If your Weston garage has stretched springs running along the horizontal tracks, you have an older extension system. Here is what that means for safety and cost.
How Each System Works
A torsion system uses one or two springs wound on a shaft above the door opening. As the door lowers, the springs wind tighter and store the energy needed to lift it again. The load is transferred through cable drums at each end of the shaft.
An extension system uses springs that stretch along the horizontal tracks on each side, working through a pulley and cable arrangement. It is the older and cheaper approach, and it is still found on many original doors in the region.
The Safety Difference
When an extension spring breaks under tension it can travel across the garage. Containment cables running through the center of each spring are required for exactly that reason, and we find plenty of Weston garages where those cables were never installed or were cut during an earlier repair.
A torsion spring that breaks stays on the shaft. That containment is the main reason we recommend conversion whenever a door is due for spring work anyway.
Balance, Wear and Door Life
Torsion systems hold the door in better balance through the full travel, which means less strain on the opener, quieter operation and longer life for rollers, hinges and the opener gear. Extension systems tend to let the door bounce and rack slightly, and that shows up as uneven wear on one side.
A conversion involves a new shaft, bearing plates, drums, cables and springs sized to the door's actual weight. On a standard two car door it is a same day job.
Have Your Spring System Checked
We will tell you honestly whether your current system is safe to leave alone or worth converting.
Impact Rated Garage Doors Weston is at 16000 S Post Road, Weston, FL 33331. Call (954) 837-8316, open 24 hours, seven days a week.
Impact Rated Garage Doors Weston
- 16000 S Post Road, Weston, FL 33331
- (954) 837-8316
- Open 24 hours, 7 days a week
Main office: Impact Rated Garage Doors, 13651 NW 4th St, Pembroke Pines, FL 33028, (954) 232-0488.
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