Garage Door Springs
A broken garage door spring can be a dangerous thing. That's why it's so important for a homeowner to know all the possible issues and risks that come with trying to a fix a spring on their own. When it comes to a broken or badly installed torsion spring, we always suggest calling a professional. However, some homeowners feel empowered to brave it on their own. If you're dealing with a possible broken spring, here are a few things to know before deciding to tackle the problem.
Your Springs are What Hold Your Door Together
Each garage door employs a spring to aid the opening and closing of the door itself. Whether your door uses two extension springs to do this or one central torsion spring, these parts are extremely tightly wound and very dangerous to work with. Springs, like the other components of your garage door, require a fair share of maintenance each month. They'll need lubrication, and after a time they'll also need to be re-wound or tightened. Each torsion spring will last for about 20,000 open and close cycles before needing serious maintenance, while extension springs will last about half that long.
Each Spring is Set to Run for a Specific Amount of Cycles
When you've reached the last open-close cycle for your spring, you may begin to notice problems. Figuring in how often you leave your garage daily, monthly, and yearly, you'll be able to do some simple math to figure out when you'll hit the 20,000 or 10,000 mark. Knowing how close you are to this will help you pre-empt problems before your door starts to suffer from spring malfunctions. Some torsion springs need to be re-wound rather than replaced. Either way, it's a dangerous job that could lead to serious injury if you don't know exactly what you're doing. If you're at all uncertain about dealing with spring issues, don't take the risk. Call in a professional right away.
Springs are Very Tightly Wound and Dangerous to Tamper With
As we've stressed before, springs are extremely dangerous to work with. As a homeowner trying to diagnose a spring problem, one of your first steps might be to disconnect your door from its opener and try to work manually. While opening your door manually is a good way to figure out if a spring is broken, you should never fully disconnect your door from its opener if you suspect a spring problem, since it could cause your door to come slamming down on its own.
A Broken Spring Could Lead to Other Serious Issues
While a broken spring could potentially go undetected for a while, you never want to let the problem go unsolved for too long. A broken spring leads your door to rely on safety cables to function. Since the cables are built for reinforcement rather than lifting, this could lead to your door coming off its tracks or leaning too much weight on one side, causing a bent or broken track. If you're having a spring issue, don't delay. Call a professional today.