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Spring repairs make up about a quarter of the garage door calls our team handles. That’s not surprising, seeing how often a door cycles and what the springs absorb every time. Roughly half the calls we get come after a homeowner has already attempted a DIY fix. In those cases, the repair was more involved by the time we arrived because no one had explained to the homeowner what they were dealing with.
I’m Cedric H., Garage Door Operations Manager at Awesome Home Services. In this blog post, I’ll walk you through what happens when a spring breaks, what you can safely check yourself, and when a DIY inspection should become a professional repair. While you can handle some spring-related issues yourself, the replacement isn’t something to attempt on your own.
If your spring is already broken and you need help, call (719) 800-7121 or contact us online. We’ll set you up with an appointment.
How Do You Know Your Spring Is Broken?
The most notable sign of a broken garage door spring is a sharp cracking sound from the garage. The sound is then followed by a door that lifts only a few inches, even with the opener running.
With a broken torsion spring (the thick coil spring mounted horizontally on the bar above the door), a visible gap in the coil is often left. Extension springs (the springs that run along the side tracks) generally snap completely.
What You Can Safely Check Before Calling the Pros
If you suspect a broken spring, you can inspect it to help determine whether a break is the actual issue.
Stand several feet away from your garage door and look at the spring without getting too close. On a torsion spring, look for a gap in the coil. Check whether the door hangs at an even height on both sides. If anything appears to be corroded, frayed, or bent, call a garage door technician.
You can also test the door’s balance:
- Pull the red emergency cord to disconnect the opener
- Lift the door manually to waist height
- Let go of the door
If your door’s properly tensioned, it will stay roughly in place. If it drops or rises on its own, the tension is off. Fixing this problem isn’t a DIY task.
One thing you can do on your own is to lubricate the springs to help keep them working properly. Apply silicone spray or lithium-based grease twice a year with the door closed. Avoid using WD-40, as it strips the protective coating and accelerates wear.
Why Spring Replacement Isn’t a DIY Repair
Torsion springs are wound under hundreds of pounds of torque, allowing a heavy door to lift smoothly. If that tension releases unexpectedly during a repair, the force can send metal components across the garage. Injuries from DIY spring repairs are serious.
Precision is also something to consider when repairing a garage door spring. A replacement spring must match your door’s weight. Thus, you have to know the correct wire diameter, coil length, and inside diameter of the spring you need. An incorrectly sized spring can strain the opener motor and cause the door to move unpredictably.
Hardware store springs run $60-$80, but that price doesn’t include knowing which spring your door needs.
What Happens During a Professional Spring Repair?
During a garage door spring repair, our technicians assess the full door, not just the broken spring.
Our process includes:
- Measuring the door’s weight and dimensions to verify the correct spring specifications
- Releasing remaining tension safely
- Installing the replacement
- Running several open/close cycles to test the door’s balance
We also check cable rollers and hardware because components under strain tend to show wear at the same time. Also, if one spring is broken, we’ll check the other and let you know what we find.
Typically, our technicians can get a spring repair done in 30 minutes to an hour.
Is a Broken Garage Door Spring Worth the DIY Risk?
Fixing a garage door spring might seem simple, but the job involves risks and requires precision, meaning it’s best left to the professionals. Handing the project off to a team with the right tools and experience is worth it, given the injury or damage that can result from a repair done without a technician's insights.
Awesome Home Services handles garage door spring repair across Colorado Springs, Fountain, Monument, Black Forest, and the surrounding communities. If your spring is broken, we’re here to make sure that the repair gets done correctly and safely.
Call (719) 800-7121 or contact us online to schedule an appointment.
Written by: Cedric H., Garage Door Operations Manager
Cedric H. serves as the Garage Door Operations Manager at Awesome Home Services, bringing years of hands-on garage door experience to the team. He started as an installer and worked his way through technician, Field Manager, and Assistant General Manager roles before stepping into operations management, so he knows the work from the ground up. That background informs how he runs things today: tight processes, consistent results, and a team customers feel good about letting into their homes.
