2026-03-30 7 min read
If you've ever heard a sudden, loud bang from your garage on a cold January morning, you already know the sound. That's a garage door spring snapping. and in New London, it's one of the most common service calls we get every winter. Living in Huron County means dealing with temperatures that routinely swing from the single digits in January to humid 80-degree summers. That full seasonal range puts serious stress on the metal components of your garage door system, and springs take the worst of it.
New London sits about 24 miles south of Lake Erie, which means the area gets the tail end of lake-effect weather systems that push through from the north and west. Temperatures swing fast. sometimes 30 to 40 degrees in a single day. and that rapid freeze-thaw cycle is brutal on metal. When cold hits, metal contracts. Springs, cables, tracks, and rollers all tighten up, and components that were already worn start showing their age in a hurry.
Garage door springs are rated for roughly 10,000 open-and-close cycles under normal conditions. But Ohio's hard winters accelerate that wear. A spring that might last 10 years in a milder climate can give out in 7 years here, especially if it hasn't been lubricated or inspected regularly. If you've been in your New London home for more than six or seven years and never had the springs checked, it's worth paying attention to the signs below.
Your torsion spring (the horizontal bar above the door) or extension springs (the cables running along the sides) do most of the lifting work. When one fails, the opener motor suddenly has to carry the full weight of the door. sometimes 150 to 200 pounds. If your door feels unusually heavy when you try to lift it manually, or if your opener is straining and moving slowly, a broken spring is the most likely cause. Don't keep hitting the button; forcing the opener to fight a broken spring can burn out the motor.
This is the clearest sign. A spring under high tension doesn't just fail quietly. it snaps with a sharp crack that sounds like a firecracker or a small bat hitting something. If you hear this from inside your home and then find the door won't move, the spring is gone.
If the door lifts crooked. one side higher than the other. one spring has likely failed while the other is still working. This is also a situation where you need to stop using the door. Running an imbalanced door puts strain on cables, rollers, and the opener that can lead to additional repairs.
Walk into your garage and look at the torsion spring above the door. If you can see a visible gap or separation in the coil, that spring is broken. It's as simple as that.
Here's an honest breakdown. In Ohio, residential garage door spring replacement generally falls between $140 and $350 for most standard setups, with the final number depending on the type of spring and the size of your door. Torsion springs. the kind on most modern doors. run higher than extension springs because they're more complex to install and last longer.
For a double-car garage door in New London with a standard torsion spring setup, expect to pay somewhere in the $250,$380 range for both springs, parts, and labor combined. Rural Huron County tends to come in below what you'd pay in Cleveland or Columbus for the same job. Emergency or same-day service can add $50,$100 to the total.
One thing worth knowing: always replace both springs at the same time, even if only one has broken. If one failed, the other is usually close behind. and doing two replacements in one visit saves you a second service call fee. You can learn more about how parts and labor factor into the overall price in our Labor vs Parts Breakdown guide.
This is worth saying plainly. Garage door springs operate under extreme tension. enough to cause serious injury if they release unexpectedly. This isn't a job for a YouTube tutorial and a weekend afternoon. A spring that snaps during a DIY repair can cause broken bones or worse. Let a trained technician handle it. Check out our services page to see what a professional repair visit covers.
A few habits make a real difference:
- Lubricate springs twice a year. once in fall before temperatures drop, and once in spring. Use a silicone-based lubricant, not WD-40. Silicone resists freezing and doesn't attract grit the way petroleum-based products do. - Test your door's balance twice a year. Disconnect the opener, manually lift the door to waist height, and let go. It should stay put. If it drops or shoots up, the spring tension is off. Our Balance Adjustment guide walks through exactly what to look for. - Keep the area around the base of your door clear of snow and standing water. In New London winters, snowmelt can refreeze overnight and create a frozen seal between the door and the concrete. forcing the opener to fight both a frozen bottom seal and aging springs at the same time.
Homeowners in nearby Willard and Ashland deal with these same conditions. Same seasonal patterns, same failure points.
Q: How long do garage door springs typically last in Ohio? A: Under normal use, most springs are rated for around 10,000 cycles. In Ohio's climate. with hard winters and humid summers cycling hardware from both ends. real-world lifespan often lands between 7 and 10 years, depending on maintenance habits and door usage frequency.
Q: Can I use my garage door if only one spring is broken? A: Technically the door may still move, but you shouldn't use it. Running a door with a failed spring puts severe strain on the opener motor, cables, and the working spring. You risk additional damage or a complete failure that leaves the door stuck open or shut. Stop using it and call for service.
Q: Is it worth replacing springs on an older door, or should I just replace the whole thing? A: If the door panels are in decent shape and the opener is working, spring replacement is almost always the better value. A new door becomes worth considering when you're looking at multiple failing components. springs, cables, panels, and opener all needing attention at once. A technician can give you an honest read on that. Reach out to schedule an assessment before committing either way.