Top Reasons Why Garage Door Springs Break

Top Reasons Why Garage Door Springs Break

Garage door springs are essential for opening and closing your garage door — if they break, you’ll know it. Signs of broken springs include your door dropping quickly, making a loud noise, only opening a few inches or becoming crooked when you try to open it. But why do broken garage door springs happen? Understanding the causes behind garage door spring failures can help you prevent costly repairs and ensure the longevity of your garage door.

Here are the most common reasons garage door springs break and preventive measures you can take to avoid issues.

1. Wear and Tear

Garage door springs help lift and lower your garage door. They can last up to 14 years, but all the heavy lifting eventually weakens them. If you use your garage door often or the door is extra heavy, the springs may wear down faster than normal.

Some signs of a worn-out garage door spring include:

• Loose or broken cables: Garage door cables balance the door’s weight but may become loose when the springs wear out. Check your springs first if your door is unbalanced or if you see a loose or broken cable.
• Squeaky noise: Springs usually make a loud squeaking noise when they get too old and worn out. If some lubricant doesn’t fix the noise, it might be time to replace your springs.
• Door won’t lift: A tell-tale sign of a broken or old spring is when the garage door won’t open or only opens slightly off the ground. Your door may struggle to open for a while before the springs eventually give out.

2. Rust and Corrosion

Rust and corrosion shorten the life span of any metal product, and springs are no exception. Over time, a rusted garage door spring can become brittle due to corrosion. Rust also increases friction on the spring’s moving coils whenever you open and close your garage door. Both the corrosion and pressure will drastically shorten the life span of your garage door spring.

Although rusting can happen in any environment, it is most common in the following conditions:

• Humid climate: Areas with regular climate variations and high humidity cause metal springs to rust faster. 
• Insufficient ventilation: Garage spaces with poor ventilation trap moisture and create a favorable environment for rust formation.
• Lack of lubricant: Springs need adequate lubrication to perform well and last longer. Without lubrication, the increased friction can cause the spring to wear down quickly and form rust.

3. Incorrect Installation

Sometimes, the only reason a spring has a short life span is because of poor installation. This often happens when the person who installed it has little experience with garage doors. An incorrectly installed door may have:

• Wrong components: Inexperienced door installers might choose the wrong size and type of spring. An incorrect spring will wear down faster than usual or fail because of high tension. Even strong springs can cause damage when paired with the wrong door.
• Balance issues: Garage doors require specific techniques and knowledge to install. If the spring tension is wrong, the door may hang unevenly and have problems opening and closing.
• Low-quality materials: People often use cheaper materials for their garage doors to save money. However, this mistake can cost more money in the long run because the materials need to be replaced more frequently.

4. Poor Maintenance

It can be hard to tell when your garage door springs are struggling, especially when your door continues to open and close as expected. If left unaddressed, the spring can quickly degrade and break unexpectedly, leaving you with a garage door that won’t open and possibly a costly repair bill. This is why you want to regularly inspect springs for problems and address them as soon as possible.

Even though garage door springs eventually fail, proper garage door spring maintenance can slow the process. Regular inspections can also help you catch any issues before they become more serious. Use these tips to correctly maintain your garage door spring and help it last longer:

• Apply lubricant: Lubricate your garage door spring with lithium or silicone-based grease about twice a year to ensure it operates smoothly. The lubricant will reduce friction and rust formation and prevent squeaking. You can also apply lubricant to the hinges, rollers, bearing plates and tracks.
• Check door balance: Balanced garage doors open and close with ease. If the spring or other components wear out, the door may become unbalanced. When this happens, you might notice that the motor is straining or the door opens slowly, slams shut or leans to one side. Call a professional to repair your door when you see signs of misalignment.
• Prevent rust: If you live in a rainy or humid area, you may want to install vents and an exhaust fan to improve air circulation and prevent rust from accumulating. Address rust as soon as you notice it by scraping it off with a wire brush and using a rust dissolver.
• Schedule inspections: Inspecting your garage door at least once a year can help keep your garage door springs working longer. While you can do this yourself, it can help to get a technician to come and look at your door. They’ll easily spot any problems and provide solutions to manage them going forward. This way, you can prevent premature breakage and replace parts less often.
• Call a professional: It can be tempting to try DIY approaches to solve garage door problems, but repairing them can be dangerous without the right experience. You might also fix the wrong problem, forfeit your warranty or cause more damage if you do things incorrectly. Calling a professional is the best option to fix your broken spring.

