Needing garage door spring repair? Be sure to tell your technician the location of the spring or springs in your garage door. If you are not sure where to look, and you want to know how each location of a spring tends to break, check out the following.

Top Center, Overhead 

​A spring on a garage door may be mounted in the center bar overhead so that when the door is pushed up and open, the spring at the top of the center bar catches the door and prevents the door from sliding all the way backward. When this spring is broken, the door does not stop properly, or it may fall forward again. There is also the possibility that the top of the door is no longer connected to the spring, in which case the spring cannot help lift the door, and it will take a ton of muscle to pull the door up and open and keep it there.

​Top Sides/Corners of the Doors

​Some older garage doors on older garages and homes have springs that stretch from the metal guide bars at the corners and sides of the door down to the door itself. These springs aid the door in its upward and downward movement, cushioning the drop on the way down and maintaining the pull and tension on the way up. If these springs break or pop, the door will consistently close with a very heavy ​bang!​ and they will be difficult to open or keep open. Typically, these springs break when they become too old and/or too rusted out from years and years of outdoor exposure. 

​Springs at the Bottom Sides

The final location for garage door springs is typically at the bottom sides of the door. Located within the tracks on both sides of your garage door, these springs provide a little bounce upward to move the door open. Then they provide a very soft "cushion" landing for the door as it closes. The nice thing about this type of garage door spring is that it helps your garage door close more quietly than other garage doors, a benefit if you work late and your neighbors go to bed early. The springs themselves break when they come loose or pop out of the tracks partially or fully. Repositioning the springs, replacing the springs, and/or reinstalling them will fix whatever problems these springs are currently having.