Assuming that you are just like most people, you probably have paid very little attention to your overhead door springs. While easy to understand, this mistake is also a bit not fair. There's honestly no single part in your garage door and overhead door opener that is more crucial to the raising and closing of the door. That's one good reason for giving some respect to the springs. Here's one more: Garage door springs are life-threatening! Very hazardous, in fact. Do yourself a favor and read through Garage Door Safety Tips before considering repairs or replacements.
In the event that you are having issue with your garage door, it might be due to some issue with the springs. Overhead door springs do break, and they can be switched out. There are companies out there who offer replacement springs to DIYers, and there are DIYers who have safely and successfully switched out their own springs.
This post is not a how-to on overhead door spring replacement. It is meant to familiarise you with garage door springs and a number of the maintenance duties you may carry out on your own.
Two Types of Garage Door Springs
There are two various types of springs used in overhead door. Torsion springs are connected right above the closed garage door, while extension springs are located over the upper tracks on both of these edges.
Garage Door Springs and Your Basic safety
(For recommendations on finding a trained overhead door pro, see How To Find the Best Overhead door Installers and Repairmen). In the event that website your garage door is worn out, or if ever it is showing signs of age, let an experienced specialist evaluate your garage door springs.
Apply some garage door lubricant to the springs and see if it makes any impact. For recommendations on the best lubricating substances to apply on your garage door, check this site. For some extra recommendations on minimizing the noise of your overhead door, see How To Quiet a Noisy Garage Door.
Garage Door Safety Cables
The two kinds of overhead door springs reviewed above work in different ways. A garage door with extension springs will have a safety cable on each side of the door running through the spring and affixed to the wall or ceiling.
Contact a garage door professional and get a pair mounted in case you have extension springs on your garage door but can not see any safety cords.
Out of Balance Springs
The very best sign of a well-functioning overhead door is that it opens and closes smoothly and quietly. The issue can be significant when it quits operating as it should. Try controling the garage door by hand (pull the cord connected to the arm linking the rail trolley system to the door). If the door continues to be difficult to operate, the problem could be that the springs are out of balance. In this situation, you can be positive that the issue isn't going to fix itself. And failing to repair it might result in an escalating list of worn and broken parts. Call a pro ASAP.
Overhead door Spring Brackets
Overhead door springs are linked to joints on the bottom of the garage door. Similar to the springs, those brackets are also under a great deal of pressure and need to only be adjusted or otherwise maintained by a pro. Newer models of garage doors have tamper-resistant brackets that prevent the newbie yet curious amongst us from getting into trouble.