Garage door repair, Portland metro and Clark County
Broken garage door spring replacement in Portland and Clark County
We replace broken garage door springs, torsion or extension, across the Portland metro and Clark County, sized to your door by wire, diameter and length, and we balance the door before we leave.
Updated
What you are seeing
A garage door spring usually announces itself when it breaks, and these are the signs homeowners describe before booking a replacement.
- A loud bang from the garage, sometimes with nobody near the door
- The opener strains, lifts the door a few inches, then gives up or reverses
- A visible gap of about two inches in the coil above the door
- One spring looks fine but the door still will not stay up on its own
- Loose or slack cables on both sides after the door dropped
What we do on a springs visit
We measure the old spring, release the leftover tension, swap the spring and worn bearings, wind it to the door's weight and test the balance.
Measure the broken spring before anything comes off
Wire size, inside diameter, overall length and the wind direction get measured on the old spring, because a replacement that is close is not the same as correct. On a door with two springs we check the second one too. If it has the same cycle wear, we recommend replacing both so you are not calling us back a few months later for the other side.
Secure the door and release the remaining tension
The door gets clamped to the track so it cannot move. A pair of winding bars unwinds whatever tension is left in the unbroken spring, a quarter turn at a time. This is the step that sends do-it-yourselfers to urgent care, and it is the reason we do not talk anyone through it over the phone.
Swap the spring, and the parts that wear with it
With the tension off, the cables come off the drums and the shaft slides out far enough to change the spring. The center bearing and end bearings get checked for play and grit. In a damp Portland garage the old bearings can be rusted solid, so we replace them while the shaft is out rather than let a dry bearing chew through your new spring.
Wind to the door weight, not to a chart
Each spring gets wound in full turns based on the door height, then fine-tuned a quarter turn at a time until the door sits where we leave it. We set the cables on the drums with even tension so the door hangs level and the bottom seal meets the slab evenly across the whole width.
Balance test and opener reset
We lift the door by hand to halfway and let go. A balanced door stays put. Then we reconnect the opener, reset the travel limits and force settings, run the photo-eye reverse test, and lubricate the springs, hinges and rollers. You get the old spring, the measurements written down, and the posted price you already agreed to.
Torsion springs or extension springs: which does your door have?
Look up with the door closed: thick coils wrapped around a tube over the opening are torsion springs, and long thin coils running beside each horizontal track are extension springs.
| Spring type | Where it sits | Usually found on | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Torsion | Over the opening, on the torsion tube | Most sectional doors installed since the 1990s | Breaks in place on the tube, usually with a loud bang |
| Extension | Alongside each horizontal track, stretching and relaxing every cycle | Older and lighter doors | Must have a safety cable inside the coil, or a snapped spring turns into a projectile; we add missing cables as part of the job |
| One-piece tilt-up | On the side jambs, with pivot arms | Some mid-century houses, such as Montavilla's 1950s ranches | Its own repair, covered on our tilt-up page |
One spring or both?
If your door has two torsion springs and one broke, replace both: the survivor has the same number of cycles on it and is close behind.
Doing both on one visit costs less than two separate trips and leaves the door balanced evenly, which is easier on the opener. Replacing only the broken one is still an honest option on a newer door, and we will say so when it applies.
On a single-spring door the choice is simpler: it gets one correctly sized spring. Some doors were built with one spring where two belong; converting to a pair is a worthwhile upgrade on heavy or insulated doors.
How long springs last in a Portland garage
Standard residential springs are commonly rated around 10,000 cycles, where one cycle is one open and one close. At four cycles a day that is roughly seven years; at eight a day with a teenager and a second car, closer to three or four.
Damp garages can shorten that. Condensation leaves surface rust on an uncoated spring, and rust pitting is hard on steel that twists thousands of times. An uninsulated detached garage, or one where the slab stays wet all winter, is where we look hardest for rust on the coils.
High-cycle springs, which door makers offer at ratings of 25,000 cycles and up, cost more up front and are a sensible choice if the garage door is your front door. Galvanized springs carry a zinc coating that resists the surface rust a damp garage leaves behind.
What changes the price
The posted price covers a standard residential spring on a standard sectional door; a few situations add to it, and we tell you which before anyone drives out.
- Heavy wood, oversized or insulated double doors that need larger or paired springs
- High-cycle or galvanized spring upgrades
- A torsion tube that is bent or badly pitted and has to be replaced
- Cables, drums or bearings that are too worn to reuse (we show you the old parts)
- Extension-spring doors without safety cables (we add them)
- A second door on the same visit, priced as its own line
Can you keep using the opener with a broken spring?
No. An opener steers a door its springs keep balanced, and it was never meant to lift that door's whole weight alone.
Forcing it can strip the drive gear, bend the rail or tear the opener bracket out of the top section. Lifting by hand is no answer either: the door stays where it is, the opener gets unplugged, and you call.
If a car is trapped inside, say so when you call and we move the schedule. Nobody at the house has to raise that door, because it comes up under our control once the spring tension is handled.
When a repair stops making sense
A spring job on a sound door is always worth it, so only a failing door makes a spring repair the wrong spend.
If the sections are rusted through at the bottom, the stiles are cracked, or a wood door has rot you can push a screwdriver into, a new spring only buys time on a door that is failing anyway. We will give you a straight answer on the spot and price both paths.
Springs: common questions
How do I know my garage door spring is broken and not something else?
Look up at the springs above the door, since a broken torsion spring leaves a clean gap of roughly two inches between coils. If the coil is whole but the door still will not lift, the cable, the opener gear or the bottom bracket is more likely. A loud bang with nobody in the garage usually points to a spring.
Is it safe to open the garage door manually with a broken spring?
No. The door stays where it is, open or closed, until we get there. A broken spring leaves the full weight of the door with nothing to balance it, and a door that slips can crush a hand or a foot. Unplug the opener so nobody presses a button out of habit. If a car is trapped inside, say so when you call and we move the schedule.
Why did the spring break on a cold morning?
Most likely the spring had simply reached the end of its cycle life, and the cold morning was when it happened to give out. Springs are rated in cycles, not seasons, so the count of trips matters more than the weather. If one spring on a two-spring door broke, the other carries the same cycles, which is why we check both on the visit.
Should I replace both springs if only one broke?
On a two-spring door, yes in most cases. Both springs have the same cycle count, so the second one is near the end of its life too. Replacing both on one visit keeps the door balanced side to side and costs less than a second trip. On a nearly new door we will tell you if replacing just one makes sense.
Do you replace springs on wood garage doors in older Portland homes?
Yes. Some detached garages behind older houses in Laurelhurst, Irvington and Sellwood still have wood sectional or one-piece doors. Wood usually weighs more than steel, so those doors take heavier springs, and the hardware may be decades old. We bring the larger spring sizes, plus side springs and pivot parts when the door is a tilt-up.
What spring size does my garage door need?
It depends on the door weight, height and drum size, not just the width. We measure the old spring, weigh or calculate the door, and match wire gauge, inside diameter and length. A spring that is close but not right leaves the door heavy at the bottom or slamming at the top and wears out the opener.
Can you convert my extension springs to a torsion system?
Usually, if there is about 12 inches of headroom above the door, which is what door makers list for a standard torsion setup. A conversion moves the springs onto a shaft above the opening and off the sides of the garage, and it ends the need for safety cables. We price it as a separate line so you can compare it with a straight replacement.
Related pages
Where we do this
Spring calls come from every corner of the metro, and these are a few of the areas on this week's route.
Ready to get the door moving again?
Call with the symptom, or text a photo of the door and the opener, and we will name the part and the posted price before anyone drives out.