Broken spring? Leave the door closed. We can be there in two hours.

Honestly, no — and we say this as people who'd love the work. A torsion spring holds 200 to 400 pounds of stored torque on a 1-inch shaft. With the wrong winding bars, a slip sends the bar through drywall, hands, or your face. ER visits from DIY spring work are common enough that most garage door insurers list it specifically. Extension springs are marginally safer but the cables can still whip on failure. Call us.

On a two-spring torsion setup, yes. Springs are a matched pair installed together and they wear at the same rate — if one just failed at cycle 9,500, the other is right behind it. Replacing both now costs about 30% more than one, saves a second service call in a few months, and keeps the door balanced.

Standard 10,000-cycle springs last about 7 to 12 years for most households (one cycle = one open plus close). Heavy users — families with teenagers, doors used as the primary entry — burn through a 10K spring in 5 to 7 years. We stock 20,000 and 25,000-cycle lifetime-rated springs that cost 30 to 50% more and last two to three times as long.

Torsion springs sit above the door on a horizontal shaft and twist as the door moves. They're quieter, safer, last longer, and are on most doors built after about 2000. Extension springs run along the horizontal tracks on either side and stretch as the door closes. They're older, louder, and require safety cables through the spring to prevent whip on failure. We replace both, and we can convert extension to torsion on most doors.

Usually within 2 hours during business hours. Broken springs are our top-priority queue because they trap cars and strand people. After hours, typical response is 60 to 120 minutes with our $189 emergency trip fee.