You’d be surprised just how many people don’t know where their garage door springs are located, or what exactly they do. As long as the garage door opens and closes as it should; that is all that they seem to care about. It’s when they start experiencing spring issues that people get concerned. HR Garage Door Repair decided to make this post to help local residents become better informed about their springs. Read this page and you’ll know more about garage door spring problems and their solutions than most other local Highlands Ranch, CO residents.
What your springs do
If you ask folks on the street what opens their garage door they will usually say “the opener” and they would partially right. We are so used to coming home and pushing the remote button to open our garages. In reality, it’s our springs that do the heavy lifting and lowering of these massive doors. Garage door springs come in two main varieties. Extension springs are the older version and are located on either side of your garage door. They run parallel to your horizontal tracks. They contain more parts than torsion springs and tend to wear out sooner. They are also more dangerous than torsion springs. If you’ve heard of people being hurt or even killed by their garage door springs it was most likely their extension springs as these have been known to fly off with tremendous speed when they break. Their force and power can even propel them through a car windshield. Yikes!
Torsion springs are newer and have fewer parts. Good thing, too. You know what they say about fewer parts; fewer things that can go wrong. These are located above the garage door and they differ from extension springs in that they turn and don’t fully expand like their extension counterparts. They are a little more expensive to buy than extension springs but they last up to 20, 000 cycles instead of the usual 10,000 for extension springs.
Can I replace my own springs?
Probably not; springs can be tricky to install correctly and safely. While you don’t need a PHD in garage door mechanics to do this job, some experience, training and tools would help. 99% of most people lack this and that’s why our Highlands Ranch, CO garage door repair pros advise against it. Besides, how much is your time worth? Do you really want to spend hours trying to learn how to remove your damaged springs and then install new ones? Are you willing to risk warranty voidance, property damage AND bodily injury just to save a dollar or two? Proper torsion or extension spring repair doesn’t have to be expensive or a hassle. All you need is access to the right Highlands Ranch, CO repair shop that specializes in spring service. Of course you are always welcome to call HR Garage Door Repair but there are dozens of garage door specialty shops throughout the Denver metro area that can help you get your home or business garage door springs installed, repaired, replaced or serviced.
How do I know if the problem is my springs?
Our Highlands Ranch, CO garage door experts get asked this question a lot. People want to know how to identify spring issues and distinguish them from opener problems or something else that might go wrong. Try this test. If you suspect that your garage door springs are not working correctly, and you’ve already eliminated your remote as the culprit, try pulling down on the emergency release and disconnecting your garage door from the opener system. Of course you’ll want the garage door to be in the DOWN position first. If you are not quite sure how to do this, there are dozens of helpful videos on YouTube that can show you how, step by step.
Now try raising your garage door manually and notice how difficult or smooth the ascent of your door is. A smooth manual lift usually indicates that your springs are in good shape. Conversely a jagged or difficult manual lift usually indicates some spring damage or at least that one of them is off balance.
Symptoms of spring issues
You may not need to try the above test. Often times, there are sure-fire signs that you are having garage door spring issues. See if any of these indicators apply to your situation.
Did you notice that your closed garage door looks tilted to one side?
Did you try and raise your garage door but it only went up about half a foot and then it stopped?
Did you tap the opener button inside the garage in an attempt to lift the door and nothing happened? Is your car trapped inside the garage now?
Did you notice your garage door lifting very slowly and then all of a sudden it got back to normal and started to rise rapidly?
Did you hear a very loud snap or bang sound in your garage? Did you check and nothing seemed out of place or wrong until you tried using your garage door?
Does your garage door seem crooked or lopsided when moving up or down?
When your garage door rises, does it seem like one side is doing all the pulling, and the other is just hanging on?
Fix garage door spring issues early!
If your Highlands Ranch, CO garage door springs are having issues, you’ll need to have them serviced early on. Spring damage is one of those things where the longer you wait, the worse the problem gets. Our advice is to call in the pros. There are dozens of expert garage door repair shops in the metro area (including ours) and most offer same day service, mobile convenience and even 24-hour emergency help. Prices for spring repair, installation or replacement can vary so it’s best to shop around and get free price quotes. Remember; don’t let your spring damage continue while you hunt for that perfect garage door repair shop. You need your garage door to work AND be safe and the best way to do that is do have a good set of correctly working garage door springs!
Aricle source here: IDENTIFYING GARAGE DOOR SPRING ISSUES
