs will have a safety cable on each side of the door going through the spring and attached to the wall or ceiling. These cables are an essential security feature. Extension springs are under a lot of stress, and if one was to break, it might cause serious injury. Safety cable televisions help control a broken spring.

If you have extension springs on your garage door however can’t find any security cables, call a garage door pro and get a pair set up.

Out of Balance Springs

The best sign of a well-functioning garage door is that it opens and closes smoothly and quietly. When it stops working as it should, the issue can be major. Try operating the garage door manually (pull the cable connected to the arm connecting the rail trolley system to the door). If the door continues to be difficult to operate, the problem could be that the springs are out of balance. In this case, you can be confident that the problem isn’t going to fix itself. And stopping working to fix it could result in an escalating list of used and damaged parts. Call a professional ASAP.

Garage Door Spring Brackets

Garage door springs are connected to brackets on the bottom of the garage door. As with the springs, these brackets are also under a lot of stress and should only be changed or otherwise kept by a pro. More recent designs of garage doors have tamper resistant brackets that avoid the curious but unskilled from getting into trouble.

Is it fast and simple to replace garage door springs? – Morena