A Primer on Garage Door Torsion and Extension Springs

10/09/2013 Back To Blog

The counterbalance weight provided by garage door springs makes it easy for one to open and close the door of any garage. However, wear and tear over time may make such springs stop functioning properly. When this happens, you need to replace the old springs with new ones. In general, there are two types of garage door springs: torsion and extension. Keep reading to learn more about these springs.

Torsion Springs

These are quite common especially in residential houses. Depending on the manufacturer, the torsion springs may be housed inside a shaft or encircle the shaft. Some doors have one torsion spring while others have two springs. Some of the torsion spring types made by manufacturers include:

Steel Rolling Door Torsion Springs

This consists of a torsion spring counterbalance placed inside a barrel. The overhead door wraps around the barrel as you open it. The barrel has a shaft inside that provides support to the springs. In addition, the barrel has idler brackets to support the shaft. If you would like to adjust the tension of the springs, inset a winding bar in the winding wheel and apply downward pressure. This allows you to remove the bolt that anchors the spring winder inside the shaft. You can now increase tension by turning the winding wheel.

Commercial Torsion Springs   

To carry out broken spring repair on commercial and industrial garage doors, you must have a good grasp of how they operate. To start with, most commercial overhead doors have four torsion springs. Furthermore, the springs are set up in a linear, duplex, triplex, or mixed system. In general, heavy doors require large springs with large inside diameter. It is advisable to hire a professional to repair any defects.

Extension Springs

You will find them mounted along the sides of the door with springs and contract or stretch as one opens and closes the door. Some homes have one-piece garage door springs while others have sectional garage door springs.

One-Piece Garage Door Extension Springs

A garage door may have one or two extension springs on either side. The spring has an adjusting bolt that fastens it to a garage doorjamb bracket.

Sectional Garage Door Extension Springs

These are quite common in the United States and utilize springs to provide counterbalance weight.