If your garage doors are not moving at all even when you try to open them, then most likely there is something wrong with your garage door torsion springs.
This is because broken springs are one of the most common reasons why your doors are not working at all.
When your garage door torsion spring breaks on you, it can result in a lot of other problems aside from being not able to open your garage doors at all.
If left unattended, it may even end up damaging other components of your garage door.
If you find yourself stuck in a situation like this, you can do one thing or the other.
You can either attempt to have your broken garage door spring replaced by yourself or ask for assistance from a garage door repair company near you.
Just keep in mind that if you decide to do the task by yourself, always follow properly the procedures and all the safety precautions included so as to make sure that you remain safe all the time.
This being said, if you have already made up your mind on dealing with your broken garage door spring by yourself, then here are some instructions on how to repair a broken garage door torsion spring.
Garage door torsion springs – everything you need to know
In general, your garage door torsion springs are what makes it possible for your overhead garage door to open and close.
Without these, your garage door will be very difficult to open, even manually.
Garage door torsion springs serve as counterweights that balance your garage door’s own weight allowing your door not only to open and close but as well as giving it the ability to stay in place once opened.
Without torsion springs, you will need some other way to support your garage doors in order to keep them open.
Torsion springs are usually made to easily survive 10,000 open and close cycles which convert to approximately 7 years’ worth of usage before it wears out and breaks down.
However, that maybe, because of a lot of uncontrollable factors that your garage door is exposed to, this expected life span may not be realized.
Why do torsion springs break?
Now that we know what torsion springs are, let us proceed with understanding why exactly they break.
By doing this, we may be able to prolong their lifespans and prevent them from breaking right away.
Garage door torsion springs can break down due to a lot of different reasons, however, here are some of the most common ones.
Wear and Tear
Wear and tear causes your garage doors to break down and there is nothing much you can do about it.
After all, things wear down eventually as time progresses.
The more you use your garage door’s torsion springs, the more they are subjected to a lot of stress and tension resulting in them breaking down eventually.
There is no best way to prevent this problem from happening altogether however you may be able to delay this from happening if you take good care of your garage doors and attend to their needs more.
If your spring is worn out or has already broken down, make sure to have it replaced right away before it can do any more damage.
Exposure to rust
Another factor that causes your springs to break down is the formation of rust on your spring’s surface.
Rust forms when metals or alloys are exposed to moisture, which happens a lot especially during the cold season.
When rust starts to form on your springs, if left unattended, they cause your springs to go brittle and affect their performance significantly.
Once rust has successfully corroded your spring, with the help of all the tension and stress your spring holds, it causes the spring to eventually snap during operation which can be a very bad thing.
Fortunately, the formation of rust can be prevented as long as you make sure to regularly lubricate your garage door’s springs.
Doing so will remove all chances of moist gathering on your spring which in result decreases the probability of rust forming on your spring’s surface.
Poor Maintenance
Lastly, springs break due to the lack or the poor maintenance being done for your garage doors.
When doing maintenance on your garage doors, you need to have patience, time, and perseverance.
After all, maintenance can go a long way if you want your garage doors to last longer than it already has.
However, sometimes, we tend to relax and take the activity for granted due to its simplicity in nature.
Doing these can do more harm than good as it not only wastes your time, it also does not keep your garage doors protected.
If you are doing maintenance on your garage doors, always make sure to do it properly and diligently.
How To Repair A Broken Garage Door Torsion Spring
Now that we have a greater understanding of torsion springs, it is now time to move to the main topic at hand — how do you repair broken garage door torsion springs?
Now, before we proceed, allow us to remind you again one last time how dangerous replacing your garage door springs if not done properly.
It can potentially lead to accidents and injuries so make sure you follow all the safety procedures and the steps accordingly.
As long as you keep this in mind, then you should do just fine.
Before doing any repairs, make sure that you have the following tools and equipment:
- Vise grips and clamps
- Ladder
- Replacement springs
- Winding bars
- Wrench set or an adjustable wrench
Once you have secured the following tools and made them available for use, you may now proceed to replace your broken torsion springs.
To repair your garage door spring, make sure you follow the safety procedures below first and foremost:
- Close your garage doors completely
- Unplug and disconnect your openers from your garage door
- Secure your door by putting clamps in place to make sure that the door does not accidentally open on you
Once you are done with these, you may now proceed to check the video below to guide you on the actual replacement process of your broken garage door springs.
Conclusion
Broken garage door springs will always be bad news to anyone.
The more you leave it unattended, the more problems you end up having, so if you find yourself in a situation like this, make sure to deal with it right away.
If you are looking for a garage door repair company in Edmonton that can help you out with your garage door spring replacement needs, then you can come to Legion Garage Doors and ask for assistance.
Here at Legion Garage Doors, we will always be ready to help you out any way we can.
Aside from spring replacement and other repair services, we also offer other services such as garage door installation and maintenance services.
What are you waiting for?
Pick up that phone now and contact us to know more about the different rates and services we offer.
