Garage Door Spring Repair & Replacement in Boise

How to tell a garage door spring has broken without touching it, why it is a technician's job, and spring prices Boise companies publish.

The springs do the heavy lifting, not the opener. Torsion springs normally sit on a bar above the door, and extension springs normally run alongside the overhead tracks. DASMA warns that springs and their hardware are under high tension and that serious injury or death may occur. It says a door with a broken spring should not be operated until the spring is replaced, and that owners should not try to remove, repair or adjust springs themselves.

You can usually spot a broken torsion spring from the floor. With the door shut, look at the coil above it: one door company describes a gap of about two inches where the spring has snapped. Other signs are a door that is suddenly much heavier, or one the opener lifts a few inches and then gives up on. Chamberlain warns that a door with weak or broken springs can drop fast and without warning, so look and don't touch.

How long a spring lasts is mostly a question of how many times the door goes up and down. A spring seller says standard torsion springs are commonly designed for about 10,000 cycles (one opening and one closing), and says that is an estimate, not a guarantee. A household that uses the door twice a day would reach that in under 14 years; four times a day, in under 7. One Boise company prices "high-cycle" springs, which are made for more cycles, so ask which kind a quote is for.

If your door has two springs, ask whether the price covers one or both. After the new springs are in, Chamberlain says the opener's safety reversal test has to be done again.

Common jobs

• Torsion spring replacement, one or both
• Extension spring replacement
• Safety containment cables on extension springs
• Checking the door's balance afterward

Have this ready when you call

• Whether the door is open or shut, and whether a car is inside
• One-car or two-car door, and whether you see one spring or two
• Whether the springs are above the door or alongside the tracks
• Your neighborhood or town

Common questions