Elgin, IL · Same-day service
Broken Garage Door Springs, Replaced in Elgin
A spring lets go with a bang people usually hear from inside the house. After that the door either sits on the floor and will not budge, or the opener strains, lifts it a few inches and gives up. That is the normal sequence, and it means the counterweight that was carrying the door is no longer there.
Serving Elgin
Free on-site estimates. Emergency work available.
We replace torsion and extension springs on homes all over Elgin, from the older frame houses around Gifford Park to the subdivisions out toward Randall Road. Same-day service is usually possible once we know the door width and the spring type.
Extension springs in the old detached garages
Much of Elgin's pre-war housing near downtown still has its original detached garage off the alley, often a single opening under nine feet wide. Those doors are usually run by a pair of extension springs stretched along the horizontal tracks, one on each side.
Extension springs fail differently from torsion. One side goes first, the door lifts crooked, and the loose spring can whip if there is no containment cable running through it. We replace both springs as a pair, match the pull rating to the actual door weight, and fit safety cables where the garage never had them.
Torsion setups on the newer west-side builds
Homes on the newer streets west of town generally have a wide double door on a torsion bar mounted above the opening. One or two springs sit on that shaft and unwind as the door comes down.
Weight matters here. A sixteen-foot insulated steel door is far heavier than the old wood door on an alley garage, and the spring has to be wound to match it. We measure the wire size, inside diameter and length of what is on the shaft, then fit springs rated for that door rather than whatever was closest in the van.
What the visit actually involves
We take the tension off the shaft, pull the old springs, fit the new ones, wind them to the correct number of turns, then balance-test the door by hand. A properly balanced door will hold its position roughly halfway up without drifting either way.
While the tension is off we look at the cables and the drums. A spring that has been broken for a while usually means the cables have been carrying loads they were never meant to. If anything is frayed or the drums have slipped, we say so before the door goes back into service.
Other work we do in Elgin
- Torsion Springs
- Extension Springs
- Roller Repair
- Panel Replacement
- Smart Openers
- Commercial
- Custom Doors
- Maintenance
- Safety Inspection
- Lubrication
- Opener Repair
- Installation
- Emergency Service
- Cable Repair
- Track Repair
Spring Replacement in nearby towns
More on garage door spring replacement, or everything we cover in Elgin.
Questions
Elgin questions about this job
How long should garage door springs last around here?
Springs are rated in cycles, not years, so it depends on how often the door runs. A household that uses the garage as its main entrance goes through cycles far faster than one that opens the door twice a week. Cold weather does not cause failure on its own, but a hard cold snap is often when a spring already near the end of its life finally gives out.
One spring broke and the other looks fine. Do both need replacing?
On a two-spring door we recommend it. Both springs have taken the same number of cycles, so the second one is rarely far behind. Replacing just one leaves you with a mismatched pair and a second call not long after.
Can I still get the car out with a broken spring?
Sometimes, but the door will be very heavy and it can drop. If you have to, pull the emergency release cord, lift with help, and prop the door once it is up. Do not run the opener. Pulling a motor against a broken spring is what strips opener gears and bends the top section.
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Emergency service available · Free on-site estimates