That loud bang from the garage, explained
If you heard a sharp bang and now the door will not lift, you almost certainly have a broken spring. The springs, not the opener, do the heavy lifting. A typical double door weighs a couple hundred pounds, and the motor is only built to guide that weight, not carry it. Running the opener anyway strains the motor and can bend the top panel.
Ironwood Garage Door Repair Co replaces torsion and extension springs across the metro, whether that means a 1920s detached garage in Sellwood or a three-car setup in a newer Beaverton subdivision. Spring work is the most common major job in our garage door repair portland service, and our trucks carry the standard residential sizes.
Torsion vs. extension springs
Torsion springs mount on a steel shaft above the door opening. Closing the door winds them tight, and that stored torque turns the cable drums and lifts the door back up. Most doors installed in recent decades use one or two torsion springs.
Extension springs run along the horizontal tracks on each side and stretch as the door closes. They are common on older and lighter doors, and plenty of pre-war Portland garages still run the original extension setup. Every extension spring should have a safety cable threaded through its center, because a snapped extension spring without one can whip across the garage.
We repair and replace both types, and if your extension springs are missing safety cables, we add them during the same visit.
Why springs break faster in Portland
Springs fail for two main reasons: metal fatigue and rust. Every open and close flexes the steel through one cycle, and a standard spring is rated for about 10,000 cycles. Eventually the metal gives out at the weakest coil, all at once. That is the bang you heard.
Corrosion speeds the process up. Rust pits the surface of the wire, each pit concentrates stress, and a pitted spring fails well before its rated cycle life. Portland's damp winters give springs months of moist air to sit in, and unheated garages hold that moisture longest. Older Eastside neighborhoods like Montavilla and Sellwood have plenty of detached garages built long before insulation was standard, and the springs we pull out of them are often visibly rusted.
A light coat of garage door lubricant a few times a year slows rust considerably, and it is one of the simplest items in a yearly garage door tune up.
Cycle ratings and spring sizing
One cycle is one full open and close. A standard residential spring is rated around 10,000 cycles, which works out to roughly seven years at four cycles a day. If the garage is the main entrance to your house and the door runs eight or ten times a day, that same spring can fail in three to four years. For heavily used doors we install high-cycle springs rated for 20,000 cycles or more, built with thicker wire or a longer coil so each cycle stresses the steel less.
Sizing matters as much as cycle rating. A spring has to match the weight of the door it lifts. An insulated steel double door and an old solid-wood door of the same size can differ by well over a hundred pounds, and a spring sized for the wrong weight leaves the door heavy at the bottom or slamming shut. When there is any doubt we weigh the door, then match wire size, inside diameter, length, and wind direction to it instead of copying whatever a previous installer left behind.
Please do not try this one yourself
Most garage door problems are safe to look at on your own. Springs are the exception. A wound torsion spring on a double door stores enough energy to lift a couple hundred pounds of steel, and all of it releases in a fraction of a second if the spring is unwound wrong. Proper winding bars, set screws loosened in the right order, and knowing when the coil is still loaded are what keep that energy under control. Screwdrivers and rebar substitutes slip, and this is exactly the repair where hands and faces sit closest to the work.
Extension springs are no gentler. They are under full stretch when the door is closed, and a spring or pulley that lets go at the wrong moment can whip through drywall. The lift cables share that tension, which is why frayed cables turn up so often during spring inspections; our garage door cable repair service handles those in the same visit.
A snapped spring can also jolt the cables off their drums and leave the door crooked in its tracks. If that happened, you need garage door off track service along with the new springs, and running the opener again will only make it worse.
Car trapped inside before work? That is what our emergency garage door repair line is for. Call (971) 754-2698 and we will get you moving.
How a spring replacement visit works
Inspect and measure
We confirm the failed spring, check cables, drums, bearings, and rollers, and measure the old spring's wire size, inside diameter, and length. If the door's weight is in question, we weigh it.
Quote before work
You get a firm price for parts and labor before anything comes apart, and nothing starts until you approve it.
Replace the springs
We safely unwind any remaining tension, then install springs matched to your door's weight. On a two-spring door, both springs get replaced.
Set tension and balance
We wind the new springs to spec and test balance. A properly balanced door holds still at waist height when you lift it by hand.
Full safety check
We reconnect the opener, reset its force and travel limits, confirm safety cables on extension setups, and run complete cycles before we leave.
