Mama Bear
3 weeks ago
★★★★★
The service was fantastic- courteous, knowledgeable and honest.Excerpt from Google review
Garage Door Problems
My garage door spring broke — can I still open the door?
No. Stop using the opener and do not try to lift or release the door after a spring breaks. If it is closed, leave it closed. If it is open or uneven, keep clear and do not try to lower it. Tell Anderson the door position, your town and whether a vehicle is trapped when requesting spring repair.
Safety references reviewed 2026-07-24.
New Haven based, serving listed Connecticut communities. Availability and any visit charge are confirmed before scheduling. View service areas.
LiftMaster, Chamberlain, Genie, Wayne Dalton, Clopay, and Amarr.
What you may notice
A torsion spring failure often announces itself with a sharp bang. You may see a clear gap in the coil above the door, and the opener may lift the door only a few inches before stopping. On an extension-spring system, a spring or containment cable may hang beside the horizontal track.
What you're seeing
Why it happens
The spring system counterbalances most of the door's weight. When a spring breaks, the opener suddenly faces a load it was not designed to carry by itself. A paired spring that did not break has usually completed the same number of cycles as the failed spring, which is why both springs and the door's actual balance need to be evaluated together.
The gap is in the spring coil; the shaft remains continuous. Stop operating the door when a broken spring is visible. Replacement and tension work require a professional.
Select the image to enlargeHomeowner checks
What you can check safely
- If the door is closed, leave it closed. From a safe distance, look for a gap in the spring or a hanging extension spring; do not reach into the hardware.
- Stop using the opener and keep others from activating it. Do not reach under or around an unstable door to unplug it.
- If a vehicle is trapped, tell the service provider and leave the door as it is. Do not try to lift, lower or release it yourself.
Is it safe to keep using the door?
Do not wind, unwind, clamp, cut or replace a spring yourself. Have a trained door-system technician assess the repair. Bottom brackets and lift cables can remain under spring tension even when the door is not moving. A manual release does not make a door with a broken spring light.
What the fix involves
The repair begins by identifying the spring system and matching replacement springs to the door's measured weight and geometry. The technician inspects cables, drums, bearings, brackets, and the opener attachment before winding and balancing the new spring system. The finished door should move smoothly by hand and stay controlled through its travel before the opener is reconnected.
This is handled by our Garage Door Spring Repair service. Check availability for your ZIP and exact service address before scheduling.
Spring service also includes the lift cables and drums. A displaced cable needs its underlying cause corrected, not simply a return to the groove.
Select the image to enlargeNeed help with this symptom?
Describe what the door is doing before the next attempt.
Call for current service availability, or send the symptom through the form so the request arrives with the correct problem context.
Quick answers
Should both springs be replaced if only one broke?
On a two-spring door, industry safety guidance recommends replacing both. They normally have similar age and cycle history, and matched springs help keep the door balanced.
Will using the opener damage it after a spring breaks?
It can. The opener may strip a gear, damage its trolley, or bend the top door section while trying to lift a load the spring system should be carrying.
Is the spring the only part that should be inspected?
No. Cables, drums, bearings, bottom brackets, the center support, door balance, and opener attachment should be checked because a spring failure can expose existing wear elsewhere.
Related problems
- Garage door will not open
- Door opens a few inches, then stops
- Garage door slams shut or closes too fast
- All garage door problems
To request spring repair, share your town or ZIP, whether the door is closed, open or uneven, and any visible spring or cable damage. Mention if a vehicle is trapped. Service availability and the next step need to be confirmed for your address.
Safety and technical references
These references support the general safety guidance above. Your door and opener model instructions control for model-specific adjustments.
Broken spring: stop-use and paired-spring decisions
A visibly broken spring is a stop-use condition. Whether the door still moves does not establish safety. Have the full counterbalance system assessed, and ask the quote to explain the proposed scope for each spring.
Movement is not a permission test
Do not press the opener again to see whether the remaining spring can manage. Do not pull the release to find out how heavy the door is. A raised or partly raised door needs to be secured by a qualified technician; stay clear rather than trying to catch or support it. Describe its current position when arranging service.
Make the paired-spring decision explicit
DASMA recommends replacing both springs on a two-spring door when one has broken. Ask the installer how that guidance applies to the installed system, what they inspected and which spring specifications they will use. Two springs are not necessarily interchangeable, and a diameter or door-size guess is not a complete replacement specification. If a proposal leaves an older spring in place, ask for the reasoning and remaining uncertainty in writing.
A comparable quote covers the system
Identify the number of springs, the specified replacements, other damaged hardware and the checks included after service. Keep the spring parts, cable or drum work, visit charge and any other excluded work distinguishable. Use the spring-service quote worksheet to compare prices after recording why the scopes differ.
Estimate use, not spring life
One cycle means one complete opening and closing. Enter an observed or estimated daily count and the number of days that pattern applies each year. The multiplication describes annual use; it does not predict a break date, remaining spring life, required spring size or a safe operating allowance. Do not operate a broken door to collect this count.
Keep spring age separate from appearance
If age is unknown, record it as unknown; do not infer spring age from surface appearance.
| Observation or choice | What it changes | What to record |
|---|---|---|
| Visible gap in a spring | Do not operate to test the remaining support | Current door position |
| Two-spring system | Ask about paired replacement and exact specifications | Reason for replacing one or both |
| Additional cable/drum issue | May change the repair scope | What damage was actually found |
| Different quote totals | May reflect different system scope | Parts, checks and exclusions |
Annual use arithmetic
One cycle is a complete opening and closing. Use existing observations only. This is not a spring-life forecast, sizing tool or duty allowance.
Your record
Spring repair scope record
Use information already observed safely, or supplied in writing. An empty field means the answer still needs confirmation.
Your notes are not sent or saved. Tool-use measurement records the action only, without your entries.
References: DASMA: garage-door system safety
Sources & editorial review
Editorial additions last reviewed October 4, 2026. Prepared with AI assistance, checked against the references below and revised after a separate AI review of factual scope and overlap. This is editorial guidance, not a technician inspection or a certification of your equipment.
Source check dates describe the review of the reference. They do not change a manual’s revision or establish current availability, price, compatibility or site suitability.
- DASMA: garage-door system safety — checked 2026-10-03. Professional scope for loaded spring/cable/bottom-bracket work; paired-spring recommendation; matched track and section system.
One Request. Three Simple Steps.
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- 1 The problem
- 2 Your location
- 3 Contact details
Your request is sent to Anderson. Appointment timing and any visit charge are confirmed with you.
Request submitted
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Your request has been accepted for delivery to Anderson. A team member must confirm availability before any appointment is booked.
Need service now? Call (203) 902-3902 to confirm availability.
From our customers
What customers say on Google
G
Yehuda Robinov
a month ago
★★★★★
Very very professional guys good jobs good service
adam ricker
3 months ago
★★★★★
Great worker
David Avitan
3 months ago
★★★★★
They replaced three garage door motors for me, and the service was excellent from start to finish.Excerpt from Google review
Mary larson
4 months ago
★★★★★
Very good service and very polite
Tippawan Markmaitree-Babin
4 months ago
★★★★★
Very good work, polite and flexible in scheduling appointments.
Reviews from Google. Rating and relative dates checked October 1, 2026. This is a dated snapshot, not a live feed.
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Call now to discuss the problem and check availability for your ZIP. The exact service address is confirmed before scheduling.