Springs · Toronto
Garage Door Balance Adjustment
Released from the opener, the door will not hold anywhere.
In plain words
On a torsion door the springs sit on a shaft above the opening, and balance is set by how many turns of wind they carry. A seven-foot door typically needs a little over seven full turns; a quarter turn either way changes how the door feels. The technician clamps the door, fits winding bars into the cone, loosens the set screws, and adds or releases tension one quarter turn at a time, locking the cone again before each test. Both springs on a two-spring door are set alike so the shaft carries the load evenly. That precision is what makes the door hold wherever it is stopped.
How the visit goesReleased from the opener, the door will not hold anywhere. Lift it to hip height, take your hands away, and it sinks back to the concrete, gathering speed on the way down. Two years ago it used to hover exactly where you left it.
Garage Door Balance Adjustment
How the visit goes
Inspecting the springs before any turns are added
Adjustment only makes sense on a spring that is sound, so each one is examined closely. On a torsion system the technician looks for a gap in the coil, rust pitting, uneven coil spacing and a cone that has slipped on the shaft, and measures the wire size, inside diameter and length to confirm the spring suits the door's weight. On extension springs the check is for stretched or opened coils, a broken end loop and the presence of a containment cable. A spring that has simply lost a little tension can be wound up; one that is undersized or near the end of its cycle life is explained and offered as a replacement instead.
When adjustment gives way to replacement
Sometimes the hand test shows that the springs have given what they have to give. A torsion spring wound beyond its design turns loses its remaining life; an extension spring stretched to its last hook is at its limit. When the inspection or the door's weight shows the springs are undersized or near the end of their cycle life, the technician explains this and offers a matched replacement, with new springs specified from the door's weight, height, drum and track. The balance work then continues on the new springs, and the outcome is the same properly balanced door, with the added benefit of a fresh cycle count.
What the springs still have left
Part of the visit's value is knowing where the springs stand. If they were adjusted and left in place, you will have been told roughly how much life they appear to have and what signs mark their end: a door that grows heavy again within a season, a coil gap, or rust flaking from the wire. If they were replaced, the door starts a new cycle count and the note by the opener says when they went in. Either way, you can plan the next spring work on your own schedule rather than on the morning the car needs to leave and the door refuses to lift.
Garage Door Balance Adjustment
In the van
Nylon or steel rollers
Winding bars
Winding cone set screws
Garage-door lubricant
Extension springs and S-hooks
Garage Door Balance Adjustment
What affects the quote
Opener adjustment and tests
Resetting travel limits and force settings on the opener and running the reversal tests is a short step that follows every balance job and is named in the quote when needed.
Door out of level
A door with one corner high needs its cables reset on the drums before the tension is set, which adds a step to the visit and is listed as its own item.
Torsion or extension springs
Winding a torsion spring with bars and moving an extension spring's hook are different procedures with different setup, and the type of counterbalance on your door is the first thing that shapes the quote.
What to have ready
- When you release the door and lift it by hand, does it drift up, sink, or stay put?
- Is there a spring on a shaft above the door, or springs along the tracks?
- Has anything been added to the door, such as insulation, windows or a new section?
Garage Door Balance Adjustment: questions
QuestionsThe door was fine until a power cut. Why is it heavy now?
During a power cut the door is often released and moved by hand for the first time in years, and what people discover is a door that had already grown heavy while the opener quietly covered for it. The outage did not change the springs; it revealed them. A balance check confirms what the door weighs against what the springs give, and resets them to match.
What information helps when I book the visit?
Whether the door drifts up, sinks, or hangs crooked when released; whether there is one spring on a shaft above the door or springs along the tracks; whether it is a single or double door and roughly how tall; when the springs were last changed if you know; what has been added to the door; and whether the opener strains, reverses or stalls. A photo of the spring area is useful.
How many turns does a torsion spring need?
As a starting point, roughly one full turn for every foot of door height, so a seven-foot door carries a little over seven turns and an eight-foot door a little over eight. The exact figure depends on the drum size and the spring's rating, so the technician winds to the estimate and then fine-tunes by quarter turns until the hand test passes at every height.
Related services
- Garage Door Hinge ReplacementThe roller at the top of the second panel is leaning outward and only half of the wheel is still in the track.
- Garage Door Track Repair or ReplacementThe door has started rubbing the frame on the left, leaving a shiny stripe down the weatherstrip.
- Garage Door Cable ReplacementThe cable has wrapped itself around the shaft above the door instead of sitting on its drum.