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Spring Replacement for Garage Door

Q: How Much Does it Cost to Replace a Garage Door Spring?

The typical cost for repair for one spring is approximately $200, depending on where you are, and what the size of the door. For two springs, it's going to be about 150% of that, so around $300, roughly, for two springs. And as we've seen over the last year, the cost of steel has really increased the cost of springs. So that price may continue to go up a little bit, 10%, 15% a year, but not too much.

Garage Door Broken Spring Repair

Broken spring? Garage Door Repair Near Me? Give us a call for fast, friendly service!

A broken garage door spring is the most common garage door repair we see. Most garage door springs are designed to last about 10,000 up/down cycles. Springs experience constant high tension and, over time, are prone to failing. Unfortunately, it always seems that the garage door spring breaks at the most inconvenient time possible.

How Do I Know If I Have a Broken Garage Door Spring, and How Much Will a Broken Garage Door Spring Cost?

Your first clue is that your garage door will not open properly. The door may try to go up, but will struggle, and only lift part-way. Many people immediately think this is a problem with their residential garage door opener, but actually it could be broken spring. To identify this, go inside your garage, and look out. Look above the garage where the shaft is. If the springs are standard torsion springs, you will probably see at least one black coil, or spring. There could be two springs, one on each side. If you see a gap, or separation in the coil, then it is broken and will need to be replaced. If you have two springs, we highly recommend replacing both springs at one time, as they are both ‘wear items’ (sort of like brakes on your car, you wouldn’t want to replace the left brake only, and not the right one). Broken garage door spring replacement is usually a pretty quick job and won’t take much longer than 1/2 hour, unless you have an unusual situation. Garage door spring replacement cost is typically between $200-$300, depending on the number (one or two) and the size of your springs. If your family uses the garage door as the main entry to your home, we can install high-cycle springs for you, which will cost a little more, but will increase their lifespan.

When a spring fails, please don’t try to fix it yourself. Springs are under high tension and can be extremely dangerous. Only qualified technicians should attempt to adjust, install or repair a broken garage door spring. At Superior Overhead Door, we’ve got the training and experience to do the work right the first time. We use only the highest quality steel springs.

When you need a spring replaced, we can usually be there the same day (or next day) to get you back up and running smoothly and safely. For garage door spring repair near me, make us your first and only call. Call (815) 788-1100 today!

Mike M., Owner of Superior Overhead Door Talks about Broken Springs

Hi. I’m Mike Montford from Superior Overhead Door, and today we’re just going to talk a little bit about one of the most common problems that people have with their garage doors, and that’s a broken spring. Also referred to as a torsion spring, it is actually the counterbalance to your door.

With a functioning torsion spring, once the door is released, you can easily lift the door up and down, and the door’s very balanced. It won’t come crashing down.

Garage Door Spring Repair FAQ's

If your door is heavy and won’t lift up, even with the assistance of the opener, it probably means you have a broken garage door spring .

If your door’s heavy, and won’t open, from inside the garage, take a look at the spring with the door closed. If there’s a gap between the spring, typically that means it’s broken. Some double doors will have two springs, so don’t be confused by the fact that there might be two springs.

If your spring is broken, it’s going to be very heavy and hard to lift. It’s very dangerous, so if you do get your door to go up, be careful not to have anybody or anything underneath it because it can come crashing down. If you must release and open your door, I’d definitely recommend that you’re very careful because they can be very heavy. A single door can weigh 300, 400 pounds and a double door can weight up to 800 to 1000 pounds, depending on the door.

How Long Do Garage Door Springs Last?

So, the cycle life, or the longevity, of the spring, is typically 10,000 cycles. A cycle is once up and once down. And, a lot of people use their garage door as their front door, so it’s open ten to twenty times a day. So the typical lifespan of a torsion spring is about five years, on an average door. There are other options, too, other than just your normal torsion spring. You can special-order springs for a higher cycle life if you wanted. If you have a door that you use very often, you can find springs that’ll have a cycle life between 15,000 and 25,000 cycles.

Why Not DIY Garage Door Springs?

Torsion springs are one of those things that most people don't want to do themselves because they can be dangerous. The garage door torsion spring is under a lot of pressure. It's wound and then attached to the shaft so that it can be dangerous because there's a lot of potential energy sitting there.

How to Tell When Garage Door Spring is Broken

So, if your door's heavy, and it won't open, the chances are your torsion spring's broken. To determine if this is the problem, look at the spring when your door's closed. If there's a gap in it, that means that the spring's broken. It typically means that it had been working, seen its cycle life, and then broke. If you have a double door there are two springs there because a lot of times a heavier door requires two springs to be the counterbalance.

Should I Replace Both Garage Door Springs?

If there are two springs there, and only one spring's broken, we're always going to recommend that you replace them both, because it's a lot like brakes on your car. You're not going to replace the right front brake and not replace the left front brake. They wear with the same amount of cycles and they're going to break about the same time. It just makes sense to replace them both while you have a technician there, so you don't find yourself with your door not working again next week.

Replacing Garage Door Springs Can Be Dangerous

We don't usually recommend anyone try to 'DIY' their own garage door torsion springs, because it is quite dangerous. You have to have special tools in order to wind the spring, the special know-how to take the springs off, and make sure you put the spring on the proper side. I do a lot of DIY myself, but in this case, I just don't recommend it. I’ve seen many cases where people have improvised using a screwdriver, or some other tool, in place of a winding bar and heard the stories of screwdrivers flying across the garage at a high rate of speed, damaging somebody's nice car, or the like, and then wishing they had gone and called Superior in the first place.

How Much Does it Cost to Replace a Garage Door Spring?

The typical cost to repair one spring is approximately $200, depending on where you are, and the size of the door. For two springs, it's going to be about 150% of that, so around $350, roughly, for two springs. And as we've seen over the last year, the cost of steel has really increased the cost of springs. So that price may continue to go up a little bit, 10%, 15% a year, but not too much.

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