Cable Repair
Cables and springs work as one system — a snapped spring often damages or derails the cables.
Learn more →What the Spring Actually Does
Your opener doesn't lift your garage door — your springs do. A properly balanced spring system counterweights the door so precisely that a 130-pound door lifts with one hand, and the opener only guides it. When a spring breaks, that counterweight vanishes instantly. The opener suddenly faces the door's full weight, the cables lose tension, and the whole system is out of its design envelope.
Warning Signs a Spring Is About to Go
- The door feels heavy on the manual release, or the opener hesitates and strains on the way up.
- Visible stretch or separation in the coil, or rust blooming on the spring surface.
- The door slams the last foot when closing instead of settling.
- Squealing or crunching from the spring area — dry, fatiguing steel is loud steel.
- It's 7–10+ years old and has never been replaced on a daily-use door.
Torsion vs. Extension Springs
Las Vegas homes have one of two systems, and they fail differently:
| Torsion Springs | Extension Springs | |
|---|---|---|
| Where they sit | On a shaft above the door header | Stretched along each horizontal track |
| How they work | Twist to store energy; cables wind on drums | Stretch as the door closes; pulleys route the cables |
| Typical rating | ~10,000 cycles standard; high-cycle options | Similar ratings, but wear shows earlier |
| Balance quality | Smooth, even lift; the modern standard | Bouncier travel; sides can fall out of sync |
| When one breaks | Loud bang; door becomes dead weight | Spring can whip violently — safety cables are essential |
| Our take | Best choice for nearly all doors | We service them, and often recommend converting to torsion when hardware allows |
If your extension springs have no safety cables
A safety cable runs through the middle of each extension spring and tethers it if it snaps. Without one, a breaking spring becomes shrapnel. If you look up at your tracks and see bare extension springs, mention it when you call — adding safety cables is a small job that removes a real hazard.
How We Replace Springs
- Measure, don't guess
Spring sizing is math: door weight, height, drum size, wire diameter and coil length. We weigh and measure rather than matching whatever was there — original builder springs are frequently undersized.
- Replace and wind to spec
New spring(s) are installed on the shaft and wound to the turn count the door's weight requires, using proper winding bars.
- Rebalance and test
We check the door holds steady at half-open, adjust cable tension at the drums, then reconnect the opener and reset its force limits so it isn't masking an unbalanced door.
- Inspect the collateral
Spring failures stress cables, drums, and the opener gear. We check all three before calling the job done.
Common questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know my spring is broken?
The three classic signs: a very loud bang from the garage (often at night — temperature swings are a common trigger), a visible gap of an inch or more in the spring coil above the door, and a door the opener strains to lift a few inches before giving up. Cables may also hang loose because spring tension is what keeps them taut.
Why did my spring break?
Springs are consumable — they're rated in open/close cycles, and every use spends one. Standard springs are commonly rated around 10,000 cycles; a busy family door can spend that in 7–10 years. Las Vegas heat cycles and dry air accelerate metal fatigue and corrosion at the coil surface.
Should I replace both springs if only one broke?
On a two-spring door, usually yes. Both springs have the same mileage, so the survivor is near the end of its life too — and a new spring paired with a tired one leaves the door unbalanced. Replacing both means one service call instead of two. We'll show you both options and prices; the decision is yours.
Can I replace a garage door spring myself?
We won't tell you it's illegal — we'll tell you it's how people end up in the ER. Winding a torsion spring stores hundreds of pounds of force controlled by two steel winding bars and the set screws' grip on a shaft. A slip releases that force instantly through whatever is in the way. This is the one garage door job we genuinely urge every homeowner to leave to a trained tech with proper winding bars.
What are high-cycle springs and are they worth it?
The same spring design built with a longer, heavier coil so the steel flexes less per cycle — commonly rated 20,000+ cycles instead of ~10,000. If you open the door many times a day, or just never want to do this repair again soon, they're worth asking about. We'll quote both when we're on site.
Keep exploring
Related Services
Tune-Up & Balance Check
A balance test twice a year catches dying springs before the bang.
Learn more →Opener Repair
Openers forced to lift spring-dead doors often strip gears — worth checking after a spring failure.
Learn more →