2026-04-08 7 min read
If you've ever heard a loud bang come from your garage. the kind that makes you think a shelf fell or something exploded. there's a decent chance it was a garage door spring letting go. It's one of the most common garage door failures we see here in Los Alamitos, and it happens without much warning.
Because so many homes in this area were built during the post-war suburban boom of the late 1950s and 1960s. the same era that gave us neighborhoods like Dutch Haven and Rossmoor Highlands. a lot of the garage door hardware in this city is aging. Springs that were installed 10, 15, or even 20 years ago are living on borrowed time. Understanding the signs of wear before a spring fails completely can save you from being stuck with a door that won't budge on a busy Tuesday morning.
Your garage door, depending on size and material, can weigh anywhere from 130 to well over 300 pounds. The springs. not your opener motor. are doing the heavy lifting. Torsion springs sit horizontally above the door and twist under load, while extension springs run along the tracks on either side and stretch to counterbalance the door's weight.
Most residential springs are rated for somewhere between 10,000 and 20,000 cycles, with one cycle being a single open-and-close. For a family using the garage as their main entry point, that lifespan can shrink faster than you'd expect. A busy household cycling the door four to six times a day will burn through a standard spring in under ten years.
If you want to understand whether your door's overall hardware is keeping up, our post on early warning signs that signal trouble is worth reading before things get worse.
Don't wait for the snap. These signals usually show up before a full break:
- The door feels unusually heavy when lifted manually. A properly balanced door should feel like about 10,15 pounds in your hands. If it feels like you're deadlifting it, the springs are likely losing tension. - The door drifts down when you stop it halfway. Disconnect the opener and raise the door by hand to about waist height. It should stay there. If it slides back down, the springs aren't counterbalancing correctly. - Visible gaps in the torsion spring coils. Healthy coils sit flush against each other. A gap means the spring has already broken or is on the verge of it. - The opener strains or stops mid-cycle. When springs weaken, the motor has to compensate. Over time, this burns out the opener motor. turning a spring job into a more expensive double repair. - A loud bang from the garage. This is the spring going. Stop using the door immediately and contact a technician before operating it again.
Most homes in Los Alamitos built in the 1960s and 1970s originally used extension springs, which are less expensive but also less durable, typically rated for 5,000 to 10,000 cycles. Many homeowners have since upgraded to torsion springs during replacements, and for good reason. torsion springs last longer, operate more smoothly, and when they fail, they stay contained on the torsion bar rather than snapping across the garage.
If you're not sure which type you have, take a look above the closed door. A single thick coil running horizontally = torsion. Two thinner springs running along the side tracks = extension.
Costs vary depending on spring type, door size, and whether it's a weekend or emergency call. Here's a realistic range for Southern California:
- Torsion springs: $200,$450 per spring installed, including labor - Extension springs: $100,$200 per spring installed - Full pair replacement (most common recommendation): $350,$750 for a standard residential door
Labor rates in Orange County and the greater Los Angeles area tend to sit at the higher end of national averages, so budget accordingly. Emergency or same-day calls will typically add to the base rate.
One honest tip: if one spring breaks, replace both. The second spring has aged the same amount and will fail soon after. Replacing them together saves you a second service call and keeps your door balanced. If your door uses two torsion springs (common on wider, heavier double-car doors), this is especially important.
We get it. it's tempting to watch a YouTube video and save a few hundred dollars. But garage door springs are one of the few home repairs where the risk genuinely outweighs the savings.
Torsion springs store an enormous amount of mechanical energy. When mishandled during installation or removal, they can release that energy instantly. with enough force to cause serious injury. Professional technicians use calibrated winding bars, know the correct number of turns for your specific door weight, and can spot secondary issues like worn cables or misaligned drums that a homeowner would likely miss.
For a repair that takes a trained tech about 45,90 minutes and comes with a warranty, it's one job worth handing off. You can see the full range of garage door services we offer if you want to know what's included in a standard spring replacement visit.
Los Alamitos has a relatively mild, dry climate. winters rarely dip below 45°F, and humidity is moderate year-round. This is actually gentler on springs than wetter coastal climates up north. That said, the area does experience marine layer moisture from its proximity to Seal Beach and Long Beach, which can accelerate surface rust on older, uncoated springs over time. If your springs look orange or pitted, that's a sign they've been fighting corrosion and may be closer to failure than their age suggests.
When shopping for replacement springs, ask about galvanized or coated high-cycle springs. they hold up better against that coastal moisture and are worth the modest premium.
No. Running your opener with a broken spring puts extreme strain on the motor and can destroy it. It also creates a safety hazard since the door isn't properly counterbalanced. Disconnect the opener and leave the door closed until a technician can assess the damage.
For a qualified technician, most spring replacements take between 45 and 90 minutes. That includes removing the old springs, installing the new ones, balancing the door, and testing the full system.
Yes. almost always. Both springs age at the same rate. If one has failed, the other is likely close behind. Replacing just one leaves you with an unbalanced door and a near-certain second service call within months. Most reputable companies in the Los Alamitos area will recommend replacing the pair as standard practice.