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Don’t get trapped in your garage this summer! Torsion Springs : how they work and how to predict a break before it’s too late.

Every door has some sort of spring system on it that will eventually give or break, in this article we’ll talk of torsion springs specifically. The problem with a broken spring is that they do all the heavy lifting when it comes to raising your door up and down , not you or the opener motor. Once this happens, whatever is inside of the garage is stuck inside of the garage until the proper repairs are made. This can be really problematic when all vehicles are parked inside, and no one is able to leave home. There are ways to get ahead on this; but first there are a few things you should know.

How Torsion Springs Work?

Torsion springs can be explained in great length and depth if we get into cone sizes, coil lengths, cycle life, etc… But for the purpose of this article we will keep things plain and simple.

Torsion Springs are fitted onto a single bar that we refer to as a torsion bar. The torsion bar is mounted by a center bracket, usually somewhere almost directly above the middle of your garage door and two end brackets, which are usually fastened to the track and the wall. This keeps the bar in place as the torsion springs turn back and forth, applying force to the bar. At the ends are what we call the drums, which hold the cables fastened to the bottom of the door and they themselves are fastened to the torsion bar so that when a little force is applied the springs begin to turn, which then turn the drums, which then lift the door.

There are a certain amount of winds each spring is turned according to the height of your door. Springs come in various sizes according to the weight, height and desired cycle length.

Why Springs Break ? :

Torsion Springs have a cycle rating, which basically determines the amount of lifts you can raise a door. When you get a new pair of springs for every time you raise the door, the spring are actually unwinding. This is the force you feel bringing the door up; if you have ever raised it manually. When you bring the door back down, the springs are actually turning back and rewinding themselves. That is one cycle and every time you do this, you’ve gone through another cycle. Once you hit the cycle rating you will have a broken spring and find yourself in need of a repair.

What can I do to prevent this? :

Honestly there’s not preventing a spring from breaking once it hits us full life cycle. However, you can prevent yourself from getting trapped in your garage this Summer!

If you are able to determine when you first had your last set of spring installed, and the average amount of lifts you lift your door ; you can then multiply the amount of daily lifts by 365 days a year and multiply that by the amount of years (roughly) to determine your estimated current cycle use. The average door usually has a pair of springs that are rated for about 15,000. (There are doors with springs that have higher and lower cycle life’s). If you are anywhere near that cycle life, you stand the chance of winding up with a broken spring soon. Now you may not be able to prevent the broken spring but you can prevent getting trapped in your garage and having to wait on a repair man to get you out.

I suggest if you’ve nearly hit your cycle life to go ahead and have your springs changed now. No one likes spending money on things that aren’t quite broken, but honestly this is not the type of thing you want to wait to break. With this situation people wind up missing doctor appointments, important meetings, picking up kids from school all over something you just don’t typically think of getting done. If this sounds like you, give us a call today and we’ll get you taken care of! If nothing else, maybe this article can ease any suspicions of any soon needed repairs!

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Garage Door Lubricant : If your not using it, expect a garage door repair soon

One of the most overlooked items in a home is your garage door. Often people go years without performing any kind of maintenance or routine inspection of their door or its working parts such as the motor, springs or rollers. One of the simplest of things you yourself can do right now and today is acquiring some garage door lubricant.

When a door goes months or years even without any lubricant at all, one of the first things to get destroyed are the rollers. With nylon rollers we experience a locking up affect. With tire and ball rollers and metal rollers, without regular lubricant applied, we can get quicker destruction to the ball bearing inside the roller which can lead to many problems like a door that jams on its way down, binding itself, and slipping out of the frame of the tracks.

Another worry are your springs. Without lubrication we may see rust and build up that can cause the coils of the springs to work against each other. The binding of the coils can make an older torsion spring break sooner then anticipated. Accumulation of rust is another concern.

Hinges without proper lubrication can also experience cracking.

It’s really not difficult to manage. There are many brands in your local hardware store such as : 3-1 Garage Door Lubricant and PB Blaster Garage Door Spray.

Another thing to consider is noise. If you notice your door is grinding, screeching or creaky…. It most likely needs to be lubricated. Often I will suggest putting the door in manual (if it’s connected to a motor) and lift it by hand to get a feel for the door. If it acts stubborn in any way, realize that you may have a potential repair coming up soon if it’s not resolved and often it can be resolved with just some lubricant. If not, a door that doesn’t move well is something you should call us for before it potentially turns into a bigger repair.

