Torsion vs. Extension Springs, Explained
Direct answer: Most modern residential doors use torsion springs: thick coils mounted on a steel shaft above the door opening that twist to store energy and counterbalance the door's weight. Older or lighter doors may use extension springs, which stretch along the horizontal tracks on each side. Torsion systems are smoother, more durable, and safer when they fail, which is why they are standard on most Mount Juliet homes built in the last 20 years.
Here is the technician's view. A standard double-car garage door weighs 150 to 250 pounds or more. You do not lift that weight; the springs do, by storing energy as the door closes and releasing it as the door opens. The opener just guides the motion. When a spring breaks, usually with a bang loud enough to hear across the house, the door becomes dead weight. Running the opener against that weight will strip gears or burn out the motor fast, so stop using it.
Spring steel fatigues with every cycle, and standard springs are rated around 10,000 cycles. A door used four times a day hits that in about seven years. Add Wilson County's climate: humid summers pit the steel with surface corrosion, creating stress points, and winter cold snaps make the steel contract and turn brittle. Weak springs love to snap on the first hard freeze, which is exactly what happened to plenty of doors during the January 2026 ice storm that left Middle Tennessee garage doors frozen and dead.
This is also why the repair community's consensus is so firm: springs are not a DIY job. A wound torsion spring holds enough energy to cause serious injury if a winding bar slips. We carry the right bars, clamps, and new matched springs on the truck, and we tension to the door's actual weight, not a guess.
