Identifying Garage Door Spring Issues

Garage door springs are the main component that allows a garage door to function smoothly. A very heavy door can seem weightless with high quality strong springs. For that reason, you want to make sure that you identify garage door spring issues in a timely manner so that a faulty spring does not cause additional damage to your garage door. Once a spring issue is identified, you can save money and time by fixing the problem in a timely fashion.

Some garage door spring issues can easily be fixed at home. However, even if you do not want to fix it yourself, it is good to be familiar with the process of identifying faulty springs so that if there is a problem, you can contact a professional who will be able to tackle it efficiently and quickly.

Know Your Springs

If you do choose to identify spring issues yourself, it is important to be familiar with the different kinds of garage door springs. A garage door spring helps with torsion and helps in lifting the weight of the heaviest of garage doors. Torsion springs are heavy-duty and sturdy springs that last long, which is why they are used for heavier doors and are usually installed on a wall above a garage door. Extension springs are usually used for overhead garage doors and provide movement through expansion and contraction. Extension springs need to be inspected more often since they do not last as long as torsion springs.

If you are having trouble with opening your garage door, it means that you might have a garage door spring issue. The opener itself may seem to be the problem but the springs might be the root cause. You might be able to open your garage door but you may notice that it opens at an angle or gets stuck while opening. If your springs have cables attached to them, this might mean that the torsion spring has broken. For that, you will need to inspect all the torsion springs to identify the broken spring. If you feel that a professional inspection is necessary, contact a garage door service sooner rather than later.

If you find that the spring was not the problem, you may still want to inspect the springs. The springs are a major component in the operation of a garage door, and if one component of the garage door is not working properly, it may strain other components of the door, increasing the probability of damage to the springs. Inspect each spring thoroughly and look for wear and tear. It is relatively simple to detect a spring that does not work anymore, and also look over the length of the spring. If the spring seems to be longer than its original size, with gaps between the coils, those springs may be deteriorating. They have lost their torsion and put additional pressure on the other springs.

Try Manually Opening the Door

Another way to detect spring issues is by opening the door manually. You can do this by disabling the automatic garage door opener after closing the garage door. Then, manually lift open the garage door. If it opens smoothly without requiring much effort and stays open, the springs are functioning well. If you had to lift it with a lot of weight or it did not remain open after you manually lifted it, you might have faulty spring issues. Take a look to identify whether or not the springs are causing the problem.

Safety tests are also a good way to determine whether or not you have faulty garage door springs. Open the garage door, and then use the button on the wall or your automatic garage door opener to close it. Put an object like a branch in the way of the garage door and wait for it to close. If there are no issues with the safety feature or the springs of the garage door, the door should automatically stop on contact with said object. If it continues to close, move the object out of the way instantly. This is an indication of the fact that your garage door safety mechanism is malfunctioning and, usually, faulty springs in the garage door are the cause of that.

Inspect each spring in the door to look for ones that might have snapped. It is usually easy to detect them because your door will not work properly if even one spring has snapped. A snapped spring is easy to spot since there will most likely be a big gap in the spring. The easiest way to check for a snapped spring is if you actually heard a loud snap while operating your garage door. That would most likely mean that a torsion spring has broken, which a quick inspection will confirm. Make sure to inspect the springs of your garage door regularly so that you can immediately remove them and install new ones.

Regular inspection and maintenance is important for garage doors since any unchecked problems can end up causing even more damage. If you want to maintain your garage door springs and make sure that they do not break prematurely, lubricate the springs twice a year. If you have seen a broken spring but do not want to take the risk of testing it or fixing it, contact a garage door specialist as soon as you can to avoid further damage. If you have never dealt with garage door spring issues before, it would be advised that you do not attempt to take matters into your own hands. It is best that you contact a licensed professional and then ask for advice on how to deal with such problems in the future.

The slightest issues in your garage door should be addressed as soon as possible. If you overlook the maintenance and repair on time, in extreme scenarios, your garage door can break and cause a lot of damage. Therefore, it is best to ask for advice and hire a professional who will have a ready solution for any garage door spring issues that you may have.