2026-04-21 7 min read
If you've ever heard a loud bang from your garage in the middle of a Bennington winter and walked out to find your door won't budge, there's a good chance a spring just let go. It's one of the most common calls we get. and one of the most misunderstood repairs among homeowners in this area.
Bennington sits at around 670 feet of elevation in Hillsborough County, and the winters here are no joke. Temperatures regularly drop into the single digits, with overnight lows that can hit -4°F or colder. That kind of cold is hard on metal, and garage door springs. which are under enormous tension every single day. are especially vulnerable. Homeowners across Bennington, Antrim, and Hillsborough deal with spring failures every winter, often at the worst possible moments.
Your garage door is heavy. most residential doors weigh between 150 and 250 pounds. Springs counterbalance that weight so your opener (or your arm) doesn't have to lift it alone. There are two main types:
- Torsion springs mount horizontally above the door opening and twist to store energy. They're more common on newer homes and heavier doors. - Extension springs run along the sides of the door tracks and stretch as the door closes. You'll find these more often on older homes and lighter single-car doors. including many of the Cape Cods and older Colonials scattered around Bennington's village center.
Both types are rated for a certain number of cycles. typically 10,000 to 20,000 for torsion springs and 5,000 to 15,000 for extension springs. On a door you open twice a day, that's roughly 7 to 27 years of life. Cold weather accelerates metal fatigue, which is why spring failures cluster in January and February around here.
Don't wait for the loud bang. Your door will usually give you warning signs first:
The door feels unusually heavy. A properly balanced door should feel like about 10 to 15 pounds when you lift it by hand. If it feels significantly heavier, your springs are losing tension.
The door won't stay open halfway. Lift it to waist height and let go. If it drifts back down, that's a spring under strain.
Visible gaps in the torsion spring coil. Healthy torsion spring coils are tightly wound and touching. If you can see a gap. usually an inch or more. that spring is close to failure.
The opener strains or stops mid-cycle. Your opener isn't designed to lift a door without spring assistance. When springs weaken, the opener works overtime and can burn out prematurely.
Squeaking or grinding. Some noise is normal, but persistent squeaking from the spring area often means the metal is drying out or corroding. especially after a wet New Hampshire fall. Proper lubrication can slow this down, but worn springs eventually need replacement regardless.
Expect to pay in the range of $150 to $350 per spring for most residential jobs, with the total depending on spring type, door size, and whether additional parts need attention. Torsion springs tend to cost more than extension springs because they require more precise installation and heavier-duty components. If your cables or hardware are also worn. which is common when a spring finally fails. those repairs add to the bill.
One thing worth knowing: most pros recommend replacing both springs at the same time, even if only one has broken. Springs wear at roughly the same rate, and if one fails, the other is usually close behind. Replacing both during the same service visit saves you a second labor charge and keeps your door operating evenly.
If your springs are more than a decade old and you're also seeing worn cables or rollers, it may be worth discussing a fuller tune-up while the technician is already there. You can learn more about what those services cover and what to expect from a full inspection.
Garage door springs store an enormous amount of energy. enough to lift a 200-pound door thousands of times. When that energy releases suddenly and uncontrollably, the results can be severe. Extension springs in particular can snap and fly across the garage at high speed if they break without proper safety cables in place.
Professional technicians use calibrated winding bars and specialized tools to safely wind and unwind torsion springs. They also know how to set the correct tension for your specific door weight. something that's easy to get wrong and that directly affects how long your new springs will last. A spring wound to the wrong tension puts extra stress on your opener and cables, shortening their lifespan too.
This is one of those repairs where the small savings from doing it yourself aren't worth the risk. Leave this one to a trained technician.
If your spring fails suddenly:
1. Stop using the door immediately. Don't try to force it open manually, and don't run the opener repeatedly hoping it will push through. 2. Disconnect the opener to prevent anyone from accidentally triggering it while the door is in an unsafe state. 3. Call a pro. Garage Door Bennington handles spring replacements throughout Bennington and the surrounding towns. We keep common spring sizes in stock so most jobs can be completed in a single visit.
If your car is stuck inside the garage, every door has a manual release cord. usually a red handle hanging from the opener rail. Pulling it disconnects the door from the opener so you can lift it manually. For a full walkthrough on how that works and when to use it safely, see our guide on manual release mechanisms.
How long do garage door springs typically last in Bennington's climate? Most springs are rated for 10,000 cycles. In our climate, cold temperatures and freeze-thaw cycles put additional stress on metal, so springs on the lower end of the quality spectrum may fail closer to the 7- to 10-year mark. Higher-cycle springs. sometimes rated for 20,000 to 30,000 cycles. are worth considering if you want to extend the time between replacements.
Can I get my car out if a spring breaks and the door won't open? Yes, but carefully. Use the manual release cord to disconnect the opener, then lift the door by hand with another person helping. the door will be much heavier than normal without spring assistance. Get it open just enough to back the car out, then leave the door closed and call for service. Don't try to prop it open or leave it unattended in a raised position.
Should I replace one spring or both? Almost always both. Springs in pairs wear at the same rate, so if one has failed, the other is typically near the end of its service life. Replacing both at the same time costs only marginally more than replacing one, and it saves you from dealing with a second failure. and second service call. just a few months down the road. Reach out to us and we'll give you a straight answer on what makes sense for your specific door.