Upper Keys
Extension Spring Repair in Key Largo
Extension springs stretch beside the horizontal track and are common on older single-car doors. A broken one looks like a loose coil above the car, with a gap where the spring used to pull. The safety cable running through the coil is what keeps a break from throwing the spring across the bay. Color bands on the coil are not a full specification for ordering a replacement. A torsion cone above the door does not repair this side-stretch layout.
A loose coil above the car
The springs on this layout live along the horizontal track, one on each side of a single-car door. When one breaks, that side goes slack and the door may hang heavy or crooked. You might see the coil bunched up, or the safety cable holding a spring that has opened. The door can feel much heavier on the broken side when someone tries to lift it.
Park the door and stay off the coils
Leave the door parked, whether it is down or only partly up, and stop running the opener. Do not touch the coils, the safety cable, or the pulleys at the ends of the stretch. Springs, set screws, and lift cables on the door stay untouched as well. Keep people out of the bay, because a spring that has let go can still move. A photo from outside the car, showing the loose coil, is enough to send ahead.
Match the spring on site and replace the pair
The spring is identified at the opening, because paint bands on the coil are only a partial clue. When one side has broken, the other side has lived the same cycles and is replaced with it. The safety cable is inspected and replaced if it is frayed, kinked, or missing. Pulleys and the ends that hook the spring are checked so the new coil stretches cleanly.
Why a torsion cone does not belong here
Extension springs pull along the track, while torsion springs twist on a shaft over the door. Hardware from a torsion system, including the cone and the shaft, does not bolt onto this layout. The safety cable is the containment for a break, and it has to run through the center of the coil. Both sides should match in length and pull, or the door cocks as it rises.
Humidity salt and older single bays
Key Largo still has older single-car doors, some in enclosed garages and some in open bays under stilts. Salt air and humidity rust the coils and the safety cable faster when that bay is open to the weather. Storms and power cuts can leave a half-raised door hanging on one remaining spring. An enclosed garage slows that corrosion, and the same broken coil is still a reason to park the door.
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
Why should the door stay parked if only one spring broke?
The remaining spring is doing more than its share, and the broken coil is still dangerous. Running the opener can cock the door or stress the side that is still intact. Park the door, keep people clear, and leave both coils alone until they are replaced as a pair.
Can the colored bands on the coil be used to order a spring?
Paint bands are a hint at the spring, and they are not enough to order from a chart alone. The length, the pull, and the door are confirmed at the opening. Both sides are matched on site so the door rises level after the repair.
Is a torsion-style cone the right repair for this door?
A cone and a shaft belong to a torsion system mounted above the door, which this layout does not use. Extension springs stretch beside the track, with a safety cable through each coil. Replacing those springs, the cable, and the pulleys is the repair that fits this door.
Request service
Name the street and whether the door is up, down, or stuck.
- Repairs and replacement parts
- Openers and controls
- New garage doors