Thursday, April 23, 2020

Garage Door Repair Springs Have Sprung

Overhead garage doors operate on spring tension, regardless of whether the door swings up in one piece or rolls up in sections. These springs may break or lose tension over time, but they can be replaced or rewound. It is important to understand the parts involved before attempting or calling for repair.

Components
Your garage door moves on the heavy-duty metal tracks attached to your walls. There are several types of garage doors with respective spring types, such as extension, tension, or a combination of both.

Swing-up doors
In this design, the door moves on the horizontal tracks mounted high on the wall. These tracks should slant down slightly toward the back of the garage. A power spring on either side is attached to the door frame and hooked to the door itself. Even if your springs are still intact, it is worth checking around the brackets for loose hardware, such as the screws and plates which mount each one.

Roll-up doors
With this type, the mounted metal track curves from vertical to horizontal in order to roll the door up and back into the garage. Unlike doors that swing up, here the spring tension is controlled by a pulley and cable system. You can adjust the tension yourself by pulling on the cable and re-tying the knots in order to increase or decrease the length of the cable.

Take note, however, if the door has only one spring located at the center of the door, to avoid injury due to the component's extremely high tension, call a garage door repair specialist rather than trying to repair or replace it yourself.

Garage door springs repair overview
Even on doors with multiple springs, replacing them is a challenging project fit only for prepared do-it-yourselves. If you feel up to the challenge, ensure that your replacement and old springs are the same size and familiarize yourself with winding bars, which will enable you to ease on the new part. Winding your springs causes them to store energy, which can lead to injury if you are not extremely cautious.

There are many tutorials available online for the replacement process, but here are a few other tips to keep in mind. Close your garage door and disconnect the power to the opener, then situate your ladder to one side of your work area to avoid the path of the winding bars. Be sure to always keep a firm grip on the winding bars and to fully insert them into the winding-cone holes on the springs. Over-winding will cause the door to bounce up, while under-winding will make the door heavy.

If you have any doubts or other uncertainties about your ability to safely replace or rewind your springs, do not hesitate to call a professional. Your safety is a huge consideration, so it may not be worth the risk to do it yourself. Instead, spend your time taking stock of other potential problem areas, in order to avoid needing other, more extensive garage door repairs in the future. Check, tighten, or replace damaged hinges, screws, and brackets, and you will help keep your garage door in good shape.


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