Historic Ghent Carriage House — Extension Spring Rebuild
The situation
"Every other company wanted to replace our original 1920s wood carriage doors with new steel. I just wanted them to work properly again."
Our diagnosis
Original extension-spring system. One spring had lost ~40% of its tension (metal fatigue), the other was stretched past useful length. Pulleys were serviceable, cables were showing some wear.
What we did
Installed a fresh matched extension-spring pair sized to the door's measured weight (52 lbs/side), replaced the lift cables, cleaned and lubricated the pulleys, and re-balanced the door. We kept every piece of original hardware that could be saved.
Time on site
About 3 hours — careful work, preserving the door.
Final price
$285 complete.
"Our 1920s Ghent house has original wood carriage doors. Everyone else tried to talk us into replacing them. Seaside tuned and rebalanced them, replaced the extension springs, and now they work beautifully. They cared about the house."
Why broken torsion springs are the #1 garage-door emergency
A residential torsion spring cycles 10,000 to 20,000 times over its life — roughly 7 to 14 years for an average family. When it snaps, the opener suddenly has to lift a 150–250 lb steel door with nothing to counterbalance it, which is why most doors will either refuse to open or will open a few inches and stall. Running a bare opener against a broken spring is one of the fastest ways to burn out the motor, strip the main drive gear, or warp the center U-bar, turning a $260 spring job into a $600+ repair. That is why we prioritize same-day response on spring calls and why we never leave a door on a single working spring when both are the same age.
Signs a homeowner can watch for
- A 1–2" visible gap in one of the torsion springs above the door (open the garage in daylight and look at the shaft).
- The door lifts unevenly — one side rises faster than the other — indicating a cable or spring imbalance.
- Loud "crack" or "gunshot" sound from the garage that wasn't there before (this is the sound of a spring snapping).
- The door feels extremely heavy when you pull the red emergency-release cord and try to lift it by hand.
Questions we hear after jobs like this
Do both springs always need to be replaced?
If you have two springs and they're the same age, yes — we always replace as a pair. The second spring is usually within weeks or months of failing itself, and the labor to come back out costs more than the $40 part savings.
Can I just add a spring instead of replacing the broken one?
Not safely. Springs are matched to the exact weight of your door and garage-door springs are not universal. Mixing a new spring with a worn one puts uneven load on the shaft and shortens the life of both.
What's the warranty?
We install 20,000-cycle galvanized springs as our standard and cover them with a 5-year parts-and-labor warranty. Lifetime upgrade springs are available for high-use homes.
Similar service or area?
This was a broken spring repair job in Norfolk. If you're dealing with something similar, we'd be happy to take a look.