2026-04-07 6 min read
There's a reason garage door spring failure is one of the most common calls we get from homeowners across Sunset Beach, Shallotte, and the rest of Brunswick County. Springs are the hardest-working component in your entire garage door system. and most people don't think about them until they hear a loud bang from the garage and suddenly can't get their car out.
The good news: springs usually give you warning signs before they fail completely. The less-good news: in a coastal climate like ours, those warning signs show up faster than the industry averages suggest. If your home sits near the water or even a few miles inland where humidity stays high and southeast winds carry salt air off the Atlantic, your springs are operating in a more demanding environment than a door in Raleigh or Charlotte.
Here's what you actually need to know.
Your garage door likely weighs somewhere between 150 and 400 pounds. The springs are what make it possible to lift that weight with one hand. or with a motor no bigger than a shoebox. They store mechanical energy when the door closes and release it to counterbalance the door's weight when it opens.
There are two common spring systems:
Torsion springs mount horizontally on a steel shaft directly above the door opening. They twist to store energy and unwind in a controlled motion to lift the door. Torsion springs are the modern standard for most residential doors. they provide smoother operation and, critically, when they fail, they stay contained on the shaft rather than flying across the garage.
Extension springs run along the sides of the door, stretching and contracting as the door moves. You'll still see them on older homes and lighter doors throughout the area. They're generally less expensive upfront, but they have a shorter cycle life and can snap violently if they fail without safety cables installed.
For homes in Sea Trail and the newer construction communities around Sunset Beach, torsion systems are most common. If your home is older or was built with a lower-cost setup, it may still have extension springs. worth knowing.
Standard garage door springs are rated for approximately 10,000 cycles. One cycle equals one complete open-and-close. For a household that uses the garage four times a day, that works out to roughly seven to ten years under normal conditions.
But here's the thing: Sunset Beach is not normal conditions.
The combination of high humidity. average relative humidity in August can reach over 80%. and salt-laden air off the Atlantic accelerates rust formation on spring coils. Rust doesn't just change the look of a spring; it actively weakens the steel and increases friction between coils, which shortens the spring's remaining life and raises the chance of sudden failure. Coastal properties consistently see springs wear out faster than inland homes.
If you have a home that doubles as a vacation rental, factor in the extra cycles from guests using the garage during peak season. A door that opens and closes six to eight times a day in July will burn through its spring life significantly faster than the seven-to-ten-year estimate.
Springs rarely fail with zero warning. Here's what to pay attention to:
- A loud bang or gunshot sound from the garage. This is often the first sign a spring has already snapped. If you hear this and weren't operating the door, check the spring before touching anything. - The door opens a few inches and stops. The opener's safety mechanism is detecting unusual weight and cutting power to protect the motor. This usually means a spring is broken or severely weakened. - The door feels extremely heavy when lifted manually. Pull the emergency release cord and try to lift the door by hand. A properly balanced door should feel nearly weightless. If it's dead heavy, the spring isn't doing its job. - Visible gaps in the spring coil. A gap in a torsion spring is a clear sign it has snapped under tension. - Grinding or squeaking during operation. Salt deposits in the coils and on the tracks create friction. This can indicate the spring is corroding from the inside out. For related track and limit issues, our limit switch adjustment guide covers how to diagnose operational problems before they escalate. - Uneven movement or a crooked door. On a dual-spring system, if one spring has failed, the other is carrying all the load and the door will look and move unevenly.
Operating a garage door with a failing or broken spring puts real stress on your opener motor. The motor was designed to guide the door, not lift the full weight of it. Force it to do both and you're turning a spring repair into a more expensive opener replacement as well. Continued use can also bend your tracks or damage the cable drums. compounding the repair cost significantly.
For homeowners thinking about the full economics of garage system health, it's worth reading up on the ROI of insulated doors. a failing spring is a good reminder that the whole system is worth investing in properly.
If you're facing a spring replacement, it's a reasonable time to consider upgrading to a torsion system if you don't already have one. Torsion springs generally last longer, operate more smoothly, and are safer when they fail. In a humid, coastal environment where corrosion is a real factor, choosing galvanized or rust-resistant springs over standard steel is worth the modest additional cost. These are specifically engineered for conditions like ours.
High-cycle springs. rated for 20,000 cycles or more. are another smart upgrade for Sunset Beach households that use the garage as a main entry point. The upfront cost is higher, but the math often works out in your favor over time, especially when you factor in the coastal wear.
This is worth saying plainly: garage door spring replacement is not a DIY project. Springs store enough mechanical energy under tension to cause severe injury if they release unexpectedly. Professional technicians use specialized hardened steel winding bars, heavy-duty clamps, and safety gear specifically designed for high-tension spring work. Standard household tools are not adequate. and using them increases the risk of losing control of the spring entirely.
On a dual-spring setup, both springs should be replaced at the same time even if only one has broken. The surviving spring has the same number of cycles on it as the failed one; it's typically days or weeks away from its own failure. Replacing only one guarantees a second service call shortly after. and that's a pattern we see regularly from homeowners who went the cheap route the first time.
If you're not sure what condition your springs are in, a visual inspection is a reasonable starting point. Look for visible rust on the coils, check for any gaps in the spring, and listen for grinding during operation. If anything looks or sounds off, reach out to our team before the situation becomes an emergency.
For homeowners across Ocean Isle Beach, Shallotte, and neighboring communities looking for more background on what to look for in a well-built door system, our brand comparison guide is a useful resource when you're weighing replacement options.
Can I use my garage door if a spring is broken? Technically you may be able to, but you shouldn't. Operating the door with a broken spring puts extreme strain on the opener motor, can damage the cable drums and tracks, and creates an unsafe situation if the door drops unexpectedly. Disconnect the opener and leave the door closed until the spring is replaced.
How do I know if I have torsion or extension springs? Look above the garage door opening when the door is closed. If you see a horizontal metal shaft with a tightly wound coil centered above the door, that's a torsion spring system. If instead you see springs running along the horizontal tracks on either side of the door, those are extension springs.
Should I replace both springs even if only one broke? Yes. and this is important. Both springs in a dual-spring system are the same age and have gone through the same number of cycles. When one fails, the other is typically very close to failure as well. Replacing both at the same time costs less than two separate service calls and gives you a properly balanced door from the start.