The primary reason that causes garage door springs to break involves normal wear and tear as springs reach their designed operational limit of about 10,000 cycles—roughly 7 to 10 years of use. Rust and corrosion from high humidity, extreme temperature swings that weaken metal components, outdated equipment, and improper installation or calibration also contribute to failure.
Your garage door springs handle all the laborious tasks necessary for opening and shutting your door. The problem of garage door springs breaking creates confusion for homeowners who do not understand how garage door springs function and how to repair the problems, and the reasons why springs break need to learn these three essential skills before they experience a work-related delay due to their inability to exit the garage.
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What Type of Spring Do I Have, and Why Are They Important?
The extension spring system uses two springs that mount on both sides of the garage door track. The door movement requires the system to use cables and pulleys for extending and contracting operations.
The torsion spring system requires between one and two tightly wound springs for operation, based on the size of the door. The springs extend horizontally across a steel shaft while their cable drums operate from both ends of the shaft. The torsion spring system requires mounting the spring at the header wall, which is situated above the garage door. Its most common configuration includes three support points, which consist of two end bearing plates and a center support plate.
The garage springs provide support for all door movement, regardless of which spring type you use. The springs acquire tension when the garage door enters its lowered position. The spring provides assistance for lifting when the garage door rises because it releases tension. Your garage door springs maintain maximum tension in their closed position. This situation is one of the main causes of garage door springs breaking, especially when doors remain in the down position. The spring can break while the door remains open, which causes the door to fall. This is why it’s important to never walk under an operating door.
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Top Causes Garage Door Springs to Break
Wear and Tear
The primary reason that garage door springs fail to function properly occurs because of normal usage. Most springs are engineered and rated for about 10,000 cycles – one cycle being the garage door going up and coming back down to close. Consider that you will experience at least two cycles daily because you need to operate the door to leave the garage and return from outside. Any time someone operates the door for errands or work, or children use the door, your daily door operations will accumulate much faster than you expect. If your garage door serves as your main entrance, which receives heavy use, you should consider purchasing extended lifespan torsion springs that can operate for 20,000 cycles or more.
Rust
The spring will experience a significant reduction in its lifespan if any rust develops on its surface, as this is one of the common causes of garage door springs to break. Rust creates additional friction on the coils when they try to move through their range of motion. The coils will become weaker because of spring corrosion, which will also lead to quicker spring failures. The spring requires three or four annual silicone-based lubricant applications to achieve optimal lubrication, which will extend its lifespan.
Improper Maintenance
The garage door springs will eventually fail, but proper maintenance procedures will increase their operational time while providing early failure detection capabilities. The system prevents spring explosions, which would cause damage to equipment, while it enables technicians to resolve issues at an efficient pace. The system requires white lithium grease applications to the spring three times annually, while technicians must conduct garage door balance assessments during each season, with more focus on winter months, because most springs experience failures. The balance check requires:
To manually operate the door, you need to pull the emergency release cord, which has a red handle. The door should be lifted halfway before letting go of it. The door should stay in position with proper springs, but the door will sag if springs need replacement or adjustment.
Final Thoughts
Garage door springs break mostly because they reach their operational limit after 10,000 complete opening and closing cycles, which corresponds to about 10,000 total uses throughout several years. Some causes of garage door springs to break include rust and corrosion that weaken the metal, temperature changes that make springs brittle, and poor maintenance practices that allow spring deterioration and balance problems to go unnoticed. Springs that operate your system handle heavyweight movements, and a broken spring will cause your door to halt while also increasing the risk of an unexpected door drop.
You should contact our team at1-Stop Garage Doors whenever you suspect that your garage door springs need replacement because they have reached their operational limit. We provide professional inspection services, maintenance services, and spring replacement services. Our experienced technicians maintain your garage door operation throughout the year by providing safe and smooth operation.
