How to tell your spring has snapped
A loud bang from the garage is the classic sign, and many Boulder homeowners hear it on a cold morning when the metal is brittle. After that bang the door feels like dead weight. The opener strains, lifts the door a few inches, and gives up.
Look at the shaft above the door and you can often see the break. A healthy torsion spring is one tight coil. A snapped one has a clear gap, usually an inch or two wide, where the steel let go. Doors with extension springs along the horizontal tracks show a dangling or stretched spring instead.
The door will not lift because the spring was doing almost all the work. A two-car door can weigh a few hundred pounds, and the spring stores enough force to balance it. Without that balance, neither the opener nor your back should be lifting it.
Please do not touch the spring
A wound torsion spring holds enough stored force to break a hand or worse, and it stays dangerous even after part of it snaps. Removing and winding springs takes winding bars and practice, not a screwdriver and courage. Leave the door where it is, keep cars and kids away from it, and call us instead.
From your call to a working door
- 1
Call or text us what you see
A photo of the spring above the door tells us the spring type and rough size before we leave.
- 2
The van arrives stocked
Both vans carry common torsion and extension springs, so most spring jobs finish in one visit. No call-out fee anywhere in Boulder County.
- 3
You get a price before work starts
The tech confirms the spring size, quotes the job, and waits for your go-ahead.
- 4
New springs, then a balance check
We fit the springs, wind them to your door's weight, and run the door by hand and by opener until it moves smoothly and holds at half height.
Spring questions we hear a lot
Can I still open my garage door with a broken spring?
You should not, because the door has lost the counterweight that made it safe to move. Forcing it up by hand risks the door slamming down, and running the opener can burn out the motor or bend the top panel. Leave the door closed and call us.
Should I replace both garage door springs if only one broke?
On a door with two springs, replacing both at once usually makes sense because they have worn at the same rate. The unbroken one is likely close to the end of its life, and doing both in one visit avoids a second call soon after. The tech will show you the condition of each and let you decide.
How long does a spring replacement take?
Most spring replacements take about an hour once the van arrives. That covers removing the broken spring, fitting and winding the new ones, and balancing the door so it lifts evenly. Doors with unusual sizes or damage can take longer, and the tech will say so before starting.
Spring calls across Boulder County
Cold snaps break springs, so February and March keep both vans busy from Boulder out to the neighboring towns. We handle spring replacements in Louisville and Lafayette on the same no call-out fee terms as in Boulder itself. See the Louisville page or the Lafayette page for details on those areas.
Heard the bang? Door will not lift?
Call now and we will tell you what to expect and when a van can be there.
Ask us about your spring
Tell us what the door is doing, or attach a photo of the spring, and we will get back to you with the next step.