If you've ever heard a startling bang from your garage and then found that your door won't budge, there's a very good chance a garage door spring has broken. It's one of the most common — and most disruptive — failures we see at Mt Juliet homes. Here's why springs break, what to look for, and what you should (and shouldn't) do next.
What Garage Door Springs Actually Do
Your garage door is heavy. A standard two-car insulated door can weigh 150–250 pounds. Springs — whether torsion springs mounted above the door or extension springs running along the tracks — counterbalance that weight so the opener (and you) can lift it. When a spring breaks, the opener is suddenly trying to lift the full weight of the door, which is exactly what it's not designed to do.
The Most Common Reasons Garage Door Springs Break
1. Normal wear and cycle life
Springs are rated in cycles — one open and one close equals one cycle. A standard spring is rated for about 10,000 cycles. If you use your garage door four times a day, that's roughly 7 years. High-cycle springs (20,000–30,000 cycles) last considerably longer but cost more upfront.
2. Cold weather
Middle Tennessee winters aren't extreme, but cold snaps do happen. Metal contracts and becomes more brittle in low temperatures, which is why a lot of springs break on the first really cold morning of the year.
3. Rust and corrosion
Humidity, road salt during winter, and moisture from a damp garage all accelerate rust. Rust increases friction between the coils and weakens the metal. A light annual coating of garage-door-specific lubricant on the springs makes a noticeable difference.
4. Improper installation or wrong-size spring
If a previous installer used a spring that didn't match the door's weight, it will fail early. We see this often on homes where a non-specialist installed a spring to save money.
5. Lack of maintenance
An annual tune-up — lubrication, hardware tightening, balance check — can extend spring life and catch wear before it turns into a 7 a.m. surprise.
How to Tell If Your Spring Is Broken
- You heard a loud bang from the garage (often described as a gunshot).
- The door won't open, or only opens a few inches before stopping.
- You can see a visible gap in the torsion spring above the door.
- The opener strains, hums, or trips the safety reverse.
- The door looks crooked or one side is hanging lower.
Spring broken? We carry replacements on the truck.
Our Mt Juliet techs replace torsion and extension springs with properly-matched, high-cycle parts.
Get a Free QuoteShould You Replace One Spring or Both?
If your door uses two torsion springs and one has broken, the other is almost certainly close to the end of its life — they're installed at the same time and cycle the same number of times. Replacing both at once costs slightly more in parts but saves you a second service visit (and the cost that comes with it) when the second one goes a few weeks or months later.
What Not to Do With a Broken Spring
Do not try to force the door open with the opener — you can burn out the motor or strip the gears. Do not try to manually lift a door with a broken spring; without the counterbalance, the door is far heavier than it feels and can fall hard enough to cause serious injury. And do not attempt to replace a torsion spring yourself unless you have winding bars and know exactly what you're doing. Springs under tension store an enormous amount of energy.
The Bottom Line
A broken garage door spring isn't a maintenance project — it's a repair that should happen quickly and by someone with the right tools and parts. If you're in Mt Juliet, Lebanon, Hermitage, or Donelson and your spring just gave out, send us a quick message through the form on our home page and we'll get you sorted.