Springs · Strathroy-Caradoc
Extension Spring Replacement
Open the door by hand and it drifts back down on its own, a little at first and then all at once.
In plain words
Extension springs are common on the detached garages behind older houses, where a low ceiling left no room for a torsion shaft, and those garages are rarely heated. Damp summers, hard frosts and salt carried in on the car pit the spring wire over the years, and a fatigued spring most often lets go on a cold morning when the steel is stiffest. Replacement fits a new pair rated for the door, renews the pulleys and cables that have rusted alongside them, adds containment cables where the original installation never had any, and leaves a door that lifts easily by hand when the power is out.
How the visit goesOne of the springs beside the track is hanging loose at the front end, its pulley dangling, and a length of cable lies slack along the top of the door. The door sits slightly crooked and the opener reverses whenever it tries to close.
Extension Spring Replacement
How the visit goes
Both springs, side by side
Even when only one spring has snapped, both are read closely. The technician looks for gaps opening between coils with the door up, which means the wire has stretched and lost its pull; rust pitting and scale, especially where the spring sits nearest the back wall; a spring hanging visibly longer or lower than its partner; and end loops that have opened or cracked. The two are compared for length, coil diameter and wire size, because springs of different ratings are sometimes found on the same door after a past repair. Whatever is found, the outcome is the same, a new matched pair, but the reading tells the technician what rating the door really needs.
Taking the old springs down
With the door open and clamped, each old spring is nearly slack, and removal is straightforward. The technician unhooks the lift cable from its S-hook or clip at the front, which lets the spring's pulley end drop free, then lifts the rear loop off the hanger. The old containment cable is unclipped from its anchors and pulled out of the coil. On a door with a broken spring, the two halves are gathered and the containment cable, if there was one, is inspected for the marks of having done its job. Everything that comes down is laid out on the floor so the old spring can be measured against its replacement and you can see the wear.
A clear threshold and an honest opener
Two habits protect the new springs from the shocks that shorten a spring's life. The first is the floor: a door that comes down on a bin, a bike wheel or a ridge of packed snow stops short while the springs and cables are still pulling, and the jolt can throw a cable off its pulley. Keep the opening clear and scrape the ice ridge off the threshold before running the door in winter. The second is the opener's force setting. It was set for the newly balanced door; if the door ever seems to need more push, that is the springs asking for attention, not a reason to turn the force up.
Extension Spring Replacement
In the van
Pulleys (sheaves) and forks
S-hooks and adjusting clips
Rear spring hangers and angle iron
Replacement rollers and hinges
Bottom brackets and clevis pins
Extension Spring Replacement
What affects the quote
One spring per side or two
Heavier doors sometimes carry a pair of springs on each side rather than one. Four springs, four containment cables and the extra setting time show as their own lines.
Weight added since the door went in
Insulation panels, windows or a wood overlay fitted after the original springs mean a heavier rating than the old pair. The door is weighed and the quote reflects the door as it is now.
Hangers and anchor points
A rear hanger that has loosened, a front bracket bent by a jumped cable, or framing that needs a new anchor point adds fasteners, angle iron and a little time.
What to have ready
- Is there a thin cable running through the middle of each spring?
- Is the door closed, fully open, or stuck partway?
- Is it a single or a double door, and what is it made of?
Extension Spring Replacement: questions
QuestionsWhat can I do to make the new springs last?
Three things. Spray the springs, pulley axles and hinges with a garage-door lubricant twice a year, which slows rust in an unheated garage. Keep the threshold clear of bins and packed snow so the door never stops short with the springs still pulling. And leave the opener's force setting where the technician put it, since a door that starts needing more push is a balance question rather than a dial to turn.
The door creeps open on its own. Is that a spring problem?
Usually, yes. A door that rises from the floor or from halfway without help has springs pulling harder than the door weighs, which happens when a heavier-rated pair was fitted, when the hooks were set with too much stretch, or when a door has been made lighter by a panel change. It also puts strain on the opener, which has to hold the door down. Weighing the door and fitting the correct rating, set evenly, settles it.
How long do extension springs last?
Springs are rated in cycles, one cycle being a full open and close, and a standard set is built for a number in the ten-thousand range. A door used four times a day gets through that in several years; a door used a few times a week takes far longer. An unheated, damp garage shortens the figure through rust. Regular lubrication and a door kept in balance stretch it out.
Related services
- Garage Door Hinge ReplacementWatching from inside as the door opens, you can see the gap between the second and third panels open up on one side as they turn the corner into the ceiling, then close again.
- Garage Door Track Repair or ReplacementThe horizontal rail toward the back of the garage sags noticeably.
- Garage Door Cable ReplacementSomeone left the snow shovel leaning in the opening and the door came down on it.