2026-03-20 7 min read
If your garage door has started feeling heavier than usual, slams on the way down, or makes a sharp bang you could hear from inside the house, there's a good chance your torsion spring is the culprit. Out here in Adkins. and in nearby communities like Schertz and Cibolo. the climate does a number on garage door hardware in ways that most homeowners don't realize until something breaks.
Adkins sits in eastern Bexar County at around 577 feet elevation, and the summers here are no joke. Temperatures regularly push past 95°F, and the humidity that rolls in makes it feel worse. That combination is genuinely rough on torsion springs.
Heat causes metal to expand, and as it cools overnight. sometimes dropping 30 or 40 degrees from the afternoon high. it contracts again. That daily cycle of expansion and contraction puts mechanical stress on the coiled steel every single day. Over time, that stress weakens the spring material from the inside out, even when the spring looks fine from the outside. Central Texas heat accelerates metal fatigue, often reducing real-world spring lifespan well below the rated cycle count.
On top of that, humidity promotes rust. Moisture in the air settles on the coils and, over time, leads to corrosion that weakens the spring and increases the risk of sudden failure. You won't always see the rust easily. it tends to start in the inner coils where you can't get a good look.
Most garage door torsion springs are rated for around 10,000 cycles. If you use your garage door four times a day (in and out, morning and evening), that works out to roughly 7 years. But here in Adkins, real-world lifespan is often shorter. The heat-humidity combination accelerates wear, and if a spring was never lubricated after installation, corrosion shortens things further.
If your home was built in the mid-to-late 1990s. which applies to a solid chunk of Adkins since the median construction year here is 1996. your original springs may already be on borrowed time. The same goes for many of the ranch-style and single-story homes in the area that are now 20 to 30 years old.
Check out our frequently asked questions if you want to know more about spring cycles and what to expect from your specific door setup.
Don't wait for the loud bang. Here are earlier warning signs worth paying attention to:
- The door feels heavy when you lift it manually after pulling the emergency release cord. A balanced door should float about halfway up and stay there on its own. - Uneven movement. one side of the door rises faster than the other. - Visible rust or gaps in the spring coil. A gap in the coil means the spring has already snapped. - Grinding or popping noises when the door opens or closes. That's often friction from a spring that's lost its smooth flex. - The opener strains. if the motor sounds like it's working overtime, the spring may not be counterbalancing the door's weight properly anymore.
Disconnect your opener by pulling the red emergency release cord (only do this when the door is fully closed). Then lift the door manually to about waist height and let go. A properly balanced door should stay put or drift only slightly. If it drops to the floor or shoots upward, your spring tension is off and it's time to call a professional. This is one of the most practical garage door maintenance checks any homeowner can do in two minutes.
Lubrication is the single best thing you can do to extend spring life. Use a silicone-based or white lithium grease spray. apply it directly to the coils two to three times a year. This creates a barrier against moisture and keeps the metal from corroding as fast. Avoid WD-40; it strips existing lubrication and draws in dust.
What you should never do is attempt to replace or adjust a torsion spring yourself. These springs are wound under extreme tension. When one fails, it releases that stored energy instantly. A spring that snaps during a DIY attempt can cause serious injury. This is a job for a trained technician with the right tools.
Garage Door Adkins handles spring replacements throughout the Adkins area and nearby communities like Floresville and La Vernia. If you're seeing any of the warning signs above, schedule a service call sooner rather than later. a broken spring usually means a door that won't open at all, often at the worst possible time.
Q: Should I replace both springs even if only one broke? A: Yes, and here's the honest reason: if one spring failed, the other is roughly the same age and has the same wear. Replacing both at once saves you the cost of a second service call in six months. and avoids the situation where the second spring snaps when you're already running late.
Q: How much does spring replacement cost in the Adkins area? A: For most standard single-car or two-car doors, torsion spring replacement runs in a range that varies by door size and spring type. Galvanized springs cost a bit more but offer better corrosion resistance for our humidity levels. Get a straight answer by visiting our services page or calling for a quote.
Q: My door opens fine. do I still need to worry about springs? A: A door that opens fine today can have a spring that's weeks from snapping. If your springs haven't been inspected in the last two to three years and your home is more than 10 years old, a quick inspection is worth it. Catching wear early is always cheaper than an emergency repair.