Garage doors with torsion spring systems can have one or two springs. The number of springs you need will depend on the weight of the door. If you live in a new construction home and are having problems with your door have a professional check out your door.
A) This depends on the weight of your garage door. Most commonly if you have a single car 9x7 garage door these will only have one torsion spring. We recommend any door that weighs over 150lbs to have a pair of springs.
Advantages of 2 Springs
With 2 springs on your garage door, only one of them breaks 99% of the time. Most garage doors will still open if only one of the two springs is broken.
Even when installed at the same time one spring can outlast another spring by months even years. A torsion spring system can work just fine with one new spring and one old spring. Your professional installer can make the necessary adjustments so your door is balanced and runs smoothly.
If you currently have 1 3/4" ID springs, you can save 10% to 25% off by converting to 2" ID springs. There are at least four situations where it is advisable to convert from one inside diameter to another. One is when the springs are very old, and the hardware or cones are obsolete, as with some pictured below.
Torsion springs have a longer lifespan than extension springs and are safer in breakage situations. Doors with two torsion springs also allow for manual operation in situations where one spring fails. Doors with extension springs, on the other hand, absolutely need both springs to operate safely, manually or otherwise.
You Can Damage the Garage Door Opener - If garage door springs are too large, they offer more strength than is required. The door will open with more force than needed, rolling up quickly and endangering its safety.
However, a roll-up garage door uses torsion springs that are more expensive to replace. These are more often used in commercial settings. Spring Type: Extension springs usually cost $50 to $100 each with labor. Torsion springs cost $75 to $150 to replace.
How Often Should You Replace Torsion Springs? Most torsion springs last for 10,000 cycles. Depending on how frequently the door is activated, that could translate to nearly a decade or just a few years.
Compared to replacing your broken spring with a single spring, installing two springs does not take much extra work. You will have to slide the second spring on from the opposite side of the shaft, and you will have to wind two springs instead of one.
But because the torsion spring sits on the wall above the center of the door and runs parallel to the door, you really only need one. And, until recently, that's all you got. These days, however, it's becoming common for doors to have two torsion springs.
A double torsion spring should be used if the element requires two identical torsion springs wound in opposing directions. This type of spring sees widespread use in the medical industry, aerospace, military applications and even in household appliances.
Additionally, a malfunctioning garage door can lead to the inconvenience of cars getting trapped inside the garage. Replacing both springs at the same time offers a significant benefit. It reduces the risk of one spring failing shortly after the replacement, saving you from having to repeat the entire repair process.
The length of the torsion spring often correlates with its life cycle. A longer spring doesn't just affect the door's operation; it can also indicate a longer lifespan, meaning fewer replacements over time.
Use the winding rods to tighten the springs to the torsion bar. Torsion springs should be wound four quarter turns per foot of door height, plus an extra two turns. Once you're done winding your springs, keep a winding rod resting on the garage door header and tighten the set screws on the spring with a socket wrench.
The best way to keep your garage door springs lasting throughout the years is to lubricate them 1-2 times annually with either white lithium or silicone-based spray. These can easily be found at a local hardware store.
We have a full range of garage door parts, such as brackets, locks, springs and cables, available at Lowe's.
Garage door springs hold a lot of tension and are therefore potentially very dangerous. They can even cause death or injury. For that reason, we do not recommend that you try to open your garage door if it has a broken spring.
Replacing a garage door spring yourself isn't impossible, but it does require special knowledge about the springs and how a garage door works.
Replacing garage door springs takes 30 minutes to 1 hour. New garage door springs last 7 to 14 years, or between 10,000 and 20,000 up-and-down cycles.
Garage Door Extension Springs
Extension springs use extension to perform their function and are usually found in the horizontal tracks on both sides of a garage door. Extension springs are also a great alternative to torsion springs since they can be easily placed even when there is low headroom for torsion springs.
Double doors are heavier than their single-door counterparts. The typical 16×7 garage door weight is around 150 pounds for basic steel doors and 200 pounds for insulated double garage doors. Insulated garage doors weigh about 10% to 20% more than their non-insulated double garage door counterparts.