Garage Door Spring Replacement in Lubbock

How to tell a garage door spring has broken, why replacing it is a job for a trained technician, and published spring replacement prices.

The springs, not the opener, do the heavy lifting: they balance the weight of the door so it can be raised. Torsion springs usually sit on a bar above the top of the opening; extension springs usually run alongside the overhead tracks. DASMA warns that springs and spring hardware are under high tension and that serious injury or death may occur, and says a door with a broken spring should not be operated until the spring is replaced.

A spring often breaks with a loud bang while nobody is touching the door. Afterwards, look from a safe distance. With the door down, a broken torsion spring usually shows a gap of a couple of inches between coils, according to one door company. An opener that lifts the door a few inches and then quits, or a door that suddenly feels far too heavy, can point the same way. Chamberlain warns that a door with weak or broken springs may drop fast and without warning.

How long a spring lasts depends on how often the door runs. A seller of springs says standard residential torsion springs are commonly built for about 10,000 cycles (one up and one down), and calls that an estimate, not a promise. A household that runs the door three times a day would reach that in about nine years. When you get a quote, ask what cycle rating the new springs have, and whether the shop puts any guarantee in writing.

If your door has two springs and only one broke, ask whether the quote covers one spring or both. Once new springs are on, Chamberlain says to run the opener's safety reversal test again.

Common jobs

• Torsion spring replacement, one or both
• Extension spring replacement
• Safety cables for extension springs
• Balancing the door after spring work

Have this ready when you call

• Whether the door is up or down, and whether a car is shut inside
• One-car or two-car door, and whether you can see one spring or two
• Whether the springs are above the opening or along the tracks
• Your street or town

Common questions