One of the most common repairs that most garage door companies will encounter is a broken spring. The springs on a garage door help to raise the door and reduce the effect of its weight. There are generally two main types of garage door springs. Torsion springs are the kind that you would see above the garage door opener attached to a long tube. Extension springs are the type that you can see hanging on the left and right side of the garage door and attached to the rear track hangers. Both types have a typical shelf life of 6 to 10 years. This wide range is determined typically by how many cycles the door goes through. (How many times the door goes up and down). Both extension and torsion springs are under a tremendous amount of tension. When they do finally reach the end of their life they will indeed break and yes, it can be very loud. Many people describe it as sounding like a gun going off in their garage. If you discover that one of your springs is broken or you think it could be broken, DO NOT attempt to fix it yourself. There are special tools and specific steps that need to be taken to replace broken springs. I have heard far too many stories of people getting seriously hurt while attempting to fix garage door springs. There are plenty of do-it-yourself projects that can be fun, rewarding, and money-saving, but this is not one of those. Although we can definitely save you money in repair costs. The good news is that garage door springs should only need to be replaced every 6-10 years. Call the experts at Four Seasons Garage Doors for same day, affordable spring replacement