When to Replace Your Garage Door Spring

Garage door springs last 7 to 12 years under normal use, but the real metric is cycles. A standard torsion spring is rated for 10,000 cycles... one cycle equals one full open and one full close. If you open and close your garage door 4 times per day (twice out, twice in), that's about 1,460 cycles per year, giving you roughly 7 years. A family that uses the garage door 2 times per day gets closer to 14 years. High-cycle springs rated for 25,000 to 50,000 cycles cost more upfront ($200 to $350 per pair vs $150 to $250 for standard) but can last 15 to 25 years... they pay for themselves by cutting the number of replacements in half over the life of the door. There are two types of garage door springs. Torsion springs mount on a shaft above the door and use torque to lift the weight. Extension springs run along the horizontal tracks on both sides and stretch to provide lifting force. Torsion springs are superior in every way... they're more balanced, last longer, and are safer. Extension springs are found on older or builder-grade installations and should be upgraded to torsion when they fail. Temperature swings affect spring life. Cold weather makes steel more brittle, and springs that were fine in summer can snap on the first bitter cold morning. Garage temperature matters too... an insulated garage that stays above freezing puts less thermal stress on the springs than an unheated detached garage. Rust is the other killer. Moisture corrodes the coils and creates weak points where the spring eventually breaks. Lubricating the springs twice a year with silicone spray or white lithium grease prevents rust and extends life by 1 to 3 years.