If you are like most home owners, you most likely have paid very little attention to your garage door springs. There's actually no other part on your garage door and overhead door opener that is as important to the raising and closing of the garage door. Here's another: Garage door springs are hazardous!
If you are having problem with your overhead door, it can be a result of some issue with the springs. Garage door springs do break, and they can be changed. There are dealers out there who offer replacement springs to DIYers, and there are DIYers who have correctly and successfully replaced their own springs.
This article is not a how-to on garage door spring replacement. It is aimed to familiarise you with overhead door springs and a couple of the maintenance duties you can execute on your own.
Two Kinds Of Overhead door Springs
There are two various types of springs used on garage doors. Torsion springs are connected just above the closed down overhead door, while extension springs are located over the top tracks on both of these edges.
Garage Door Springs and Your Safety
Garage door springs are tightly wound, meaning they are under a lot of tension. Whenever they break, or when some naive DIYer attempts to tamper them, they are able to induce a great deal of suffering. Wise DIYers know that this is one household task that is best left to the professional. (For suggestions on getting a trained garage door expert, see How To Find the very best Garage Door Installers and Repairmen). If your garage door is old, or in case it is showing indications of aging, allow an accomplished expert evaluate your overhead door springs.
Utilize some garage door lubricant to the springs and watch if it makes garage door repair okotoks any impact. For recommendations 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.
Overhead door Safety Cables
The two types of overhead door springs reviewed above work differently. A garage door with extension springs will have a safety cable on each side of the door running through the spring and attached to the wall or ceiling. These cords are an important safety element. Extension springs are under a lot of tension, and if one was to bust, it might inflict major injury. Safety cables help control a broken spring.
In the case that you have extension springs on your overhead door but can not identify any safety cables, call a garage door pro and get a pair setuped.
Out of Balance Springs
The ideal sign of a well-functioning garage door is that it opens and closes down easily and silently. Try operating the overhead door by hand (pull the cord attached to the arm attaching the rail trolley unit to the door). In case the door keeps on to be challenging to operate, the problem might be that the springs are out of balance.
Overhead door Spring Brackets
Garage door springs are connected to brackets on the bottom of the garage door. Similar to the springs, those brackets are also under a lot of tension and should only be readjusted or otherwise serviced by a pro. Newer models of overhead door have tamper-resistant brackets that keep the newbie yet curious among us from getting into trouble.