Within your garage door, springs take on a paramount role, bearing the weight of the heavy lifting. While the average overhead door weighs several hundred pounds, it feels light during operation. How is this achieved with just a 2-horsepower motor in most garage door openers? Even when disconnected from the opener, the door becomes effortlessly manageable. It could even be lifted by a 10-year-old. The secret lies within the garage door springs. Springs are a meticulously engineered suspension mechanism that harnesses the principles of physics. They transform the task of raising your overhead garage door into an almost effortless endeavor.
Overhead Door Springs Offset the Gravitational Pull on The Door
Garage door springs serve as the backbone of this mechanical wonder. They counterbalance the door’s weight, minimizing the force required to lift it. These springs store and release energy, precisely calibrated to offset the gravitational pull acting on the door. Through this engineering marvel, the door becomes as light as a feather, seemingly defying its actual weight.
With Springs Your Garage Feels Deceptively Light
The brilliance of overhead door springs lies in their ability to make the heaviest doors feel remarkably light. Their adept manipulation of forces ensures that even a door weighing hundreds of pounds can be effortlessly maneuvered. It doesn’t matter if it’s being moved manually or by a garage door opener.
2 Types of Springs for Overhead Garage Doors
The way that suspension system works is as a counterbalance system. The garage door springs provide an assisting force to make lifting easy. There are 2 types of springs that do this, depending on the style of door — extension springs and torsion springs. Here’s how they work.
Torsion Springs Are Wound Up as The Door Lowers Holding Energy
Torsion spring loaded doors are the most common. Usually, your torsion springs are mounted above the door opening. When you lower the door, the cables at the bottom corners of the door wind the springs up, creating stored energy that will later be used to raise the door. As the door lifts back up, the springs unwind. But a spring only has so many cycles in it — usually between 10,000 to 15,000. Eventually, the spring will become too weak and stretched to work effectively and will need replaced.
Extension Springs are Stretch as You Close the Overhead Door to Help It Open
Extension springs are attached to cables that connect to the bottom corners of the door. The springs stretch as the door is closed, storing energy in the extended springs as the door lifts.
Need to Replace Your Garage Door Springs? Call Us
Is it time to replace your garage door springs? Please keep in mind this is not a DIY repair. Garage door springs can be extremely dangerous to work with. These garage door parts are under considerable tension. If they should suddenly snap, they can cause serious bodily injury, even death. Always call a professional to repair your garage door springs.