Garage Door Spring Replacement in New Jersey

Springs hold dangerous tension, so this is technician work. We inspect first, confirm the cause, then fit springs matched to your door.

Springs counterbalance the weight of the door so it is easy to open and close. The opener is not meant to carry that load. A properly balanced door stays put when stopped partway open and needs only light effort to move.

Residential doors use one of two main spring types. Torsion springs mount on a shaft above the door and work by twisting. Extension springs run alongside the horizontal tracks and stretch and contract as the door moves. Replacement means removing the failed spring or springs and installing new ones that match your door's weight and size.

Not sure which you have? Read torsion vs extension springs.

• You heard a loud bang from the garage, and the door now will not lift.
• The opener hums or strains but the door barely moves, or does not move at all.
• The door feels very heavy when released from the opener and lifted by hand.
• There is a visible gap in the coil of a torsion spring above the door.
• An extension spring or its cable is hanging loose or stretched.
• The door is crooked or has started to jerk as it moves.

Springs wear with use, so a door with the original springs may be near the end of their life. One manufacturer says residential springs typically last around 10,000 cycles, but ratings vary by spring. Our guide on how long garage door springs last explains cycle ratings. For more signs, see signs a garage door spring is broken.

The technician confirms the cause before replacing anything. A door that will not lift is not always a broken spring, and a broken spring can come with other damage.

1. We inspect the springs, cables, drums, brackets, bearings, tracks and rollers, and check the door's condition.
2. We confirm which spring failed and whether the opener is also involved.
3. We determine the right replacement springs for your door's weight, height and spring type.
4. We safely release any remaining tension and remove the old spring or springs.
5. We install and wind the new springs with the proper tools, and secure the hardware.
6. We set the tension, check balance by hand, and run the door through full cycles with the opener. Sensors and safety reverse are checked where an opener is installed.
7. We tell you what else we saw, such as worn cables or rollers.

Our guide on what a spring replacement visit involves walks through this in more detail.

Many doors have two torsion springs. When one breaks, we recommend replacing both. Industry guidance strongly recommends it, because the surviving spring has had the same use and is likely near the end of its life. Matched springs also share the load evenly and help the door stay balanced.

Details are in our guide: can you replace just one garage door spring?

• Spring type: torsion or extension, and whether the door has one or two.
• Door weight, height and size. Windows, insulation and added panel weight change the spring needed.
• Whether the cable, drums, bearings or brackets also need replacement.
• Whether a spring failure damaged a panel, a track or the opener.
• Whether the door is still square and sound enough to be worth springing again.

See what affects garage door repair cost.

Read why makeshift tools are never safe on a spring.

A broken spring is a repair, not a reason to replace the door, if the door is otherwise sound. If not, we say so at the inspection. See garage door repair, cable repair and new garage door installation.

This service is available across New Jersey through our three regional teams.

• North Jersey
• Central Jersey
• South Jersey