How to Tell If Your Garage Door Spring Is About to Break
If your garage door has started making noises it never used to make, or feels a little heavier when you lift it, your spring may be nearing the end of its life. Torsion and extension springs typically last around 10,000 to 25,000 open-close cycles, which usually works out to several years of normal use. Catching the warning signs early can mean the difference between a scheduled repair and a door that suddenly won't open at all.
A loud bang from the garage
Springs don't always fail gradually. Sometimes they simply snap, and it sounds like a gunshot. If you've heard a loud bang from your garage recently, even if the door still seems to work, have a technician check the spring before it's under load again.
The door feels heavier than usual
Springs do the heavy lifting, not your opener motor. If you disconnect the opener and try lifting the door by hand and it feels noticeably heavier than it used to, the spring is likely losing tension.
Visible gaps in the coil
Take a look at the spring above your door. A healthy spring has tightly wound coils with no visible separation. A gap of an inch or more between coils is a sign of wear.
The door is uneven or crooked when opening
If one side of the door rises faster than the other, or the door looks tilted partway through opening, one spring may be weaker than the other, or one may have already failed while the second is still holding.
Your opener struggles or strains
Openers aren't designed to lift a garage door on their own. If yours is straining, making grinding noises, or stalling partway through the cycle, it may be compensating for a spring that's no longer doing its job.
What to do if you notice these signs
Don't try to adjust or replace a garage door spring yourself. Springs are under extreme tension and can cause serious injury if handled without the right tools and experience. If you notice any of these warning signs, call a technician to inspect your springs before they fail completely and leave your door stuck.