Basic Things You should know about Garage Door Spring Last night you were surprised as your garage door closed behind you with a loud “thumb” sound. Thankfully you were standing out of its movement area and escaped by a fraction of an inch. Sure you don’t want this to happen the second time and you called in the service man instantly. As the person did his check to find out where the problem is, you were standing beside him and wondering how difficult it is to detect a problem. Probably the problem may not be big enough or better still you could have told the problem on phone when you called the contractor. One of the crucial components of garage door is the spring. It is one component that requires frequent repair. A broken garage door spring can cause a lot hindrance in its proper functioning. Before you make a call to fix garage door spring, let us take a look at some of the information that you should know.
- The entire weight of the garage door rests on garage door torsion spring. These springs stretch or wound under pressure, loosening and tightening as the door is opened and closed.
- Most people believe it is the garage door opener that bears the weight. But the fact it is the springs that lifts and support the 300 plus pounds of garage door.
- Regular opening and closing leads to broken garage door spring. Need not to worry; you are not the first person it has happened to. Springs do break, particularly in cold weather.
Here is a 4 step process to fix garage door spring. It is just for your knowledge which will enable you to make sure the repair guy is doing the right work. The process may vary a little from one repair person to another, but the basic procedure is same.
- Get your care out of the garage – Before the service man starts any repair work you need to get your car out of the garage. You can manually open the door by releasing the red emergency cord located above the door. The spring renders the door weight neutral, so be careful as the door will be heavier now.
- Identify the spring – The next thing the service provider will do is to check the type of spring. The torsion spring is under immense tension and it runs across the top of the inside of door. This spring lifts the weight of the garage door.
a) Extension spring is perpendicular springs on either side of the door. They act like rubber bands and stretch when the door is lowered. The basic purpose of this spring is to lift the door.
b) Garage door torsion spring- Such spring is installed with the help of an extended rod at the top of the garage door.
The force exerted by torsion and extension springs is equal to the weight of the garage door. The counter balancing effect of these two springs is to neutral the weight of the door and it can be easily opened. You can open the door manually even with broken garage door spring. But you will have to apply equal amount of force to open it.
