What to do if a garage door spring breaks

Nothing lasts forever. Certainly the lifespan of garage door springs is limited. Sooner or later they wear out and break. What should you do when that happens?

Can I open my garage door if a spring is broken?

This probably the real question you’re asking. We’ll answer this, but first we want to strongly recommend calling a garage door pro instead of doing anything yourself. They will be trained to safely open the door and make any repairs.

How do I know if a spring is broken?

If you’re in range, you may hear a bang or loud popping noise when a spring breaks. It may break when you’re opening the door.

If it happens while opening, the door may tilt uneven. Or the opener motor might run without moving the door. The door could even fall off its tracks.

Hopefully, you’ll actually see the broken spring before trying to open the door.

A broken spring is obvious if you know what to look for. First, you should know the difference between torsion springs and extension springs.

A broken torsion spring will still be in place, but will be in two pieces.

If you have extension springs, hopefully you have safety cables installed. These will keep the broken spring from flying off and causing damage or harm. Held up by the safety cable, it may be sagging or dangling from its normal position.

How to Open the Door if a spring is broken

You may be tempted to try using the door opener anyway. This is not a good idea. Even the best garage door opener is not designed to lift the door without springs. The weight can damage the motor.

The imbalance can also cause the door to rise unevenly, and even potentially come off its tracks.

However, if you have two torsion springs and only one is broken, the door opener may still work properly if the door is not heavy. You should still replace broken garage springs as soon as possible since the motor can be damaged by the extra weight.

But can you open the door manually if the spring is broken?

Again, we recommend that you NOT open the garage if a spring is broken. Call your trusted repair company to handle it.

However, we realize there are times when you can’t wait. Perhaps you have to be somewhere and need to get your car out of the garage.

First, make sure you understand what’s involved.

The Dangers of Opening a Door with a broken spring

Know the dangers of manually opening your door. Springs provide the force necessary to help lift the weight of the door. If you only have one spring, and it’s broken, the door may be very difficult to lift.

If a heavy door falls on someone, it will cause injury. You can also hurt yourself trying to lift something that’s too heavy for you. Further, you can pinch fingers in the door sections or rollers.

Considerations before trying to raise the door

Do you have a single or double door? A single door will be much lighter. If it’s steel and not insulated, and you are fairly strong, raising the door may be pretty easy.

If you have a double door you should get help. Having two or three people will make the job much safer.

Some have suggested that you can use the garage door opener and simply help lift the door to compensate for the broken spring.

This can be done, but we don’t recommend it. If you put unbalanced force on the door, it could fall of the tracks.

Find something to support the door when it’s partially open. It needs to be hefty enough to hold the door without you. A wooden box or a sturdy step ladder may work.

Steps to raise the door

Here are steps you can take to open a door with a broken spring.

Disconnect the garage door opener. There should be a red cord or handle hanging from the opener rail, where a bracket connects to the door. Pull it down firmly.
Have you and your helpers spaced evenly across the length of the door.
Grab the bottom of the door and lift slowly. Bend at your knees and lift with your legs.
Make sure you lift the door evenly, keeping the bottom parallel with the floor.
Plan to lift a little at a time and place a support under the door if you need to rest.
The door is heaviest when completely closed, so it will get easier the higher up it goes.
Continue until the door is completely open.
Once the door is fully open, use something to hold the door open.

To close the door, reverse the process. Use extra caution as the weight will increase as it comes down. Be careful not to drop the door when it gets to the bottom. This is when it will be heaviest.

Please note: this is only an emergency measure. Do not continue to operate the door manually or you may cause further damage.

If you need garage door service in Dallas County or Collin County, give Ideal Garage Doors a call.

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