Why did I hear a loud bang in my garage and the door won't open?
That bang was almost certainly a garage door spring breaking. The springs carry the weight of the door, so when one snaps the opener has nothing helping it lift, the door stays down, and the whole thing suddenly weighs what the springs were holding a moment ago.
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A snapped cable can make a similar noise, and so can a roller or bracket letting go. The fix is the same either way: stop using the door, leave the car where it is, and have a garage door technician look at it.
Why springs break
Springs are rated in cycles, not years. One open and one close is a cycle, and cycle life rather than age decides when a spring goes. A household that runs the door eight times a day gets through springs far faster than one that uses it twice.
The break usually happens with the door closed, because that is when a torsion spring is wound tightest. The bang is the steel letting go and the coils slamming against the bar or the wall. On an extension spring system, the spring beside the track lets go and you may see it hanging or see a gap in the coil.
Cold weather does not cause the break on its own, but a cold snap often finishes off a spring that was already fatigued. That is why so many of these calls come in on the first hard morning of the season.
What you can check yourself
- Look for a gap in the springStand back and look at the spring above the door or along the tracks. A broken torsion spring shows a clear gap of an inch or two in what was a continuous coil.
- Look for a loose cableA cable hanging slack, kinked, or dangling off its drum tells you the lift system has failed. Do not pull on it or try to seat it.
- Leave the opener aloneRepeated attempts to run the opener against a dead spring can strip the gear or bend the top section. Press the button once, hear that it strains, and stop.
- Do not pull the red release cordWith a broken spring the door is not balanced, and releasing it can let the door drop. If someone already pulled it, leave the door down and keep people away from the opening.
- Check whether you have a second doorIf the car is shut inside, the walk-through door or a second bay is the way out for now. Do not try to lift the door by hand.
When to call a technician
A broken spring is past DIY, full stop. Torsion springs are under extreme tension even when broken, winding them takes the right bars and the right technique, and people get hurt trying to force a door that has lost its counterbalance. Cables and bottom brackets carry the same tension and should not be touched either.
Spring and cable work almost never needs a building permit; that comes up with full door replacement, and in some cities, especially coastal high-wind zones where a new door must carry a wind rating. Licensing rules vary by state, and many states leave it to the city or county. The technician holds whatever license their state requires, and your state's contractor licensing board is the place to verify it. One Call Garage Door arranges the visit with an independent local technician. Call (866) 394-4210 — the estimate is free, and the technician gives you the price before any work starts.
What the technician will do
- Weigh and size the springsSprings are matched to the door's actual weight and height, not to whatever was on it before. The wrong size leaves the door heavy or flying open.
- Replace springs in pairsIf one of two springs broke, the other is the same age and the same cycle count. Replacing both keeps the lift even and saves a second visit.
- Check cables, drums and bearingsA spring break often frays a cable or chews a bearing. These get inspected while the system is apart.
- Rebalance the doorA balanced door should hold its place partway up. The technician sets the tension so the opener is not doing the lifting.
- Test the opener's safety reverseOnce the door moves properly, the reverse and the photo eyes get tested so the door stops and backs off when something is in the way.
Related questions
- Can I open the door by hand until it's fixed?
- No. With a broken spring the door weighs what the springs were carrying, and lifting it by hand is how people hurt their backs and hands. Leave it closed until a technician has looked at it.
- Only one spring broke. Do both need replacing?
- On a two-spring door, yes, in practice. Both springs have the same cycle count, so the second is usually close behind, and matched springs keep the door lifting evenly.
- Did my opener break too?
- Usually not, but it can. Running an opener repeatedly against a dead spring can strip the drive gear, so the technician checks the opener once the door is balanced again.
- What decides the cost of this repair?
- The door's size and weight, whether it uses torsion or extension springs, how many springs it takes, whether cables, drums or bearings were damaged, and what is found once the technician looks. The estimate is free and the price is confirmed before any work begins.
- How do I keep it from happening again so soon?
- Ask about higher-cycle springs if your door runs many times a day, and keep the door balanced and the hardware lubricated. Cycle count, not age, is what wears a spring out.
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