Stop using the door
Broken garage door spring in Orlando, FL
You heard a bang. Maybe it sounded like a gunshot in the garage. Now the door will not lift, or it comes up a few inches and stops dead. That is almost always a broken spring. Look at the bar above the door opening: if you see a coiled spring with a clean gap in it, you have your answer. On some doors the springs run along the tracks on either side instead, and one of those can snap the same way.
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The springs, not the opener, carry the weight of the door. When one breaks, the door suddenly weighs what those springs were holding. The opener was never built to lift that, so forcing it with the button can burn out the motor or bend the door. In Orlando, humidity is the quiet culprit. Central Florida sits in high humidity nearly year-round, with heavy afternoon storms from June through September, and that constant moisture rusts springs, rollers, cables and fasteners. Rust means friction, friction means fatigue, and fatigue is what finally breaks a spring.
While you wait — please don't
- Stop using the door. With a broken spring the door is unbalanced and can slam down, so leave it where it is and park outside if you can.
- Do not touch the springs. Torsion springs are under extreme tension even when broken, and they can injure you badly if released without the right tools.
- Do not force it with the opener. The opener is a positioning motor, not a lift, and hammering the button can strip the gears or pull the door out of its track.
- Do not lift it by hand. People hurt their backs and hands doing this because the door now weighs far more than they expect.
- Keep kids and pets out of the garage. A door held up by a cable or a bent track can drop without warning.
What the technician does
- The door gets weighed and measuredThe technician checks the door's weight and size so the replacement springs match it. A spring that is not sized to the door will fail early and leave the door unbalanced.
- Springs are replaced in pairsIf one spring broke, the other has done the same number of cycles and is on the same clock. Replacing both keeps the pull even across the door.
- Cables, drums and bearings are checkedA spring failure often frays a cable or chews a bearing, and a worn drum will keep throwing the door off balance. These get inspected while the door is apart.
- The door is rebalancedOnce the new springs are wound, the door should hold its position halfway up on its own. That is the test that the springs are doing their job instead of the opener.
- The opener safety reverse is testedThe technician confirms the door stops and reverses as it should before finishing up.
- You get the price firstThe estimate is free. The technician looks at the door, tells you the price, and you approve it before any work starts.
Why this happens in Orlando, FL
Springs wear by cycles, not by birthdays. Every open and close counts, so a household that runs the door six or eight times a day will get through springs faster than a neighbor who uses the side door. In Orlando's suburban subdivisions, attached one- and two-car garages are the norm and the garage door is the front door in practice. That is a lot of cycles. Add persistent humidity and heavy summer rain, and the hardware corrodes while it works.
Timing has a pattern here too. Rapid growth around Lake Nona and the south and east suburbs produced large tracts of near-identical new builds, and those builder-grade doors and openers age out at roughly the same time on the same streets. Older homes closer to downtown — the 1920s to 1950s bungalows around College Park, Lake Eola Heights and Colonialtown — often have detached garages with lighter single doors and older hardware. Hard freezes are rare in Orlando and usually last a few nights in January or February, but a cold snap will finish off a spring that was already fatigued. Demand also climbs through hurricane season, June 1 to November 30, when people are getting doors and openings checked before a storm.
Questions people ask
- Can I just replace the broken spring and leave the good one?
- It is not the way this is normally done. Both springs have taken the same number of cycles, so the second is usually close behind the first. Replacing them as a pair keeps the lift even and saves you a second failure soon after.
- Does the humidity in Orlando really break springs?
- Humidity does not snap a spring on its own, but Central Florida's year-round moisture and heavy summer rain accelerate rust on springs, hinges, rollers and fasteners. Rusty parts drag, and drag wears a spring out faster. It shortens the life of hardware that would last longer in a dry climate.
- Do I need a permit for this in Florida?
- A permit is typically required to replace a whole garage door in Florida, because the door is part of the building envelope and must meet Florida Building Code requirements. Permits are issued and inspected locally, so requirements vary by jurisdiction. Check with your local building department for your address.
- Is my door wind-rated, and does that matter for a spring repair?
- Florida Building Code sets design pressure requirements for garage doors in wind-borne debris regions, which matters in a storm-exposed area like Central Florida. A spring replacement does not change the door's rating. If you are thinking about a new door, verify the exact rating required for your address with the local building department.
- Are you the company doing the repair?
- No. One Call Garage Door is a referral and scheduling service that arranges garage door service with independent local technicians. We are not the contractor and we do not perform the work. Licensing is the technician's own, and requirements vary by county and city in Florida.
- How do I know what it will cost before someone starts?
- The estimate is free on every job. The technician looks at your door, sizes the springs and tells you the price. Nothing happens until you approve it.
One call
One call to (866) 394-4210 and we arrange a visit from an independent local technician for your Orlando home. The estimate is free, and you agree the price before any work starts.
Something else in this area
One Call Garage Door arranges the visit; the technician does the work and gives you the price.