When you first purchased your home, you knew that it would take a little work. After all, putting your personal touches on an older home is part of the charm. Now, you've finally mastered most of the parts that you can do yourself, and you've got the chance to focus on other elements of your home that you overlooked in the beginning. Garage door springs are designed to last for many cycles, yet they do eventually succumb to wear and tear just like the rest of your house. You can check on the condition of the springs on your garage door by watching for these three warning signs that they need repair.
Listen for Creaks and Screeches
Garage doors tend to make a little noise, but you should always be worried if yours suddenly begins making screeches that sound like stretching metal. Over time, the materials used to make the torsion springs on the garage door can stiffen up. When the springs are stretched beyond their capacity, you will hear these groans and squeaks. While you can do your part to reduce this problem by arranging to have the new springs lubricated in the future, these noisy old ones need to be replaced.
Check the Elasticity
Garage door springs function much like rubber bands as they expand in response to tension being applied and bounce back once it is released. Every time your garage door is opened, this stretching action causes the springs to lose a little bit of their elasticity. To see if this is happening to the springs on your door, close it and pull the manual release. Then, pull the door up until it is about waist-high and let it go. If the door lowers on its own, then the springs have lost their elasticity.
Look for Obvious Rust or Corrosion
Metal garage door springs are also susceptible to damage from moisture that occurs during times of high humidity in the environment. You can visually inspect for rust and corrosion on the springs, but use caution not to get too close to the springs in case one breaks. Large amounts of rust weaken the springs to the point that they can eventually snap.
Garage door springs are one type of repair that is best left to the professionals since torsion springs are held in place with high tension that can lead to an injury if you don't know the proper precautions to take to avoid getting snapped. When you notice one or more of these signs, then arrange for garage door spring repair that ensures your home's entrance always opens and closes when you need it.
Contact a company like Raynor Door Company to learn more.
