Just like an aching back, garage door torsion springs simply wear out over time. How much time? Ten thousand is the magic number – that’s the number of cycles the average spring will last. One cycle equals your garage door being opened and then closed. Going to work in the morning, then home again at night adds up to two cycles a day. That’s not so bad if you’re a bachelor hermit like me, but, if your significant other runs errands during the day, if you have teenagers in and out of the garage, or if you have younger kids opening and closing the garage door to get their bikes and sporting equipment – you’re going to burn through ten thousand cycles a lot faster than you think. An active family could easily use up ten thousand cycles in as little as a year.
If your family fits in this “heavy” garage door user category, you might consider investing in “extended life” torsion springs. These will roughly double your cost compared to standard springs, but they should last about four times as long. This means you’ll save on the hassle and inconvenience of having to replace your worn out springs more often, as well as the cost of more frequent service calls by your garage door contractor.