You most likely have paid very little attention to your garage door springs if you are like most home owners. While understandable, this mistake is also a bit unfair. There's honestly no single component on your garage door and overhead door opener that is more important to the opening and closing of the door. That's one good reason for paying some appreciation to the springs. Here's one more: Garage door springs are hazardous! Very dangerous, in fact. Do yourself a favor and go over Garage Door Safety Tips before considering replacements or repairs.
In the event that you are having trouble with your overhead door, it can be due to some problem with the springs. Overhead door springs sometimes break, and they can be replaced. There are companies out there who offer replacement springs to DIYers, and there are DIYers who have correctly and successfully replaced their own springs.
This particular post is not a how-to on overhead door spring replacement. It is intended to acquaint you with overhead door springs and a couple of the maintenance duties you can execute by yourself.
Two Types of Garage Door Springs
There are two various sorts of springs used in garage doors. Torsion springs are connected right above the closed down overhead door, while extension springs are located above the upper tracks on both of these edges.
Overhead door Springs and Your Safety
Garage door springs are tightly wound, meaning they are under a great deal of tension. As soon as they break, or when some unsuspecting DIYer tries to fiddle with them, they may induce a great deal of pain. Wise DIYers recognize that this is one home project that is best left to the pros. (For suggestions on getting a trained garage door expert, see How To Find the Best Garage Door Installers and Repairmen). If your garage door is old, or in the event that it is showing symptoms of aging, let an experienced professional check your overhead door springs.
Yet if the springs are only squeaking and otherwise making a lot of noise, there are several things you may need to do prior to calling in the technicians. A small squeak does not inevitably mean a major issue, any more than an aching head means a brain tumor. Apply some garage door lubricant to the springs and see if it makes any difference. You might have a serious problem brewing if it doesn't. For suggestions on the best lubricants to use on your garage door, check out this site. For some additional recommendations on decreasing the noise of your overhead door, see How To Quiet a Noisy Overhead door.
Garage Door Safety Cables
The two types of garage door springs discussed above work in different ways. A garage door using extension springs will have a safety cord on every edge of the door running through the spring and linked to the wall or ceiling.
In the case that you have extension springs on your overhead door but can not see any safety cords, get in touch with a garage door expert and get a pair setuped.
Out of Balance Springs
The ideal sign of a well-functioning garage door is that it opens and closes smoothly and silently. Attempt controling the overhead door manually (pull the cord attached to the arm connecting the rail trolley unit to the door). In the event that the door remains to be hard to operate, the problem could be that the springs are out of balance.
Garage Door Spring read more Brackets
Garage door springs are linked to joints on the bottom of the garage door. Just like the springs, these brackets are also under a lot of tension and should only be readjusted or otherwise serviced by a master. Newer versions of garage doors have tamper-resistant brackets that prevent garage door repair calgary sw the curious yet not experienced among us from getting into trouble.