Contact Quality Overhead Door for Garage Door Spring Repair Services

If your garage door springs need to be repaired or replaced and you live in northwest Ohio or southeast Michigan, call Quality Overhead Door for help. We’re a family-owned company that has been offering reputable garage door installation, repair and maintenance services since 1982. Our award-winning team has experience with nearly all major door brands and can handle any issue. We also stock quality replacement parts to get your garage door up and running again in no time.

After you call, a qualified technician will assess your system, diagnose any repair requirements and offer a detailed quote for your maintenance or repair services. We value your trust and will always treat you and your house with respect. You can also call us for regular maintenance inspections to keep your garage door functioning properly for the long run.

Give us a call at 419-578-8700 or schedule a service online today!

How to Open a Garage Door Manually

Like most things, technology has advanced the way garage doors operate. Instead of the traditional manual mechanism that requires labor, automated garage doors only need a remote control or an app to operate. Many homeowners and businesses now enjoy the convenience of opening and closing their garage doors remotely.

However, automatic or electric garage door systems can fail for various reasons like power outages, dead backup batteries or damage to the electric mechanism. When that happens, you’ll find yourself stuck with a door that requires manual operation. Learn how to open an automatic garage door manually using the following process.

When Is It Safe to Open a Garage Door Manually?

Traditional and electric-powered garage doors require precaution whenever you open and close them because they are heavy objects. When opening and closing an automatic garage door manually, observe the same precautions you would with a traditional door, such as minding the weight and standing away from the door’s path in case it comes crashing down.

Before attempting to open automatic doors manually, consider additional risks, such as electrocution. First, try to pinpoint the cause of the malfunction. If the reason for your door getting stuck is power-related, handling it manually is safer than when the cause is system damage. Make sure to disconnect your garage door from its power source and watch for signs of system damage, like uneven weight distribution.

When researching how to manually open a broken garage door, consider the severity of these forms of damage that make it hazardous to operate the door by hand:

• Damaged springs: Springs carry the weight of garage doors, allowing easy up and down movement. With broken springs, handling a garage door is risky as you’re exposed to the natural weight of the door. Learn to identify issues with garage springs.
• Damaged rollers: When rollers are in good condition, your garage door will move smoothly along its track. Damaged rollers cause the door to drag and become heavy.
• Damaged cables: Along with springs, wire cables make garage doors easy to operate. If these cables snap, the door will be unusually heavy. While you can open a door with snapped cables, doing so is not recommended due to the potential risks.
• Damaged tracks: Metal tracks help your garage doors slide with ease. Frequent use can cause misalignment, making the door challenging to open and close by hand.

How to Open a Garage Door Manually

According to a global outlook and forecast report for 2023-2028, the global market for automatic garage doors will hit $3.49 billion by 2028. While that makes the automated feature lucrative, it doesn’t make it perfect. In case of failure, you may need to resort to manual operation. 

Opening Garage Doors From the Inside

This step-by-step process outlines how to manually open a garage door from the inside:

• Disengage deadbolts: If your garage door has manual deadbolts and locks, confirm that they are not engaged, as these will stop the door from functioning. After verifying that these manual locks are not the issue, proceed to open the door by hand.
• Unplug the door opener: Unplug your garage door opener from its power outlet. For safety reasons, disconnect the door from the power source even if there’s a power outage.
• Disengage the release cord: Modern garage doors come with an emergency release cord or pull rope, which allows you to disengage the automatic feature and operate the door manually. The red colored handle or cord should be at the top of the door. Pull it to disengage the garage door opener.
• Open and close the door: To open the garage door manually, lift it all the way and hold it at the top until you’re sure it has stabilized. Lower the garage door once again from the outside and manually engage any locking mechanism.