What garage door spring replacement costs
Spring replacement cost is the first thing most people search after the bang, so here is an honest breakdown. The price depends far more on your specific door than on any number you will find online, which is why we quote on site — with a firm, written price — before touching anything.
The main cost drivers:
- Spring type and count. Torsion springs cost more than extension springs, and two springs cost more than one.
- Wire size and cycle rating. High-cycle springs use more steel and cost more up front, then last two to three times longer.
- Door weight and size. Heavy wood or oversized doors need larger, more expensive springs.
- Related hardware. Worn cables, drums, or a dry center bearing found during the job add parts cost but save you a second service call.
If the door itself is rusting through or the panels are failing, we will say so. Sometimes the honest answer is that the money is better spent on garage door installation than on another repair to a door at the end of its life.
One spring broke. Why replace both?
On a two-spring door, both springs went in on the same day and have flexed through the same cycles ever since. When one fails from fatigue, the other is at the same point in its life and usually follows within months. Pairing a fresh spring with a worn one also loads the two sides unevenly, so the door lifts crooked as the old spring keeps weakening.
Replacing the pair costs modestly more than replacing one, mostly the price of the second spring, because the labor overlaps. A second full service call a few months later costs more than that difference. We recommend pairs on two-spring doors every time, and we will show you the wear on the surviving spring so you can decide for yourself.
Residential and commercial springs, metro wide
Homes are most of our spring work, but commercial doors break springs faster than any residence. A storefront or warehouse door cycling thirty times a day can burn through a standard spring in under a year, so our commercial garage door repair team specs high-cycle torsion systems for Portland businesses, including the industrial blocks around Swan Island.
One thing worth checking before you call: make sure the spring is actually the problem. If the motor hums or the trolley moves but the door stays down, that points to the spring. If the door lifts easily by hand yet the motor does nothing, you more likely need garage door opener repair instead. Either way we diagnose it on the spot and quote before working.
Our portland garage door repair techs are local, licensed, and stocked for same-day spring swaps across the metro, including Beaverton, Gresham, Tigard, Milwaukie, and Oregon City.
A broken spring leaves a few hundred pounds of door stuck in place. Ironwood Garage Door Repair Co can usually have a technician out the same day.
Call (971) 754-2698Garage door spring repair questions, answered
How much does garage door spring replacement cost in Portland?
Spring replacement price moves with the spring type, wire size, cycle rating, and door weight — a pair of high-cycle springs on a heavy double door sits at the top, a single standard spring at the bottom. Rather than quote a range that may not fit your door, Ironwood gives a firm, written price on site before any work starts. Call (971) 754-2698 for a number specific to your door.
Should I replace one spring or both?
Replace both on a two-spring door. The two springs have flexed through the same cycles since installation, so when one snaps from fatigue the survivor is close behind. Doing the pair in one visit costs little more than a single spring plus labor, while a second call-out months later costs full price. On a single-spring door, only that one spring needs replacing.
How long does a spring replacement take?
Plan on about an hour of on-site work for a standard residential replacement, sometimes less. Our trucks carry the common torsion and extension sizes used on Portland-area homes, so most jobs finish in a single visit. Unusual sizes, extension-to-torsion conversions, and heavy commercial doors take longer, and we tell you that before starting.
Can I still use my garage door with a broken spring?
No, and please do not force it. The opener is built to guide a balanced door, not hoist its full weight, so running it can burn out the motor, bend the top panel, or drop the door mid-lift. If you must open it, pull the red release cord and lift with a helper, because the door will feel dead heavy, and never let anyone stand beneath it. Then call us at (971) 754-2698.
Are high-cycle springs worth the extra cost?
They are worth it when the garage is your main entrance. A standard 10,000-cycle spring lasts roughly seven years at four cycles a day but only three to four years at eight or more, which is common when a household uses the garage instead of the front door. A 20,000-cycle or higher spring costs more up front and roughly doubles the replacement interval, so frequent users come out ahead.
Do you offer same-day spring repair in the Portland metro?
Yes, same-day appointments are often available across the metro, because a spring failure usually traps a vehicle inside. Call (971) 754-2698 early in the day for the best odds, and tell us the rough door size and whether you can see one spring or two above the opening, so the truck arrives carrying the right parts.
Serving the Portland–Vancouver metro
Ironwood is a mobile garage door service across the Portland–Vancouver metro — there is no storefront to visit, our trucks come to you. Call and we will confirm we reach your street.
(971) 754-2698