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What is the single most important part of your garage door? The springs. Most people don’t think much about garage door springs but they are the workhorses of the garage door system. The tension on the spring system as the springs twist on the door shaft make raising and lowering the garage door easier. There are two styles of springs used with garage doors:
Most garage doors nowadays have torsion springs. If you start having problems with your garage door and you have ruled out problems with the remote garage door opener, it could be because of some problem with the garage door springs. You want to be on the look out for issues with your garage door springs because
the last thing you want is to have your car stuck in the garage when you are trying to get to work.
Signsthatyouhave need to have the torsion spring replaced:
Garage door springs work based on tension. If you don’t have a complete understanding of how garage door springs operate, you could be exposing yourself to injury or even death if you try to replace the part or spring yourself.
How do Torsion Springs work?
Residential garage doors usually use one or two standard garage door torsion springs. Torsion springs are located above the middle of your door with springs slid onto a metal bar or shaft.
Torsion springs balance the garage door by applying tension to the metal shaft, which has cable drums at each end. The drums have cables attached that extend to and are secured to the bottom of the door. As the torsion springs the wind and unwind, the door closes or opens.
The average lifecycle of a torsion spring is 5-7 years. Over the lifecycle of the torsion spring, elements such as rust and cold weather can cause the steel the springs are made of to weaken making them less effective.
There is no one torsion spring fits all. Garage doors come in all sizes and weights so the correct springs are needed in order for the door to balance properly. The wrong type of torsion spring can cause damage to your garage door. Since a new garage door can cost in the thousands, you are better off trusting an expert to install the correct springs.
Things to consider when having the torsion spring replaced
If your torsion spring system consists of two torsion springs when one spring breaks the other spring will probably not be far behind it. The second spring is usually required for heavier doors and is an emergency stopgap to keep the garage door from crashing to the floor if the first spring breaks. You should probably have both springs replaced at the same time. It is not a safe practice to rely on the second spring to do the work of opening and closing the garage door by itself for very long. That puts too much strain on the garage door opener.
Sometimes the failure of the torsion spring is just a symptom of a larger problem with the garage door. Generally, all of the mechanical parts and hardware are installed at the same time the garage door is installed. Your door could have mechanical parts or hardware that is unsafe. Ask for an inspection of all of the hardware and moving parts at the same time that the torsion spring is being replaced to make sure they meet safety standards.
Repairing or replacing torsion springs is a dangerous job that involves precise tools and parts, exact knowledge of the mechanics of the torsion spring system and training. Rather than try to handle a replacement or repair by yourself, you should trust this type of job to a garage door professional.
Sarasota Garage Door
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