Lower Keys
Extension Spring Repair in Big Pine Key
Extension spring repair is for springs that stretch beside the horizontal track, common on older single-car doors. A broken one looks like a loose coil above the car, often with only the safety cable still lined up. The spring that remains can pull the door crooked, so the door should stay parked. Color bands are not a full specification for the spring this door needs. A torsion cone does not repair springs that stretch beside the track.
Where these side springs still show up
You will see a long spring running beside each horizontal track, above the parked car. When one breaks, that coil goes slack while the other side still pulls. The door may hang up on one corner or feel suddenly heavy in the middle of travel. The safety cable runs through the coil and keeps a broken spring from flying.
What you should leave alone
Leave the door parked, whether it is open, down, or stuck partway, and keep people out of the opening. Do not touch the coils, the pulleys, or the safety cable, even if the loose spring looks quiet. Do not try to tie the broken coil back or stretch the remaining spring by hand. Never treat the set screws of a torsion system as the fix for this layout.
What the visit replaces
On the visit both springs are considered, because the survivor is the same age as the one that broke. The safety cable, the pulleys, and the eye bolts are checked while the new springs go on. A door that stayed straight needs the springs and the hardware around them. If the cable let the door twist, a section may be part of the same repair. The door is balanced after the pair is on so it no longer dives or cocks.
Color marks and the wrong cone
Paint bands on a spring are a rough clue, and they do not name the full spring by themselves. Door weight, the length of the stretch, and the pulleys decide which spring belongs here. A chart that matches a color alone does not measure the door hanging in the opening. A torsion cone, the part that locks a shaft spring, does not repair springs that stretch beside the track. The wrong part keeps the door parked until the right springs are in hand.
Older side springs in salt air
Older single-car doors among the pines still use springs stretched beside the track. Salt air roughens the coils and the safety cable, so a tired spring lets go sooner. The pulley and the hook at the end of the stretch pit in the same damp air. Shade under the trees does not keep that steel dry, especially on a bay that stays open. Narrow roads off Key Deer Boulevard reach these older doors, and the springs above the car are the job.
Request this visit.
Call (645) 256-1794 about this door.
We answer any hour Sunday through Friday.
Saturday stays closed.
Keys Door Co is family-owned, local, and insured.
We have worked this coast for over ten years.
Common questions
What does a broken extension spring look like above the car?
It looks like a loose coil beside the horizontal track, with the safety cable still running through it. The other spring may still be stretched, and the door can hang crooked. Leave the door parked and keep your hands off both of the coils.
Do the colored bands tell you which spring to order?
No, color bands are only a rough clue and do not specify the whole spring. The door weight, the stretch, and the pulleys decide the right part. The spring is identified from the door, not from the paint alone.
Can a torsion spring part fix an extension spring system?
No, a torsion cone belongs to a shaft spring above the door, and it does not repair this layout. Extension springs stretch beside the track and use a safety cable through the coil. The two systems are repaired with different parts and different hardware sets.
Place reference: National Key Deer Refuge
Request service
Name the street and whether the door is up, down, or stuck.
- Repairs and replacement parts
- Openers and controls
- New garage doors