It is indeed a bad day when you wake up in the morning and the garage door won’t open. You take a glance to the spring and notice that something is amiss. This is real: your garage door is broken. The broken spring might be the main cause, but the other parts might have problems as well. In this situation, you might try several things before calling for help. Is that okay?
Read also: HOW TO REPLACE GARAGE DOOR SIDE SPRINGS
1. Learning About Garage Door Spring
When you first install the garage door, you might not notice its components. You know that it uses spring, but doesn’t really know how the parts are supporting each other. As long as one remote click opens the door, all is good. Now that the garage door is broken, you need to learn which part is malfunctioned. The broken spring supports the system to move the door up and down.
If the spring fails to operate, then the door won’t be opened. The total weight of the door falls to the floor. Pulling it by force might harm you. This is why you should restrain any thought of pulling the door by hands. In general, there are two types of spring installation in a garage. The first one is torsion spring and another is extension spring. You will see that each type of spring is installed on different place.
The torsion spring is installed directly above the door. You could see the spring clearly when you close the garage. Torsion spring is designed to move along with the door. Extension spring works differently. It is installed on the side, along the track of the garage door. Since there are two string, they distribute the pulling and pushing job evenly.
2. The Reason It Breaks
There is no other explanation than the usage of the garage door itself. Recall the date when you purchase and install the garage door. From that date, how many times have you opened and closed the door? Aside from the regular office day, you should count the holidays or other special occasion. Many people come in and out from the garage, so the opener works very hard.
Another reason for broken spring is the lack of maintenance. Any spring is made from iron. Without constant lubricating, it will develop rust. When the spring is covered with rust, it will lose its flexibility. Therefore, it cannot support the system anymore and snaps.
3. Using Remote to Open the Door
Many people have the same reaction when they learn that the garage door won’t open: clicking the remote control many times. Some of you might claim that your remote control is the most sophisticated or the most advanced among all the controller. The problem lays in the system, so using remote control will not help at all.
To tell the truth, you are adding more problems to the list. Forcing the system to work might lead to crumpling door panels. The gears could also break while trying to pull the weight. The more you click the remote, the hotter the motor will be. It can be overheated and broken, too. In several cases, other parts are falling from their places as well.
4. Opening the Broken Door With Bare Hands
Some of you have known how the garage opener works. Broken spring means unmoved door. However, you don’t want to give up. You try to move the door with bare hands. This is not a good idea. Garage door is usually made from wood or steel. Both are heavy materials, weighing around 500 pounds. You have to handle this weight alone. Do you know how harmful it is?
5. Opening Broken Garage Door With 2 Torsion Spring
First thing you should know about the repairing project is the requirement of a partner. It is not a solo project; even the experts come in a team. For this reason, you should find a partner to do the job. The best partner is the person that has similar experience before. Otherwise, you could ask your neighbor to do the project with you. Choose the time wisely, preferably during weekend.
The next step is looking for safety instruction. You need to remove everything dangerous in the garage. Beware of snapping spring, falling door and breaking legs. As mentioned above, you want to avoid using the door opener. It might create more problems later. Your only option is opening the door manually. Make sure the door is touching the ground. Then detach the broken spring from its place.
After the broken spring is detached, you could pull the door until it reaches the top lines. Prepare a holder beforehand. Replace the broken spring with the new one. Make sure it is connected properly to all the cables and parts. Never hesitate to check the installation plan repeatedly before starting the machine. Keep the holder in place just for safety. Turn on the opener and see if it works.
Image: garagedoorrepairco.com
6. Opening Broken Garage Door with Extension Spring
Working with a broken door opener with torsion spring is just as devastating as the extension spring type. It is also dangerous and could easily harm you. The extension spring is usually attached to the corner. One broken spring will stop the whole system. Just like torsion spring repairing project, you need a partner. It could be your friends, relatives or even next house neighbor.
Separating the spring into two different direction doesn’t mean that the spring is less harmful. It could snap and even crush your finger if it gets in the way. To prevent any damage, make sure to wear safety tools. You need to disconnect the door and the opener system. First, pull the door until it touches the floor. Then, unplug the red cord. Your garage door is not connected to the opener machine anymore.
Slip a crowbar under a closed garage door. This trick helps to gain enough leverage to raise the door. Pull it up until the door is tucked neatly on the rails. It is time to replace the extension springs. Unless you are familiar with spring installation, just replace both of the springs. See instructions for further information regarding the garage opener.
