Garage Door Springs: How Do They Work?

If you want your garage door to work properly, not only do you have to hire regular maintenance and repair service for garage springs, but you should also know how the system actually works. If you know what each component does and how it fits into the entire mechanism, you’ll be able to notice as soon as it becomes faulty and contact reliable experts in garage door spring repair service San Diego.

So, informing yourself about the most common reasons why these springs break or finding out how long their replacement takes can help you be prepared for unexpected problems. In addition, you won’t have to wonder how to deal with broken garage door springs

Do you need springs with a garage door opener

Do you need springs with a garage door opener?

Springs and openers are two separate components of a garage door system. However, they work together and ensure that your garage door opens and closes properly.

In fact, to function without any problems, your garage door needs a system that will maintain balance and offset the weight of garage doors. This is achieved by installing adequate garage door springs. 

Types of garage door springs

Garage door springs come in two main forms: 

  • Torsion springs – This type of spring system is most commonly used. It’s installed right above the door opening in a horizontal manner. These springs are actually tightly wound coils that create the power to lift a garage door by turning. 
  • Extension springs – These springs are attached to the corners of garage doors. They extend when a door is closed, using stored energy to lift the door. Extension springs can fully extend, unlike torsion springs that turn. 

These springs are essential for opening and closing your garage smoothly, especially if you have two. This means that you shouldn’t use your garage door opener without any springs since residential openers don’t typically have much horsepower. So, your opener doesn’t actually do much lifting – garage door springs are used to lift the weight and provide balance. 

How often do garage door springs break?

How often do garage door springs break

Garage door springs are typically highly durable, especially if they are installed properly and of high quality. So, you can expect your springs not to break often.

However, there are still a few things to keep in mind:

  • There’s a difference between torsion and extension springs, with the first one lasting up to 20,000 cycles and the latter lasting around 10,000 cycles. So, once they go through their expected cycles, they are more likely to exhibit some issues. 
  • More specifically, if you open your garage door twice a day, you can expect the springs to last up to 14 years while the life expectancy of up to seven years is more likely if you open your garage door four times a day. Finally, if you open it six times a day, the springs are likely to last up to five years

Dependable garage door spring repair service San Diego depends on

Should you ever experience any trouble with your garage door or its components, contact Dlouhy Garage Doors of San Diego – the leading experts in garage door spring repair, replacement, maintenance, and more!

We have the skills and knowledge needed to ensure your garage door springs are properly installed. What’s more, our team is highly trained, fully licensed, and more than qualified to handle any garage door matters, from garage door opener safety issues to timely spring replacement.

In fact, we strive to bring our clients a range of different perks that can give them unique customer experience. So, we always get the job done efficiently and faultlessly, giving you enough time for the activities you enjoy doing such as taking your children to Belmont Park. Contact us anytime and we’ll be at your doorstep before you know it!