Can I just use the emergency release and open the door by hand?

Pulling the release disconnects the opener, but it does not make the door lighter. With a broken spring the full weight of the door is on you, and that is how people get hurt. Leave it alone and have it looked at.

Why did my spring break in winter when Tallahassee barely gets cold?

Tallahassee does get multiple freezes and hard frosts each year, which is more than most of Florida. Cold snaps do not create the problem, they finish off a spring that was already fatigued from its cycle count. That is why so many springs let go on the first genuinely cold morning.

Does the storm season affect this?

Demand across Tallahassee spikes during the June to November hurricane season and after each named-storm scare, and again during spring severe weather. Falling limbs from the canopy roads and live oaks are a leading cause of storm damage to garage doors here, and a door knocked out of alignment puts extra load on the springs.

Do I need a permit for a spring replacement?

In Florida a permit is typically required to replace a garage door, because the door is part of the building envelope and must meet Florida Building Code. A spring replacement is a repair, not a door replacement. If the conversation turns toward a new door, confirm requirements with your local city or county building department.

Who actually shows up at my house?

One Call Garage Door is a referral and scheduling service. We arrange garage door service with independent local technicians in all fifty states — we are not the contractor and we do not perform the work. Licensing is the technician's own and requirements vary by jurisdiction, so confirm current rules with the Florida DBPR and your county or city licensing or building department.

Stop using the door

Broken garage door spring in Tallahassee, 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. The springs carry the weight of the door. When one lets go, the door suddenly weighs what the springs were carrying, and the opener cannot move it. Look above the door or along the tracks. If you see a coil with a clean gap in it, that is your answer.

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Springs do not fail by age. They fail by cycle count. Every open and close uses one cycle. A busy Tallahassee household that runs the door many times a day will get through springs faster than a quiet one, no matter how new the door is. Heat and humidity do not help either. Florida's hot, humid air speeds up rust on springs, hinges, rollers and fasteners year-round. And Tallahassee is far enough north to get multiple freezes and hard frosts each winter, which is often what finishes off a spring that was already fatigued.

While you wait — please don't

Stop using the door. Leave it where it is and do not keep hitting the button, because a door with a failed spring can drop or bind and damage the opener, the cables and the panels.
Do not try to lift it by hand. The door is now carrying weight nothing is holding up, and people hurt their backs, hands and feet trying to force it open.
Do not touch the torsion springs. Torsion springs sit under extreme tension even after they break, and they are not something to unwind, loosen or replace yourself.
Do not replace just the broken one. Springs are matched and wear at the same rate, so a single new spring paired with a worn one puts the door right back out of balance.
Get the car out another way. If a vehicle is shut in, use another exit rather than propping the door, because a propped door can come down fast.

What the technician does

The door gets weighed and measuredSprings have to be sized to the actual weight and height of your door. The technician checks what the door needs rather than guessing from the old parts.
Springs are replaced in pairsTorsion or extension, both springs get changed together. That keeps the lift even and stops you doing this again in a few months when the second one goes.
Cables, drums and bearings are checkedA spring rarely breaks on its own without stressing something else. Frayed cables, worn drums and dry bearings get looked at while the door is apart.
The door is rebalancedA balanced door will hold its position partway up with the opener disconnected. That is the test that the new springs are right for the door.
The opener safety reverse is testedOnce the door moves properly, the opener's reversing function is checked so the door backs off if something is under it.
You see the price firstThe estimate is free. The technician looks at the door, gives you the price, and you approve it before any work starts.

Why this happens in Tallahassee, FL

A lot of Tallahassee's core housing near Midtown, Betton Hills, Myers Park and Indian Head Acres dates to the 1950s through the 1970s. Single-layer wood garage doors and aging exterior hardware are common service calls in that stock. A heavier old wood door asks more of its springs than a light modern one, and in this humidity the hardware around them corrodes right along with it. Out in the newer subdivisions north and southeast of town — Killearn Estates, Killearn Lakes Plantation, Bradfordville, Ox Bottom, Southwood, Buck Lake — two-car double doors on attached garages are the norm, and those get a lot of daily cycles.

Tallahassee sits about 25 miles inland from the Gulf, so direct salt-air corrosion is limited compared to the coast. Humidity is not. The dense live oak and pine canopy keeps homes shaded and damp, which is part of why moisture issues are such a steady theme here. Storms matter too. Hurricane season runs June through November, and named systems like Hermine, Michael, Idalia and Helene brought hurricane-force gusts and heavy tree damage. Spring squall lines add their own wind. A door that has taken a wind event or a limb strike is often working harder than it should be, and the springs are usually what gives first.

Questions people ask

Can I just use the emergency release and open the door by hand?: Pulling the release disconnects the opener, but it does not make the door lighter. With a broken spring the full weight of the door is on you, and that is how people get hurt. Leave it alone and have it looked at.
Why did my spring break in winter when Tallahassee barely gets cold?: Tallahassee does get multiple freezes and hard frosts each year, which is more than most of Florida. Cold snaps do not create the problem, they finish off a spring that was already fatigued from its cycle count. That is why so many springs let go on the first genuinely cold morning.
Does the storm season affect this?: Demand across Tallahassee spikes during the June to November hurricane season and after each named-storm scare, and again during spring severe weather. Falling limbs from the canopy roads and live oaks are a leading cause of storm damage to garage doors here, and a door knocked out of alignment puts extra load on the springs.
Do I need a permit for a spring replacement?: In Florida a permit is typically required to replace a garage door, because the door is part of the building envelope and must meet Florida Building Code. A spring replacement is a repair, not a door replacement. If the conversation turns toward a new door, confirm requirements with your local city or county building department.
Who actually shows up at my house?: One Call Garage Door is a referral and scheduling service. We arrange garage door service with independent local technicians in all fifty states — we are not the contractor and we do not perform the work. Licensing is the technician's own and requirements vary by jurisdiction, so confirm current rules with the Florida DBPR and your county or city licensing or building department.

One call

One call to (866) 394-4210 and we will arrange a visit for your broken spring in Tallahassee. The estimate is free, and the technician gives you the price before any work starts so you approve it first.

Call now · (866) 394-4210

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One Call Garage Door arranges the visit; the technician does the work and gives you the price.