If door lubricant is something you’ve been skipping out on, door yourself a favor (maybe even potentially save yourself some money) and go down to your local hardware store to pick you up some garage door lubricant. Often this makes some of the biggest differences to my customers door. Too often my customers were unaware (prior to a visit) that they were even suppose to be lubricating their door 3-4 times a year. It is a must, and will potentially cause damage to your door (wearing out parts sooner then normal). So if your someone who hasn’t lubricated their garage door in sometime, now would be a good time.

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Struts for Bent & Broken Panels

Have you ever locked your door manually, forgetting you had, and unfortunately been reminded by the opener when it pulled your door back and kinked the middle? Possibly had a slipped cable and hit your opener button, causing a crooked and bent door? Ever brought the door down or up, colliding with something causing damage to the door? At The Garage Door Guys we have seen a variety of accidents caused by variety of factors. It’s not the end of the world though. Check out a quick demonstration of such a scenarios below!

On this garage door repair job, our customer had experienced a particular accident with their door. This caused bowing of the previous struts and panels, broken hinges and stiles. Luckily there were no major tears in the panel. Our customer on this job was quoted 1200 dollars for a new door by a few companies. Our company didn’t even charge 1/3 of that for the necessary repairs. We pride ourselves in the fact that we’re able to make money by saving people money, with a job well done!

What are Struts?

Struts are metal shaped U style bars specifically designed to horizontally attach to the garage door’s panel stiles. This reinforces the garage door be restricting any unwanted flexibility between the stiles of the door. The repair often makes the panel more durable then it was new, and saves people hundreds of dollars and hours of time and planning. This is often one of our favorite repairs to perform. It allows us to make a profit and save our customers tons of money with a quality repair. No one wants an accident to happen, but if it does, contact someone with the experience to handle the repair the right way. We use the proper hardware, not some junk we put together at the local hardware store. We know what works and we’ve seen others guess works….. it’s not pretty. So go with the professions in residential garage door repair, The Garage Door Guys!

Continue reading “Struts for Bent & Broken Panels”

Garage Door Motors : Life Expectancy

On average we see motors last anywhere around 15 years give or take. The duty of a motor is simply to guide the door up and down. Contrary to a belief many have, it is not responsible for lifting the majority of the door weight (that would be the springs).

Often people overlook maintenance such as lubricating wheels, changing springs or repairing a bent panel with a strut. All of these things can contribute to an opener stain and expedite the longevity of the opener.

The two most common parts to go out on an opener are its computer board and motor. The cost to repair those two often come close to a full opener replacement so we usually advice to change the unit once one of those two parts goes out.

We offer a variety of motor options, from your standard overhead motor to more extravagant side mounts that tend to be more efficient for low head room. With over 15 years of experience we’ve worked with a variety of brands such as LiftMaster, Craftsman, Chamberlain and others.

We also allow our customers to buy their own motor and have us install it or purchase both the installation and parts through us. We offer a warranty on all of our installations and even a quick tutorial on all its operations once the unit is installed.

Most of our Motors offer a cell phone app as well to operate your door right from your phone. This also adds an extra layer of security with its ability to tell you whether your door is open or closed when your not at home.

If you’re looking to have your garage door opener/motor replace go to our information page and contact us now!

Change in The Weather : Broken Springs

If you ever come outside and see this, DO NOT RAISE the door with the automatic opener. In most cases it’s best to leave the door down entirely. Unfortunately when springs break, the full weight of the door is no longer being assisted. The strain of lifting the door increases exponentially and can damage the motor when running.
As many of you know, here in November, weather in Texas can be very inconsistent, especially here in the Humble, Kingwood, and Porter areas.

During these moments of weather change there are usually several cold fronts and bouts of warm air that cause the weather to fluctuate.

Weather, especially cold weather, can significantly affect your garage door springs by making the metal weak, leading to increased tension and a higher chance of breaking due to the contraction and expansion in metal caused by temperature fluctuations; essentially, cold can cause the springs to become more prone to snapping or failing prematurely.

Standardized springs will last somewhere between 10-15k cycles or lifts up and down. This translates into a variety of year ranges depending on the user. Some of our customers lift the door so often, 8 years is about all they get and others who rarely use their door and don’t replace springs but every 15-20 years. If you’re aware of how often you use your door and how old your springs are, you could AVOID getting stuck in your garage for a day or two, waiting on a professional to come out.

Instead call The Garage Door Guys today @832-480-2781 to have your springs replaced before they break and avoid getting stuck around the holidays! No one wants to miss out on family functions because they can’t get their car out of the garage. So don’t miss out and catch yourself in a bind. Call Today! We are located in the Kingwood area and handle all garage door repair and installation needs. Visit our Google or Facebook page to see what others have to say! Links are in menu options above!