How to Replace Garage Door Springs

Much the same as other home mechanical and electrical equipment, garage door's need regular routine maintenance to keep them in peak working condition. To maintain your garagedoor in top form, you need to attend to lubricating and checking the spring system which is one of the most critical components of any door.

When troubleshooting garage door problems, pay particular attention to the most obvious culprit of all which are the torsion springs. If they are getting on a bit, they are likely to have worn out to a certain degree.

The torsion springs on garage door's are wound very tightly and kept under extremely high tension. However, with age and due to this high tension, even the best rated steel springs can and do break without notice. Because of this, garage door springs must be properly contained to prevent them from injuring a person or property in the event of sudden breakage.

Garages fitted with roll up shutter door's do not pose quite the same dangers as overhead systems since the spring is fitted over a shaft within an outer steel tube. In the event of the spring breaking, the inner shaft will retain it while the outer casing will prevent bits of steel from flying around the garage.

The springs on overhead garage doors should be installed in such a way that they are contained inside cables or other protective devices. Even if they are contained and you have an older garagedoor, it is advisable to have them regularly inspected by a professional installer.

If the door is of the type that has two separate springs, and only one of them has broken, it makes sense to replace both at the same time. You can more or less guarantee that if one has failed, the other one won't be far behind it. As well as that, a new spring will have different tension characteristics to an older worn one.

You may have a garagedoor where the springs make a chattering noise or perhaps squeak loudly when the door is raised or lowered. This does not necessarily mean that the springs are faulty and need replacing. The problem is quite often caused by lack of regular maintenance and can be cured by spraying on some lubricant, such as WD-40, or something similar. Check the user manual for tips and instructions on how to maintain the various components of the door. Alternatively, go to the manufacturers website where you can often find useful tips on solving problems with individual doors.

If you notice any frayed or worn strips of cable hanging loose, this is a sure sign that your garage door needs maintenance. Regardless of the quality of your garagedoor, fraying like this is a warning that the cables are about to break. Whatever you do, don't ignore this as a sudden break in the cables could result in serious injury.

These frayed cables need to be inspected and more than likely replaced by a professional service engineer who is familiar with the problems associated with springs and breaking cables.

If you think about it, the garage door is probably the largest moving part of your house and it is also the part that is used most frequently, possibly at least twice each day. In view of that type of usage, it is advisable to have a professional garage door engineer to inspect these important components of your home at least once every year. Doing so will avoid the potential for injury and problems caused by faulty tortion springs. Inspection, maintenance, and troubleshooting garage door problems will ensure that the door lasts longer and gives reliable service in the future.

To sum up, when the time comes that your garage door starts giving problems, the springs are probably the most likely feature to be wearing out and needing replacement. When in doubt, have a qualified service engineer take a look at your garage door springs, especially if they are getting old and have them replaced if necessary.