Different Kinds Of Garage Door Springs

A common type of garage door is the sectional overhead garage door. This is the type of garage door that swings up on tracks and, when it is open, is stored above your head. A couple of the important mechanisms that are critical for the correct function of the door are garage door springs. In the case of this kind of garage door there are two springs: torsion springs and extension springs.

Both of these garage door springs are tightly fitted on the door mounting and can be very dangerous to fit due to the stored energy that they have. It would be a sensible idea that if you have to replace either of these springs that you call in an expert and let them do it.

First of all, let’s look at what a torsion spring is and what its roll is in the operation of a garage door. A torsion spring is the spring that sits above the door opening attached by metal rods. In fact, one garage door contains two torsion springs and they sit on either side of the center of the opening.

The torsion springs are designed to lift the weight of the garage door either when it is opened manually by hand or with an electric door opener. The principal behind the torsion spring is based on the turning of a torsion shaft that turns under spring torsion. This turns lift drums which wind cables attached near the bottom of the door controlling the lifting mechanism of the door.

The other kind of garage door springs are extension springs and they run along the left and right hand door tracks. They do their job to lift and lower the door more easily. Remember when these springs are extended they are stretched to an almost deadly force and should not be tampered with in any way. A typical extension spring will measure around 25 inches in length for a 7 foot garage door, that’s in the relaxed state. They will stretch to an overall length of 84 inches. When larger than standard garage doors are installed it may be necessary to use groups of extension springs to handle the added weight.

Both kinds of garage door springs are available in a range of force capacities depending on the amount of weight they are required to hold. When ordering either a torsion spring or an extension spring you should be aware of the spring’s outer diameter, the wire diameter and the free length. Other parameters that are important to consider are the maximum load of the spring, the spring rate and the extended length. These measurements will all be vital to the performance of your garage door after they have been fitted.