Broken Garage Door Spring: Signs, Safety and What to Do
Cold weather is hard on garage doors. Metal gets stiff, the door gets heavier to move, and worn springs often give out. This guide explains the warning signs of a broken spring, what is safe to do while you wait, what to avoid, and when to call a garage door professional. LocalRepairLine is a referral service, not a contractor, and this is general information, not a substitute for a professional inspection.
Safety first
Garage door springs hold a great deal of tension. Do not try to adjust, loosen, unwind or replace a spring or the cables yourself, and don't stand under or walk through a door you suspect is damaged. Spring work is for trained professionals with the right tools.
Signs a spring may be broken
- A loud bang from the garage, often described as sounding like something snapped.
- The door feels very heavy, won't lift by hand, or only opens a few inches.
- The opener hums or strains but the door barely moves.
- A visible gap in the spring above the door, or a spring that looks stretched or separated.
- The door looks crooked or sits unevenly when partly open.
- Loose, slack or hanging cables near the sides of the door.
What to do first
- Keep people and pets away. Do not let anyone stand or walk under the door.
- Stop using the opener. Running the opener against a broken spring can damage the opener and the door.
- Leave the door where it is. Do not pull the emergency release or try to force the door up or down. A heavy door can drop quickly when it's released.
- Make a note of what you saw and heard. Whether it was a bang, which side looks different, and whether the door is open or closed helps the technician.
- Arrange a repair. A broken spring isn't a do-it-yourself fix.
What not to do
- Do not try to wind or adjust a spring with improvised tools.
- Do not prop the door open with your hands, a ladder or furniture and then work beneath it.
- Do not keep forcing the opener to run the door.
- Do not ignore a door that's stuck open. It can leave your garage and anything stored in it unsecured.
Why springs break
- Springs are rated for a limited number of open and close cycles, and they wear with use.
- Cold weather makes metal stiffer and more likely to fail.
- Rust and dryness add friction and extra strain.
- A door that's out of balance puts more load on the spring.
A few safe checks you can make
- Look at the spring and cables from the floor, without touching them, to see whether anything is visibly broken or loose.
- Check that nothing is blocking the sensors near the floor, since that causes a different problem than a spring.
- Check whether the opener lights come on and the motor hums, which suggests the opener has power.
What to tell the garage door pro
- What you heard or saw, and when it happened.
- Whether the door is open, closed or partly open.
- Whether the door has one spring or two, and whether you can see a gap.
- Whether you need to get a vehicle out of the garage.
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