Unfortunately, nothing is immune to the passage of time, not even garage door springs. If your garage door is more than 5 years old and you've noticed that it seems a little ‘off' lately the problem could be that the springs need adjustment, or that you're dealing with broken garage door springs. In this post, we're going to go over some of the signs that indicate it's time to call our Arvada garage door service team and arrange to have the springs looked at.

Signs You Need To Call the Overhead Door Company About Your Springs

Garage door springs are extremely tough and durable but like anything else, they will lose their mojo over time and eventually reach the point where they'll need adjustment or, if we're talking about broken garage door springs, replacement. That's the bad news.

The good news is that as the springs on your garage door start to lose their integrity they will give off warning signs. If you know what to look for you can have the team at Well Hung Garage Doors intervene and correct the situation before it gets out of hand.

That said, here are the things to watch for that indicate your garage door springs need attention:

• The door opens awkwardly - If the door stutters and shakes as it's opening it may be a sign that one of the springs has become loose, or may even be broken. The vast majority of contemporary garage doors use 2 torsion or extension springs, one for each side of the door. If one of them is failing or has failed that side of the door will lag behind the other causing the aforementioned stuttering and shaking.
• The door is making grinding or squeaking sounds as it opens - A garage door that is properly balanced with 2 springs in good working order should move up and down the tracks quietly. If, however, one of the springs is compromised, unequal force will be applied to the door as it opens and the rollers will wind up being dragged through one of the tracks. This will cause a squeaking or grinding sound.
• One side of the door doesn't close all the way - When the door is closed it should be flush with the ground all the way across the bottom. If you notice the door is uneven when it closes, with one side a couple of inches or so off the ground, that normally indicates you have a problem with the spring on that side of the door. There is also a chance that the problem is track-related. In either case, you need to have the door looked at by professionals.
• The door opens very slowly - A lot of older garage doors were designed to rely on a single huge torsion spring. If that spring is worn or loose, it can cause the whole door to open slowly. Remember, the motor is only there to start and regulate the movement of the door. The heavy lifting is done by the springs. So if your door relies on a single spring, and that spring is worn down, the door may open in slow motion.
• The door won't open - There are a number of reasons why a door won't open or won't open all the way. One of the possible reasons is that your springs are loose or a spring is broken. If you hit the "open" button on the remote and nothing at all happens (no sound, zero movement) it's likely a problem with the power source, or dead batteries in the remote. But if you hit "open" and the motor engages and the door raises a bit before shutting down it may be you have a loose or broken spring.

To this point, we have mentioned the possibility of broken garage door springs several times. This is something you need to be aware of because springs breaking can be a very dangerous situation. If you hear a loud snap while the door is in use and the motion of the door changes it usually means a spring has snapped. Do not attempt to fix this situation yourself. Many people have sustained serious injuries and more than a few die each year working on garage door springs. If you are having problems of any kind with the springs call the garage door installation pros.

The Different Kinds of Springs

There are two main types of springs used on overhead doors in Arvada: extension springs and torsion springs. Let's take a quick look at both.

Extension springs

Extension springs run parallel to the tracks in the ceiling. They are so-called because they extend as the door closes. This process of extension causes enormous amounts of energy to become stored in the spring, and when you hit the "open" button on the remote that energy is released, the spring contracts, and the door is pulled open.

Torsion springs

Torsion springs sit on the wall above the closed door, parallel to the door. Rather than extending and contracting like extension springs, torsion springs uncoil just a bit as the door closes. When you hit the "open" button on the remote all the stored energy is put to work lifting the door.

The Overhead Door Experts in Arvada

Regardless of what type of problem you're having with your overhead garage door the team at Well Hung Garage Doors can help. Give us a call at (303) 422-0232 today!