Broken garage door springs? Here’s why.
Broken garage door springs are a common problem, that’s for sure. But
often, homeowners cannot pinpoint where exactly they went wrong. With
broken torsion springs, your garage door won’t function as it is supposed
to and this can be really inconvenient.
Repairing broke garage door springs calls for professional expertise. It
would, however, be great to know what went wrong. This will help you avoid
the same in future.
Broken garage door springs can be as a result of a number of things. Here
are the most common ones.
Wear and tear
This is by far the most common reason for broken torsion springs. The
garage door is one of the most used devices in your home. Constant use is
bound to take a toll on the various parts that enable it to move. The
torsion springs come with a specified lifespan but that all depends on how
many times you and your family use the garage door. The weight of your
garage door also puts a certain pressure on the springs and with time, they
could give way to it.
Poor maintenance
Proper maintenance could have your garage door last for a couple more years
than the specified time. However, most homeowners tend to ignore the
maintenance of the garage door. Maintaining your garage door by, for
example, constantly lubricating the torsion springs will lengthen their
lifespan. Other than that, you need to ensure that your door is always
balanced. To do so, manually open the garage door and release it halfway.
If your springs are in good condition, the door will stay still. If the
door sags a bit, then it may be time to get some new springs.
Rust
Rust on the springs will certainly lead to their failure. Rust causes
friction on the coils and eventually corrodes the coil and weakens the
springs. However, there is some good news. Rust is very easily preventable.
All you have to do is spray some lubricant on the springs every three to
four months. This not only lubricates the coil but also prevents rust from
building up.
Improper installation
Garage doors are manufactured in such a way that each door has a specific
spring engineered to operate the door. If the springs installed are not a
match, then this means that they are more likely to break down and cause
failure. Ensure that when installing, the correct spring length and wire
size are used.
Ill-advised cost saving
Garage doors usually use two torsion springs, one on each side. However, in
order to cut costs, some builders will use one long torsion spring across
the entire door. While this may work for small and light garage doors, the
spring may not support a heavy garage door properly. A single spring
working to support a heavy garage door will not last long. It will
eventually lead to failure and may end up causing some heavy damage.
Although garage door springs are bound to beak at some point, some simple
maintenance routine practics should increase their lifespan. Remember that
in case of broken springs, you will have to call a certified garage door repair
company, rather than attempt to fix the problem yourself.
