Garage door springs are the most important part of your garage door. After all, they are what enable your garage door to move up and down. Given their importance, it’s good to know what they are and whether you can replace them yourself.
What Are Garage Door Springs?
There are two types of garage door springs, torsion springs and extension springs.
Torsion Springs
Torsion springs are typically mounted horizontally above the garage door, although on older homes with smaller garages they can sometimes be mounted at the back.
As the garage door lowers, cables attached to the bottom corners of the garage door wind the springs up, creating stored energy. When it’s time to open the garage door, this stored energy is used to unwind the spring and lift the door.
Extension Springs
The less common type of garage door spring is an extension spring. You’ll usually find them located above the door track, although occasionally they will be mounted to the side vertically.
This system uses springs that are attached to cables, which are attached to the bottom corners of the garage door. When the garage is closed, the springs are stretched, or extended, and the energy stored in the extended springs is what lifts the garage door back up.
When Is It Time for a Replacement?
The average lifespan of garage door springs is 7-9 years, so if your springs are reaching that age it’s likely time for a replacement. It’s important to keep up with regular maintenance and replacement of your garage door springs, as a faulty spring can lead to problems with the other mechanisms in your garage door opener.
Cold weather can also affect the longevity of garage door springs. Given our colder climate, your springs may wear out more quickly and require more frequent replacing.
Can You Replace Garage Door Springs Yourself?
In short, no.
While you might be able to find a tutorial online, it is not a good idea to replace your garage door springs yourself. Garage door springs are under a lot of pressure, and replacing them requires specialized training and tools. If you don’t know what a bottom bracket is or if you’ve never heard of vice grips, then you probably shouldn’t replace your garage door springs yourself.
You can’t use household tools like screwdrivers to replace garage door springs. Trained technicians use a tool called a winding bar to adjust garage door springs. Even if you happen to have one of these in your toolshed, without the proper training it’s difficult to tell how tightly to wind the spring and even which spring to buy in the first place.
Ultimately, attempting to replace them yourself can cause further damage to your garage door and serious injury. Given everything that can go wrong, it has even proven fatal for some DIYers. If your springs are due for a replacement, it is best to contact a pro.
We have extensive experience repairing garage spring malfunctions with response times you can count on. We stand behind our work, and all repairs are backed by a 90-day workmanship warranty.
Sources: