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East Cobb Garage Door Masters | East Cobb Garage Door | East Cobb Garage Door in Georgia
Call us (678) 671-5040
Not every garage door has an automatic opening device on it. As a matter of fact, a large percentage of garage doors across America are still manual opening and closing garage doors. Thank goodness manual garage doors have springs on them to help when you open and close them. These springs will break down over time and when they do you will have a lot of problems opening your garage door or it may not even be able to be opened at all. Even automatic garage doors rely on their springs for smooth operation. There are some signs you can look for though that will tell you when your garage door springs are about to have problems.
Most people do not mind having a manual opening and closing garage door. That’s because they are fairly simple to open and close in most cases. This is due to the springs on your manual opening garage door that help create tension on its pulleys and cables. These springs are the reason why your garage door feels very light when you go to open and close it no matter what type of material it’s made from. If the springs on your garage door were not in place, even garage doors made of the lightest materials would take a huge effort to open and close.
In order to be able to tell if you are having a problem with your garage door springs or not you also have to be able to tell exactly what type of garage door springs are on your particular brand garage door. It will be either one of two common type garage door springs.
This is by far and away the most popular garage door spring type and that’s a good thing if you have them. They tend not to be under as much tension when working as extension springs so they hold up a little bit longer on average. They also have adjustability built into them.
These springs can be recognized by the fact that they are mounted horizontally above the garage door opening. They become charged up when the cables that are attached to them stretch as the door is lowered. This allows them to greatly assist the opening of the garage door the next time it’s used.
These are the least common type of garage door spring. They are distinctly different from torsion springs because they are located towards the bottom of your garage door when it’s fully closed.
These springs become stretched as the garage door closes and that is what charges them up so they can easily help lift the garage door when it’s opened back up. This type of garage door spring is extremely dangerous to work on if you don’t know what you are doing. Because of the way these springs work they are also prone to needing repairs more often than torsion springs.
As a word of warning it must be pointed out that garage door springs are nothing to mess around with unless you are a trained professional with access to the proper garage door repair tools. Garage door springs even when broken can still be under tension and cause severe injury or death if not handled properly. This point cannot be emphasized strongly enough for your safety. It is never worth the risk of injury to save a few dollars on a garage door spring repair.
Here are some common signs that often indicate your garage door springs need some professional attention or need to be replaced altogether:
Garage door springs are not meant to ‘wake the dead’ as they are opened or closed. So, if your garage door squeaks excessively or makes large grinding noises when its opened and closed your springs may need some repair work.
If you see corrosion or visible wear spots on garage door springs that’s never a good thing and it will usually lead to garage door spring problems sooner than later. Have your local garage door repair person come and check that out as soon as possible.
Visible large gaps between the coils of your garage door springs are not natural and should be investigated to avoid bigger problems. The springs may just need to be adjusted or may need to be replaced if this is the case.
If your garage door goes up and down at an angle or in a ‘jerking’ side to side motion it’s a big sign that you are having some problems with your garage door springs.
Garage doors no matter what types of springs they feature charge these springs when the door is being closed. This is normally done slowly as any garage door is being closed. If your garage door closes rapidly it can be a sign your garage door springs are worn or need adjusting.