Is Your Garage Door Due For New Springs?

Posted on: 22 January 2021

When you open or close your garage door, it relies on help from high-tension springs on either side to help it move smoothly. Garage door springs also play an important role in making your garage door easier to open and close manually if your door motor stops working. Still, garage door springs are not designed to last forever — so there's a good chance you'll need to replace them at some point.

How Long Do Garage Door Springs Last?

When you buy garage door springs, you'll see that they're rated to last for a certain number of cycles. This rating simply refers to the number of times your garage door can be opened or closed before the spring will likely fail. Most commonly, you'll see residential garage door springs that are rated for 10,000 cycles. However, if you're willing to shell out some extra money, you can find springs designed to last closer to 50,000 cycles.

How well you care for your garage door can also affect the lifespan of its springs. With proper lubrication and maintenance, you may be able to extend the life of your garage door springs.

Signs You Have a Bad Garage Door Spring

It's typically pretty easy to tell when you're dealing with a bad garage door spring. When a spring fails, it will usually make a loud banging noise. From there, you may find that your garage door will not open and/or close. Even if the door will still open and close, it may make a lot of noise during operation. You might also find that the door is lopsided when it opens and closes, which is usually a sign that the spring on one side has gone bad while the other side's spring is still intact.

Can You DIY Your Garage Door Spring Replacement?

As tempting as it may be to save yourself some money and replace your own garage door springs, it's always recommended to you leave this type of project up to a garage door repair professional. These large springs must be installed at very high tension, and all it takes is one slip or mistake to possibly cause a serious injury. Typically, you can expect to spend around $250 to have a professional replace a single spring, though this can vary based on where you live and the type of spring you select.

Dealing with garage door spring failure can be a pain, but the good news is that spring replacement is relatively inexpensive. Any local garage door service should be able to assist you with this.

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