What Causes Garage Door Springs to Break or Go Bad?

A close-up of a man's hand reaching up to a garage spring.

If you’ve ever dealt with your garage door springs breaking seemingly out of nowhere, you already know how much chaos broken ones can cause. Suddenly, your garage door goes from useful to useless, all because of a tiny little spring breaking. What could be happening, and what should you do about it?

There are countless reasons why your garage door springs might have broken, but there are a few that stand out as the most common. While you wait for repair experts to show up, take some time to read more about these all-too-frequent problems!

Excessive Stress

Your door is literally designed to open and close, but too much opening and closing can result in problems. Many types of residential doors are designed with extension springs, which aren’t built for the same kind of long-term, heavy-duty usage as torsion springs (typically installed on commercial door systems). Follow these steps to avoid putting extra strain on your springs:

  • Never hang anything from or lean against your garage door.
  • Always check for obstacles before you open or close the door.
  • Make sure every member of your household opens the garage door responsibly. That means that children should not be goofing around by repeatedly opening and closing the door. Horsing around with the garage door doesn’t just wear out your springs; it also poses a real threat to safety, so it’s best to forbid it altogether.
  • Don’t buy suspiciously cheap or poorly-made parts when it’s time for spring replacement. Invest in high-quality springs that will last a long time.
  • Take care if and when you open your garage door manually. If the door feels stuck, call experts for help rather than potentially pulling the door out of alignment and damaging your springs.

Old Age

Garage door springs undergo significant wear and tear throughout the door’s lifespan. Your springs might have broken because they have exceeded their recommended service cycle. Many springs are rated for 10,000 cycles (opens and closes), and while that might sound like a lot, you’d be surprised by how often you really open your door as the years go by!

Unfortunately, a spring’s life cycle isn’t as long as the lifespan of the door, so you will probably need to replace your garage door springs at least once every few years. If a spring is broken on one side, garage door technicians will usually recommend repairing or replacing both sides so that the door is evenly balanced. 

Other Door Problems

Sometimes, your springs are in fine shape, but something else going on with your garage door pushes them over the edge, and they wind up breaking. Here are a few seemingly unrelated issues that can break garage door springs:

  • Inefficient or failing garage door opener system.
  • Broken garage door track.
  • Damaged garage door panels. (Dealing with panel damage? Check out our garage door refacing panels!)

Lack of Maintenance

If you notice an issue with your springs but skip out on booking overhead garage spring repair, you’re making a big mistake that might come back to haunt you. Poor maintenance is another common reason that springs break. It’s essential to have professionals perform proper maintenance at least once per year on your door, so your springs can remain strong and effective. Between maintenance appointments, if you see something that doesn’t look right, call for repair services right away. Even if you’re desperate, please don’t try any DIY garage door spring projects. It can be dangerous or even deadly to attempt to repair springs by yourself.

Contact Our Team Today!

If your garage door springs have stopped working, don’t risk the safety of people and property in your home. Book service with Eco Overhead Garage Doors! Reach out to us today and schedule an appointment, and our friendly technicians will come out to your home ASAP to repair or replace your springs. We’ll speak with you soon!