Opening Garage Doors From the Outside

Opening the garage door from the outside is slightly different. Follow these steps:

• Unlock the emergency release kit: Modern garage doors have an emergency release kit installed at the top of the door on the outside. This vital mechanism gives you access to the release cord from the outside. As a security feature, the emergency release kit is locked. Insert the key to unlock and access the small cord that triggers manual operation. Once you pull the cord, your garage door will disengage from the automatic system.
• Open and close the door: Push the door all the way and let it stabilize. Once inside, lower it and lock it manually or re-engage the automatic system.

The emergency release kit eases the process of opening your garage door from the outside. If your garage door doesn’t come with this in-built feature, install it before the need arises. However, if you’re stuck outside with a garage door that lacks the emergency release kit, here are ways to handle the issue:

• Reach for the emergency cord: Try reaching for the emergency cord inside the door. You can use a wire with a hooked end to catch and pull the cord and disengage the automatic system. It’s not advisable to make your garage door accessible through such methods.
• Contact garage experts: If you already take precautions to prevent unauthorized access from the outside, you may want to seek assistance from garage professionals to access your garage. Consulting garage technicians is a safer solution that preserves your investment.

How to Reattach Your Garage Door Opener

Modern units can automatically reconnect to the electric door opener when you press the button to open your garage. Alternatively, you can re-engage your garage door with the automatic system by pulling at the emergency release cord. Pulling the cord towards the door is designed to trigger the spring lever to reconnect with the door opener.

Listen for a clicking sound that means your garage door is locked in place. Testing your garage door will tell you whether you’ve reattached it to the electric system if you’re dealing with power issues and not system damage.

Garage Door Solutions With Quality Overhead Door

Automatic garage doors require a solution for handling them in emergencies. While modern doors are designed with in-built features that allow you to switch from electric to manual with ease, these systems can fail. If you’re using a garage door opener on an old door, you may also encounter issues that require professional assistance.

Quality Overhead Door is an award-winning company with more than 40 years of experience in handling garage door installations, repair and maintenance. Our technicians work with different garage door brands, understand the issues that come with each and provide lasting solutions. if you’re looking for repair services in Ohio and Michigan, contact us for an estimate in these service areas!

How to Lubricate Your Garage Door

Though your garage door looks straightforward, it has multiple moving parts that must all work in concert to ensure convenience and ease of use. Like any other complex appliance in your home, it needs periodic maintenance to operate smoothly and avoid premature wear and tear.  

For example, issues like loose hardware and worn rollers can adversely affect your door’s performance. You should look for visible signs of wear, damage or misalignment. Tightening bolts, screws or nuts will keep the door in proper alignment and prevent unnecessary strain.

Use the proactive advice in this guide to ensure your garage door’s longevity, efficiency and safe operation.

Step-by-Step Garage Door Lubrication Guide 

Knowing when to lubricate garage doors and their parts minimizes damage, rust and friction, preserving their life span. After completing a visual inspection and performing the simple maintenance tasks described above, close the door, disconnect the power supply, put on a pair of sturdy gloves and safety goggles and follow these steps.

1. Clean the Tracks

Start this project by carefully cleaning the tracks with a damp rag. Clean tracks allow the rollers to move smoothly, but remember that lubricating this component will force the opener to work harder. You can use automotive brake cleaner to loosen caked-on grime. Ensure no debris or dirt remains on the tracks for the rollers to get stuck on. 

2. Lubricate the Door’s Moving Parts

You should lubricate your garage door’s moving parts at least every six months to keep the door quiet and extend its life span. Do this project more frequently if you rely on your garage as the primary entrance to your home. 

