Car stuck behind the garage door? Call now, any hour (902) 593-4044
Garage door spring repair in Halifax, NS
A sudden bang from the garage, then a door that won't lift, is the classic sign of a broken spring. Leave the door where it is and don't run the opener. We replace torsion and extension springs and worn cables at any hour, then balance the door.
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How can I tell my garage door spring has broken?
Look at the spring on the shaft above the door: a clear gap in the coil means it has snapped. Other signs are a loud bang with nobody near the door, a door that feels far heavier than normal, an opener that lifts a few inches then stops or reverses, and a door that rises crooked with one cable slack. Stop using the door and call a technician, because the parts around a spring are still under tension.
Why the spring matters more than the motor
The springs, not the opener, carry the weight of your door. A steel double door is far too heavy for one person to lift safely, and the springs are wound so that it feels almost weightless. The opener only steers it. Once a spring snaps, that balance is gone: the opener strains against the full weight and gives up, and anyone who tries to lift the door by hand is holding all of it.
What a broken spring looks and sounds like
- a bang like a gunshot from the garage, often in the middle of the night;
- a gap of several centimetres between coils on the bar above the door;
- the opener whines, lifts the door a hand's width and stops or reverses;
- one side of the door rises first, or a cable droops;
- the door is suddenly much heavier to move.
Springs and cables fail together
The lifting cables run from the bottom corners of the door to drums on the spring bar. When a spring lets go, the cable on that side often goes slack, jumps its drum or kinks. In a salty, damp climate cables also rust from the inside out, and a single broken strand is a warning. We check both cables on every spring call and replace any that are frayed, rusted or kinked, so the new spring isn't working against a worn cable.
Torsion or extension, matched to your door
Newer houses in subdivisions across Bedford, Clayton Park and Fall River mostly have torsion springs, one or two coils on the bar above the door. Older detached garages often use extension springs stretched along each side above the tracks, and those should have a safety cable running through them. We replace either kind, size the spring to the actual weight of your door, and finish by balancing it: a well-set door stays put when you let go halfway up.
Until we arrive
- Don't run the opener again.
- Don't pull the emergency release with the door open. With no spring holding it, the door can drop.
- Keep children, pets and cars clear of the doorway.
If the car has to come out, read car stuck behind the garage door and call us.
Any hour, price agreed first
Springs break whenever they break, and we take those calls day and night. You hear the price before work starts, as set out in our price promise. If the opener took a beating straining against the dead weight, see garage door openers; for everything else, start at garage door repair. We cover Halifax and the communities on our areas page.
Where we go
Halifax, Dartmouth, Bedford and out across HRM. See every community we cover; the real timing is given on the phone.
Questions people ask
- Is it safe to change a garage door spring myself?
- No. A torsion spring is wound with enough force to break bones if a winding bar slips. Replacing one needs the right bars, clamps and experience, so leave it to a technician.
- Only one spring broke. Do both need replacing?
- On a two-spring door, both were installed together and have lifted the same door the same number of times, so the survivor is usually close to its end too. We show you its condition and you decide.
- Does salt air shorten spring life?
- Rust is bad news for a part that flexes every time the door moves. Pitted, corroded coils are weaker, and they grind against each other. A light coat of garage door lubricant on the springs a couple of times a year helps protect them, which matters more the closer you live to the water.
- My car is inside and the spring is broken. What now?
- Don't lift the door or pull the release while it is open. Call us. We can replace the spring on the spot, or secure the door and get the car out safely.
- What is the difference between torsion and extension springs?
- Torsion springs sit on a bar above the door and twist to lift it; most newer homes have them. Extension springs run alongside the overhead tracks and stretch, and are common on older and single doors.
Book a time, or ask a question.
Open 24 hours, 7 days. You approve the price before we start.