How to tell a spring has broken
From inside the garage, look at the shaft above the door:
- A visible gap of a few centimetres in the coils of a torsion spring.
- The opener runs but the door barely moves, or lifts a few centimetres and stops.
- The door feels extremely heavy when you try to lift it by hand.
- The door comes down fast or crooked instead of easing shut.
- Cables look loose on one or both sides after the bang.
A single broken spring means the opener is trying to lift the whole door by itself — that strains the gears and can bend the top section. Stop using it until it's fixed.
Why springs give out in Kanata garages
Torsion springs are rated for a set number of open-close cycles, and every trip in and out of the garage uses one. Households that use the garage as their main entrance run through those cycles much faster than they'd guess. On top of that, steel springs in an unheated garage get colder and more brittle in January, and many breaks happen on the first very cold mornings of winter. Surface rust from humid summers and winter condensation adds stress points along the coils.
A lot of Kanata homes still have the springs installed when the house was built. If yours has never been replaced, it's worth having it checked before winter instead of waiting for it to break.
The parts for a Kanata spring job
This photo is from a spring job in Kanata, taken before installation. Laid out on the driveway are two new torsion springs, still zip-tied together, with two new bottom brackets, two rollers and a coiled set of lift cables. We replaced the springs as a pair, and since the door was already unloaded we replaced the cables, bottom brackets and rollers at the same visit. That's the hardware that carries the spring's force down to the door.
What happens during a spring replacement
- Diagnose: confirm which spring broke and check the other spring, cables, drums, bearings and rollers.
- Quote in writing, approved by you before we start.
- Secure the door and unwind any remaining tension with proper winding bars.
- Install springs sized to your door. The wire size, length and inside diameter are matched to the door's weight and height, not swapped for whatever's on hand.
- Wind, balance and test: the door should stay put when you let go of it halfway up. Then we check the opener force and the auto-reverse.
Most spring jobs are finished in 30–60 minutes.
Spring repair pricing in Kanata
| Service | Price |
|---|---|
| Torsion or extension spring replacement | $250–$350 per spring installed (we recommend replacing both) |
There's no distance surcharge for Kanata. Spring work is backed by our 3-year warranty on parts and labour. If cables or brackets are worn too, see cable repair in Kanata.
Book same-day spring repair in Kanata
We're rated 5.0 stars from 114 Google reviews. Call or text 343-777-8893, or book online.
Kanata services: Garage door repair in Kanata · Cable repair · Opener repair & installation · New door installation
More from GDS: Garage door spring repair in Ottawa · Garage door repair in Stittsville · Torsion vs extension springs