You have two options when choosing garage door lubricant.

• Silicone sprays come with a long straw attachment that allows you to access all the nooks and crannies.
• White lithium grease is non-corrosive, water-resistant and heat-resistant. Though applying it by hand can be messy, it creates an even coat that makes surfaces friction-free.

Your garage door maintenance and lubrication checklist should include the following components.

• Hinges: Lift your door slowly and apply the lubricant to the hinges, specifically focusing on the points where they bend for smooth opening and closing.
• Rollers: Rollers are cylindrical pieces that sit in the door track next to the hinges. Lubricate the little bearings inside the rollers, wiping off excess lubricant to ensure your garage door doesn’t become imbalanced. 
• Springs: Apply lubricant to the door’s springs and bearing plates. Spray the outside of the springs and the centers of the ball bearings, then open and close the door to spread the lubricant around.
• Lock: Aim at the lock’s keyhole and spray the lubricant. Lubricating the lock allows it to operate smoothly and prevents rust in the long run. 
• Top of the rail: Your chain rides on the top part of the rail. Lubricate the top rail and the armbar. 

3. Test the Door

Next, test the door by manually opening and closing it. As you do so, listen for odd noises and observe the balance and alignment. The door should move freely up and down and stay in place when partially open. Any issues in this phase may indicate that the door needs adjustment.

What if Lubrication Doesn’t Help? 

You may have to call a professional to assess the issue if you still hear odd sounds or the door doesn’t open and shut correctly after lubricating it. An expert may recommend replacing broken components or installing a new, high-quality door with modern safety features. Never attempt to repair a faulty garage door yourself — you could injure yourself without the specialized tools and experience needed to fix the issue. 

Why Your Garage Door Makes Noise

A damaged garage door or faulty opener can cause unpleasant sounds. The squeaky sound is an alarm bell that something is wrong with your door, and lubricating it could be part of the solution. However, you shouldn’t wait to hear unusual noises — lubricating your garage door should always be an item on your household maintenance checklist, even if it operates quietly. 

Loose Parts

If you can pinpoint the sound’s source, you might repair it yourself. For example, a rattling sound when opening or closing your door could indicate loose nuts or bolts. You can use a ratchet to tighten them.

 Call a technician for a thorough inspection if you can’t identify the parts causing the noise.

Garage Door Chains  

A loose chain could make a slapping sound when you close or open your door. Tighten the chain to fix the problem.

Worn-Out Rollers

Worn-out hinges or rollers can cause squeaky noises and make your entire garage door shake when opening and closing. Dirty bearings accelerate these problems. Regularly check these parts and clean or replace them as needed.

Seasonal Maintenance Tips

Extreme weather conditions can cause problems with your garage door. Frigid winter temperatures cause the metallic components to contract, which may lead to operational issues. Ice and snow can also compromise the performance of the garage door’s sensors and motor mechanisms. Additionally, winter may cause challenges like broken springs, water damage and cracked weatherstripping. These issues let in freezing air, driving up your energy bills. 

Hot weather can cause the metal tracks to expand, leading to sticking. It can also overheat the garage door opener and cause it to fail prematurely. You should regularly inspect the opener’s settings, check for signs of uneven movement or struggles and adjust as necessary. 

Year-round, proper lubrication can prevent issues like sticking, sluggish movements and creaking. Silicone-based lubricants ensure the door operates smoothly regardless of the temperature. 

Benefits of Professional Maintenance  

If you are handy around the house, you may view garage door maintenance and repair as rewarding weekend DIY projects. However, it’s far better to entrust these tasks to professionals for several reasons.

