2026-03-13 7 min read
If you've ever walked into your garage on a frigid January morning and heard a loud bang. or worse, found your door completely stuck. you already know what a broken spring feels like. In Epsom, NH, it's one of the most common calls we get, and it's not a coincidence. The climate here is genuinely tough on garage door hardware, and understanding why can save you from a very inconvenient (and expensive) surprise.
Epsom sits in Merrimack County, where winters are long, cold, and relentless. Temperatures regularly drop from the low 30s during the day to single digits or below zero overnight. sometimes swinging 20 or 30 degrees in a single 24-hour period. That daily expansion and contraction cycle is exactly what garage door springs hate most.
Garage door springs are made of tightly wound steel, which naturally contracts when exposed to cold air. As the metal contracts, the spring becomes more brittle and less flexible. making it far more susceptible to snapping under tension. If your springs are already in their later cycle years, a cold Epsom night could be all it takes to push them past their limit.
The problem is compounded by lubrication. Standard lubricants thicken and lose effectiveness below 32°F, which means more friction on already-stressed metal parts. That added resistance forces the springs to work harder every single time the door operates. and most Epsom homeowners open and close their garage door multiple times a day.
For homeowners along Route 202 and in the more rural wooded areas east of town, unheated or poorly insulated garages make the situation worse. When your garage has no buffer against the outdoor temperature, your springs are essentially exposed to full outdoor conditions all winter.
There are two main spring systems you'll find on Epsom homes: torsion springs, mounted horizontally above the door opening, and extension springs, which run alongside the door tracks. Most of the colonial-style and split-level homes common in the Epsom area were built with sectional doors, which typically use torsion spring systems.
When one spring fails on a two-spring system, the temptation is to just replace the broken one. But since both springs were installed at the same time and have gone through the same number of cycles, the second spring is usually close to failure too. Replacing both at once saves you a second service call. and a second surprise breakdown. within months.
If you want a deeper look at how the opener motor interacts with your spring system, our motor repair complete guide walks through how a struggling spring can burn out your opener motor prematurely.
Springs rarely fail without giving some advance notice. Here's what to pay attention to:
- A loud bang from the garage. even when you weren't using the door. Torsion springs unwind with significant force when they snap. - The door feels unusually heavy when you try to lift it manually. Springs counterbalance a door that can weigh over 150 pounds. - Jerky, uneven movement as the door opens or closes. - The opener strains or hums louder than normal. a sign it's compensating for a weakened spring. - Visible gaps in the spring coils when you look at the hardware above the door.
If you spot any of these signs, stop using the door until a technician can take a look. Continuing to run your opener with a broken or near-broken spring can damage the motor and turn a $200 repair into a much larger one. Reach out to schedule a service call before it becomes an emergency.
You can't completely prevent spring wear, but you can slow it down significantly with a few straightforward habits.
Lubricate twice a year. Apply a silicone-based or white lithium grease to your springs, rollers, and hinges in the fall before temperatures drop, and again in spring. Do not use standard WD-40. it's a degreaser, not a lubricant, and it will strip away existing protection and attract dust.
Test your door's balance. Disconnect the opener and manually lift the door halfway. It should stay in place on its own. If it falls or flies up, the springs are out of balance and need professional adjustment.
Check for rust. Look for reddish-brown discoloration on your spring coils. Rust accelerates metal fatigue, especially in the damp shoulder seasons that Epsom gets in November and March.
Insulate if you can. Even keeping a garage a few degrees above freezing reduces the stress on metal components. Weatherstripping inspection is a good starting point. our post on preparing your garage door for winter covers what to look for.
Springs are under extreme tension. enough to cause serious injury if they snap or uncoil while being handled. This is strictly a job for a trained technician with the proper tools. Do not attempt to adjust, rewind, or replace springs yourself.
At Garage Door Epsom, we service homes throughout Epsom and surrounding towns including Concord, Chichester, and Loudon. If you're seeing any of the warning signs above, it's worth a call before you're stuck in your driveway on a cold morning. You can review our full range of garage door services or check our frequently asked questions for more detail on what a spring replacement involves.
How long do garage door springs typically last in New Hampshire's climate? Most standard springs are rated for 10,000 cycles. For an average homeowner using the door four times a day, that's roughly 7,8 years. In a cold climate like Epsom's, where repeated temperature swings stress the metal, you may see springs fail closer to the 6,7 year mark if they haven't been maintained.
Can I still use my garage door if one spring is broken? Technically the opener may still move the door, but we strongly recommend against it. Without the spring doing its job, the opener motor bears the full weight of the door. which it isn't designed to handle. This can burn out the motor quickly. Keep the door closed and call for service.
Is it worth replacing springs on an older door? It depends on the overall condition of the door. If the door itself is in good shape, replacing the springs makes good economic sense. If the door panels, cables, and rollers are also showing significant wear, it may be worth discussing a full replacement to avoid a series of smaller repair bills over the next year or two.