You probably have paid very little attention to your overhead door springs if you are like most people. While easy to understand, this oversight is also a little unfair. There's definitely no other part in your garage door and garage door opener that is more vital to the raising and closing of the door. That's just one reason for giving some respect to the springs. Here's one more: Overhead door springs are dangerous! Very dangerous. Do yourself a favor and review Garage Door Safety Tips prior to thinking about repairs or replacements.
In case you are experiencing trouble with your garage door, it might be a result of some problem with the springs. Garage door springs sometimes break, and they can be switched out. There are suppliers out there who sell replacement springs to DIYers, and there are DIYers who have securely and successfully changed out their own springs.
This post is not a how-to on overhead door spring replacement. It is designed to acquaint you with garage door springs and a number of the repair and maintenance tasks you can carry out on your own.
Two Kinds Of Garage Door Springs
There are two different kinds of springs used in overhead door. Torsion springs are attached just above the closed overhead door, while extension springs are located over the top tracks on both sides.
Overhead door Springs and Your Basic safety
(For recommendations on finding a qualified garage door professional, view get more info How To Find the Best Overhead door Installers and Repairmen). In the event that your garage door is old, or if it is showing indications of age, let an click here experienced specialist check your overhead door springs.
Use some garage door lubricant to the springs and see if it makes any impact. For suggestions on the best lubricating substances to apply on your overhead door, check out this site. For some extra recommendations on minimizing the noise of your overhead door, see How To Quiet a Noisy Garage Door.
Overhead door Safety Cables
The two types of garage door springs discussed above work differently. A garage door with extension springs will have a safety cable on each side of the door running through the spring and attached to the wall or ceiling.
Phone a garage door expert and get a pair mounted in case you have extension springs on your garage door but can not locate any safety cables.
Out of Balance Springs
The best sign of a well-functioning garage door is that it opens up and closes down easily and quietly. Try operating the garage door by hand (pull the cable attached to the arm attaching the rail trolley unit to the door). In case the door keeps on to be challenging to operate, the problem could be that the springs are out of balance.
Overhead door Spring Brackets
Overhead door springs are affixed to brackets on the bottom of the garage door. As with the springs, these brackets are also under a great deal of pressure and need to only be readjusted or otherwise maintained by a pro. Newer models of overhead door have tamper-resistant brackets that keep the curious yet unskilled amongst us from getting into trouble.