What makes springs snap in the cold?
Winter is hard on springs because cold makes lubricant sluggish and adds drag, and repeated freeze and thaw cycles lock the bottom seal to the floor so the spring has to pull the door free. A spring that is already worn often fails on the first hard freeze.
If you have lived in Westmoreland County for a few winters, you may have heard the bang yourself. It usually comes on a cold morning: a sharp crack from the garage, and then a door that will not lift. Garage door springs do fail more often in winter, and the local weather has a lot to do with it.
A spring is a tired piece of steel
Every time your door opens and closes, the spring winds and unwinds. The steel flexes, and after enough cycles it develops tiny cracks that grow until the spring breaks. A standard spring is often rated for about 10,000 cycles. That rating assumes normal conditions. Winter is not normal conditions.
What cold does
Low temperatures turn the lubricant on the coils sluggish, the rollers and the hinges, so the whole door moves with more drag. Steel also contracts in the cold. Each of these adds a little to the load on the spring. A spring that is already late in its life may have just enough strength left for summer, and not enough for January.
Freeze, thaw, repeat
Here the bigger problem is how often the temperature crosses freezing. On a sloped driveway, every thaw sends water running toward the garage, and every freeze locks the bottom seal to the concrete. When the opener tries to lift a door that is frozen down, the spring has to help pull the door free. That sudden extra load is often what finishes off a worn spring.
Under-house garages run more cycles
Many homes in Penn Township have garages built beneath the house, and families often use them as the everyday entrance. More trips per day means the spring reaches its rated cycle count sooner. Those doors are often the first to break when the cold arrives.
What helps
Before winter, have the door lubricated with a garage door lubricant and check that the bottom seal is in good shape. Keep the threshold clear of snow and ice. If the door is frozen down, disengage the opener with the red cord and test the door by hand rather than letting the motor pull. If it will not budge, wait for it to thaw or call. Silicone on the rubber seal in late fall helps it come away from the concrete.
When it breaks
Leave the door down and call (724) 634-4887. Going by our posted prices, a single torsion spring is $185 to $355, both springs on a two-spring door run $285 to $525, and a pair of extension springs is $150 to $325. If the door runs many times a day, ask about a higher-cycle spring.
More help: garage door spring repair and garage door repair in Penn. You might also like New Garage Door or Repair? A Penn Guide.
Reference: DASMA's garage-door safety guidance (manufacturer / safety source).