One of the most common reasons as to why your garage door is not functioning as it should is broken or defective garage door springs.
A broken garage door torsion spring can lead to a lot of problems – unbalanced garage doors, noisy garage doors, slow opening or closing of garage doors, etc.
This just goes to show how important garage door springs are to the overall functionality of your garage doors.
Normally, when the garage door spring breaks down, you would contact your local repair company for repair services however, if you want to save some cash, you can try to do it yourself.
Heads-up though, replacing your garage door’s spring by yourself can be risky if done improperly so make sure you follow the procedures well and to the point.
If you are one of the few who wish to have an idea hot to replace torsion springs, then we are here to answer your question for you.
Keep reading onwards to find out exactly how to repair a broken garage door torsion spring and some of the things you need to know to guide you along the way.
Why do garage door torsion springs breakdown?
Before going to the hows, let us first answer the whys. Why exactly do garage door springs break down?
Well, there are a number of reasons for it but below are the most common ones.
#1 Wearing out due to old age
On top of the list of all possible reasons as to why your springs break down is due to wearing out because of old age.
Over time, as you keep using your garage door every day, your springs will be exposed to a lot of stresses and sooner it will eventually reach its breaking point.
After all, all things have their dedicated expected life spans and your garage door torsion spring is no exception to that. No matter how you take good care of it, the time will come that your spring will eventually give in.
#2 Low Quality
Another possible cause would be the quality of your installed springs.
Sometimes we tend to prefer cheaper materials and as such, in return for the low price, they tend to break down faster than more expensive parts.
I am not saying to always go for expensive components as we all have our respective budgets however, make sure to check the quality of the spring you are using.
Make sure that even if it is cheaper than its competition, the quality is on par with the rest that is available in the market.
After all, spending on cheaper springs will only result in you spending more as they break down more often.
#3 Exposure to rust
Since these torsion springs are still made of metal or iron, it is possible that it is still prone to rust.
Having rusted springs will make your garage door operations more inefficient than normal.
When they are exposed to rust, they tend to break apart easily.
However, you can prevent this by lubricating your springs constantly so that no moisture can form around your spring.
#4 Lack of Maintenance
Last but not the least, your garage door springs may be breaking down due to the lack of maintenance.
Maintenance can go a long way in making sure that the lifespan of the components of your garage door is prolonged.
Therefore, the absence of it can speed up the wearing process.
When your garage door’s spring is not well taken care of, it will break down more easily than others.
How to repair a broken garage door torsion spring
Now let us go to the most awaited part. How do you fix your broken torsion springs?
To prevent future misunderstandings, rather than fixing the springs, I think the word to be used should be replaced.
It is after all better to replace the broken springs rather than attempt to fix them only to break down sooner.
Fixing your broken garage door spring can be summarized into three simple steps – measuring your broken spring’s specifications, acquiring a replacement spring, and the actual replacement procedure.
Measuring your previous spring’s specifications is done so that you do not purchase a spring that is not a perfect fit for your existing garage door.
Tendencies are if you install a spring not compatible with your garage door, it will only burden your door’s other components resulting in them breaking down faster due to heavy stress.
Thus this procedure must be done diligently. To help you guide on how and what exactly you need to measure and know from your old spring, you can check this video out.
After having your overhead garage door’s torsion spring specifications, you may now proceed to purchase a replacement spring.
Replacement springs can be purchased at your local hardware stores or online using different outlet providers.
Just make sure that you buy the correct torsion spring replacement for your garage door.
After buying the replacement torsion spring, you may now proceed to install the new torsion spring.
Now, remember that this entire process can be dangerous if not done properly so make sure to be attentive and to follow the different steps diligently.
To guide you on your task, you may check this video below on how to install your replacement spring.
Conclusion
A broken garage door torsion spring is never a good thing so knowing how to fix it in case you need to is always a good idea.
However, if you live in Calgary and are looking for a garage door repair company near you to help you with your garage door spring replacement, then Kald Gart Doors will always be available for you.
We are available and can provide 24/7 garage door repair services. No matter the time of the day, we will be at your beck and call.
You may contact us at 587-316-9739. Do not worry; we can certainly reach your expectations.
