Garage door springs like all the components of a garage door have a lifespan. It can be quite inconvenient if you find yourself dealing with a broken garage door spring in the middle of the night or when you’re in a rush to leave.
However understanding the reasons, behind breakages can help you prevent them from happening and restore your doors functionality promptly.
In your garage door spring break it is advisable not to try lifting the door with the opener.
Wear and tear
The main reason why garage door springs often fail is due to wear and tear. Typically these springs are designed to handle around 10,000 cycles with each cycle representing the door opening and closing.
While this may seem like a big number, it’s important to remember that on a day you would go in and out your garage at least times that is 2 cycles already, now if you have more than one car within your family and if there are errands to do like taking the kids for classes after school your garage door faces high frequency usage and it would be wise to install torsion springs with extended lifespan ratings of 20,000 cycles or more.
Rust
One of the reasons for garage door springs to snap is rust, which can gradually accumulate if the springs are not regularly lubricated. Rust indicates that the steels integrity is deteriorating. When the integrity weakens significantly the constant coiling and uncoiling of the spring puts pressure on it leading to a snap.
Extreme changes in temperature
Extreme temperature changes can make metal parts like springs expand and contract rapidly which will cause metal fatigue and deformations within the springs which eventually will break them.
In order to prevent this from happening make sure your garage is well insulated because a good insulation can help maintain a stable temperature and reduce the risk of sudden temperature changes.