• Save time and money: Garage door technicians have the expertise to identify and address potential issues early, preventing costly repairs or replacements that may arise from DIY mistakes or neglect. Their knowledge and skill can prolong your garage door’s life and reduce the risk of unexpected breakdowns.
• Safety and efficiency: Working on heavy garage doors requires specialized training and equipment to avoid injury and further damage. 
• Quality of repairs: Professionals’ extensive experience allows them to provide long-lasting results with high-quality parts and outstanding customer service. They will also give you valuable maintenance tips.
• Use the right tools: Some garage door maintenance and repairs require specific equipment you may not have. Professional garage door companies invest in specialized tools to complete their projects.  

Schedule Maintenance With Quality Overhead Door

A well-maintained garage door is convenient, safe, efficient and enhances your home’s curb appeal. Don’t wait until you hear odd noises or experience a malfunction — preventive maintenance is one of the best ways to ensure your peace of mind. 

Quality Overhead Door is a trustworthy, family-owned company that sells, installs and services residential garage doors and openers. We are authorized dealers for Clopay, CHI, Wayne Dalton and LiftMaster. Schedule your service call today. 

Guide to Seasonal Garage Door Maintenance

Your garage door is one of the most important parts of your home. It plays a big role in curb appeal, and it can even influence the value of your home when you put it on the market. Many homeowners use their garage door as their house’s main entry and exit point, opening and closing it nearly a thousand times per year. 

It’s clear your garage door deserves some attention based on how essential it is to your daily life. By maintaining it, you can ensure it continues working for years to come. The team at Quality Overhead Door has compiled this guide to help you keep your garage door working and looking great through all 12 months of the year.

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How to Check Garage Door Balance

If your garage door makes odd sounds or looks uneven when it opens or closes, the balance may be off. A perfectly balanced garage door distributes weight evenly based on spring tension, spreading out the strain so that the garage opener doesn’t become overtaxed. When the tension is even, your door moves up and down smoothly without a sound.

When a door is unbalanced, however, the opener must strain to lift it. In many cases, this happens because the garage door spring balance gets thrown off, and the springs either exert too much or too little force. You may notice your garage door slows down when opening or closing, makes those strange sounds or even refuses to open entirely. When any of that happens, you can check your garage door balance to see if you need to make any adjustments. 

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How to Manually Open Your Garage Door When the Power Is Out

At some point, every homeowner with an automatic overhead garage door will need to know how to get the garage door open when the power is out. While some overhead garage doors come with backup power sources, most still require manual operation in the event of power loss. Learning how to properly open or close a garage door without power is critical for your safety and the structural integrity of your garage door, especially during the winter.

If you ever find yourself in that dreaded situation where the power is out but you need your garage door to open, follow these steps to safely opening your garage door without the help of the trolley system.

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Guide to Garage Door Window Options

Glass garage door window inserts add style and class to any type of residential garage door. Garage windows let in natural light and enhance a home’s curb appeal by increasing the garage door’s aesthetic value. But choosing the right design and type of glass inserts for your garage door can seem overwhelming given the countless options on the market. That’s why we’ve put together a brief guide for choosing garage door windows.

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How Do Garage Door Openers Work?

The garage door is the largest moving part of any house, and it’s crucial to make sure yours works correctly. You need your garage doors to work right so that you can easily enter and exit your home, especially if you keep your vehicles inside the garage. It’s also a safety hazard to have a garage door that doesn’t operate correctly.

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How to Match the Exterior of Your Home to the Interior

Every homeowner takes pride in their house and wants it to look as great as possible. With so many different styles of homes and constantly changing trends in home decor, some people may wonder about the relationship between the interior and exterior design of their homes.

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How to Fix Cold Weather Garage Door Problems

Those frigid Toledo winters can take a toll on your home in many ways — including making it more difficult to open and close your garage door. There are several weather-related issues that can prevent the system from operating efficiently. In the worst-case scenario, you could end up stuck inside or, even worse, outside of your garage, which is something you don’t need when the temperature dips below the freezing mark!

In this post, we’ll explore some of the more common cold weather garage door problems you’re likely to encounter. We’ll also provide some helpful tips on how to correct them — or even prevent them from occurring in the first place.

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