If you are just like most people, you very likely have paid pretty little attention to your overhead door springs. While easy to understand, this oversight is also a little bit not fair. There's definitely no other part in your overhead door and garage door opener that is more vital to the raising and closing of the door. That's just one reason for giving some respect to the springs. Here's another: Overhead door springs are dangerous! Very hazardous, in fact. Do yourself a favor and read Garage Door Safety Tips before thinking of repairs or replacements.
In case you are experiencing issue with your garage door, it might be a result of some issue with the springs. Garage door springs do break, and they can be switched out. There are service providers out there who sell replacement springs to DIYers, and there are DIYers who have securely and successfully switched out their own springs.
This specific post is not a how-to on overhead door spring replacement. It is designed to acquaint you with garage door springs and a number of the repair and maintenance tasks you can carry out on your own.
Two Kinds Of Overhead door Springs
There are two different kinds of springs used in overhead door. Torsion springs are attached just above the closed overhead door, while extension springs are located over the top tracks on both sides.
Garage Door Springs and Your Basic safety
Overhead door springs are tightly wound, meaning they are under a lot of tension. Whenever they break, or when some naive DIYer attempts check here to tamper them, they can cause a whole lot of suffering. Sensible DIYers realize that this is one household task that is best left to the professional. (For recommendations on choosing a qualified garage door pro, see How To Find the Best Overhead door Installers and read more Repairmen). If your overhead door is worn out, or if ever it is showing signs of age, let an accomplished specialist evaluate your overhead door springs.
Apply some garage door lubricant to the springs and see if it makes any difference. For suggestions on the best lubricants to use on your garage door, check this site. For some additional advice on reducing the noise of your garage door, see How To Quiet a Noisy Garage Door.
Garage Door Safety Cables
The two types of garage door springs reviewed above work differently. A garage door using extension springs will have a safety cable on each side of the door running through the spring and connected to the wall or ceiling. These cables are an important safety feature. Extension springs are under a great deal of tension, and if one was to break, it could cause serious injury. Safety cables help control a broken spring.
If you have extension springs on your overhead door but can not see any safety cords, get in touch with a garage door expert and get a pair setuped.
Out of Balance Springs
The ideal sign of a well-functioning overhead door is that it opens up and closes smoothly and quietly. Try controling the overhead door by hand (pull the cord connected to the arm connecting the rail trolley system to the door). In the event that the door remains to be hard to operate, the problem could be that the springs are out of balance.
Garage Door Spring Brackets
Garage door springs are linked to joints on the bottom of the garage door. Just like the springs, these brackets are also under a lot of tension and can only be readjusted or otherwise serviced by a pro. Newer models of garage doors have tamper-resistant brackets that keep the unskilled but curious among us from getting into trouble.