Broken Garage Door Spring Repair in Cleveland, OH

A spring is a coil of steel that's twisted or stretched every time the door moves. Each spring is rated for a set number of cycles, and cold makes the last few cycles more likely to end in a snap. January in Cleveland averages a low around 22°F and is the region's windiest month, so a spring that was close to worn out in October often gives up in a cold snap.

Snow adds weight. On the east side and in Lake County, wet lake-effect snow can stick to the outside of the door and pack against the bottom. The spring then has to balance a heavier door, and the opener pulls harder to make up the difference.

Salt plays a role too. Rust pits the coils, and a pitted spring breaks sooner.

You might hear a loud bang from the garage, like a firecracker. Look above the door: a torsion spring with a gap of a few inches in the coil is broken. On doors with springs running along the side tracks, one spring may look stretched or hang loose.

Other signs include an opener that hums but the door won't lift, a door that rises a few inches and stops, or a door that slams when it comes down. Don't lift it by hand and don't keep pressing the button. The other spring, the cables and the opener are all under extra stress. Our national broken spring repair page lists more signs.

Many pre-war detached garages in Cleveland, Lakewood and the inner-ring suburbs have low headroom, so the door uses extension springs along the horizontal tracks instead of a torsion spring over the opening. These springs stretch under heavy tension. When one breaks without a safety cable inside it, pieces can fly across the garage.

When we replace extension springs, we run safety cables through them and check the pulleys and lift cables at the same time, since those often rust out together. If the garage has enough headroom, we can talk about converting to a torsion system, which runs more smoothly. We'll tell you if your garage is a good candidate.

Newer homes in Strongsville, Westlake, Avon, Solon and similar suburbs usually have torsion springs on a shaft above the door. Builders often installed springs with a lower cycle rating. After enough years of trips in and out, those springs reach the end of their life.

Most two-car doors use two torsion springs. When one breaks, the other has been through the same cycles and is usually close behind, so replacing them as a pair is common. We size the new springs to your door's actual weight and height, then balance the door so it stays put when it's halfway open. A balanced door is also easier on the opener.

The price depends on the spring type, how many springs the door uses, the door's weight, and whether cables, drums or pulleys also need replacing. Heavy insulated or wood doors need larger springs. Higher-cycle springs cost more up front and last longer.

We'll give you the price before we start. If the opener was strained while the spring was broken, we'll check it too. See opener repair in Cleveland or go back to our Cleveland service area page.