Sneaky Reasons Garage Door Springs Meet Their Demise Faster Than Usual
There are many functional parts of your garage door that make it operate and if just one of these components fail, it can often mean the garage door will no longer function at all. This is especially true when it comes to the garage door torsion springs. These springs are responsible for holding the heft of the garage door for enough support to make sure it opens without a lot of effort. While these springs typically have a fairly long life span, some homeowners find themselves having to have the springs professionally replaced a lot more often than most. If you are having to replace your garage door springs frequently, there could be some less-obvious reasons this is the case.
You open and close your garage door frequently.
Most homeowners actually are not aware that garage door springs are rated for so many cycles, or in other words, they are designed to withstand a set number of opening and closing actions before they start to wear out. When you understand this, it is easy to see why, if you use your garage door a lot more frequently than most, the springs will have to be replaced more often.
You live fairly close to the ocean.
If you live on oceanfront property or even in a seaside city, you are probably already familiar with how the salty air can make maintaining your home a little different than what many others have to deal with. What you may not realize is the same salty air that can give you their home maintenance headaches can also negatively impact garage door springs. There is a solution, however, in the form of coated garage door springs that are specifically designed to last longer in climates where high salt content is an issue.
Your garage door is off balance.
Because the garage door is so heavy, it has a dual support system that is used when the door is opened, which is why your garage door has two torsion springs. If the weight of your garage door is not well balanced, it puts unnecessary stress on one of the garage door springs and this can cause at least one of the springs to break more often than it should. To resolve this issue, check to see if your door is level when it is about halfway down. If it is not, check your garage door's manufacturer instructions for balancing the door.
To learn more, contact a company that specializes in garage door spring repair.