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The same explanations we give in driveways, written down. No scare tactics, no jargon without a translation, and nothing that pretends to be a quote. When a guide ends with "get it looked at", the Pre-Start Check or the enquiry form is one click away.
That bang was the torsion spring
The loud bang from the garage, the door that suddenly weighs a hundred-plus kilos, and why the spring was always going to go: cycle life, explained straight, with the safety steer that matters.
Read the guide
Dust, heat and the west sun
Singleton is the driest, hottest corner of the Hunter, and a garage door feels it: dust in the tracks, cooked seals, straining openers. The full wear story, with a diagram of where it happens.
Read the guideGLOSSARY · THE TRADE'S TERMS, TRANSLATED
What the words mean
- Torsion spring
- The coiled steel spring mounted on a shaft above the door that counterbalances the door's weight. The spring does the lifting; the opener just steers. When it snaps you'll hear a single loud bang, and the door becomes dead weight.
- Cycle rating
- Spring life is measured in cycles: one full open and close. A standard torsion spring is rated around 10,000 cycles, which is roughly seven to ten years for a typical family garage using the door three to four times a day.
- Balanced door
- A door whose springs carry its weight correctly. The test: disengage the opener and lift by hand. A balanced door lifts with one hand and stays put at half height. A heavy or drifting door is out of balance and is wearing out its opener.
- Sectional door
- A door made of hinged horizontal panels that rises vertically, then travels back along ceiling tracks. The dominant modern residential type, and the standard fit on double garages in newer estates.
- Roller door
- A corrugated steel curtain that rolls up into a drum above the opening. Needs the least headroom of any door type, which is why it suits older garages and sheds.
- Tilt door
- A single rigid panel that tilts outward and up on pivot arms. Common on garages built before the 1990s; mostly a repair-and-replace market today.
- Photo-eyes (safety beams)
- The small sensors near the floor on each side of the opening. If their beam is broken, or they're dirty or knocked out of alignment, the door will refuse to close or will reverse; that's them doing their job, or asking to be cleaned.
- Manual release
- The red cord hanging from the opener trolley. Pulling it disconnects the motor so the door can be moved by hand, in a blackout for instance. Only use it with the door fully closed; a door with a snapped spring can fall when released.