What it usually means, the likely causes in order, what to safely try first, what a pro charges in Canada, and when to stop and call one.
This guide covers the common cases. Describe your exact problem and get a personalized diagnosis — free to start, with a DIY vs. call-a-pro verdict and a real cost estimate.
A visibly broken or snapped garage door spring means the counterbalance system that makes a heavy door feel light has failed. Springs carry an enormous share of the door weight through thousands of open and close cycles until the metal fatigues and parts, often with a bang loud enough to be mistaken for something falling over in the garage. Let this guide be unusually direct compared with the others: there is no do-it-yourself version of this repair. The homeowner work is recognition, restraint, and keeping everyone clear of the door until a professional has replaced the spring and rebalanced the system.
Keep the door closed and do not use the opener until it is repaired, and book the repair promptly, especially if a vehicle is trapped inside or the garage is your main entry. It worsens if delayed only in the sense that every attempted cycle strains the opener against a door it was never meant to lift alone, which can burn out the motor and add a second repair. An opener forced against a broken spring can also lift unevenly on one cable. Treat further operation as damage, not diagnosis, and arrange the professional visit as the first and only step.
This is overwhelmingly the cause. Springs are rated for a number of open and close cycles, and each cycle flexes the steel until it eventually parts at its most stressed point. A busy family door cycling several times a day simply reaches that count sooner. Age alone is not the measure; total cycles are.
Moisture in the garage, road salt tracked in through winter, and coastal or humid air corrode spring steel, and a corroded section becomes the weak point where the break occurs. A spring that looks heavily rusted along its coils was often visibly near the end before it snapped, which is worth remembering when the replacement is assessed.
A door that drags, binds in its track, or was poorly balanced loads its springs unevenly and works them harder on every cycle. The spring failure is then the symptom of a system problem, which is why a good repair includes checking balance, rollers, and tracks rather than swapping the spring and leaving the cause in place.
Breaks are commonly reported on the coldest mornings, when steel is at its least forgiving and a fatigued coil is under its usual full tension. The cold did not create the weakness; it supplied the final stress to a spring that had used up its service life. Expect no warning beyond, sometimes, increasingly noisy or laboured operation in the preceding weeks.
| Job size | Typical estimate (CAD) |
|---|---|
| Simple fix — the straightforward version of this repair | $120–$350 |
| Major job — complex, hidden, or replacement-level work | $350–$800 |
Estimates only, calibrated to Greater Toronto Area trade rates and adjusted by region on this site — not a quote. Your exact price depends on the cause, parts, and access. A personalized diagnosis narrows this range using your specific symptom.
There is no DIY side to weigh here, and presenting one would be dishonest. Do not attempt this repair yourself. A professional replaces springs, very often both on a two-spring door so their remaining life matches, then rebalances the door so it lifts evenly and holds position as it should, and checks the cables, rollers, and opener strain as part of the same visit. Your decisions are limited to booking promptly, choosing whether both springs are done together on the technician advice you receive, and asking that balance and safety reversal be tested before they leave.
You can, but on a two-spring door the surviving spring has lived through the same number of cycles and is usually close to the same fatigue point, so it commonly fails soon after. Most technicians recommend replacing both together because the labour overlaps almost entirely, and matched new springs also balance the door better than one new and one tired spring working as a pair. Ask for the reasoning on your door, but expect the pair to be the standard recommendation.
Because the hazard is not complexity, it is stored energy. A torsion spring holds enough tension to lift a very heavy door, and releasing or winding that tension with the wrong tool, a slipping tool, or a cracked casting can cause severe injury in a fraction of a second. Professionals use specific winding bars, secure the door, and do this daily. Some home repairs reward confidence; this one punishes it, and it is the clearest call-a-pro job in this entire guide set.
No. The opener was designed to guide a balanced door, not to dead-lift an unbalanced one. Running it against a broken spring strains the motor and gearing, can lift the door crookedly on its remaining cable, and risks a sudden drop. Leave the opener off, keep the door closed, and if the garage is your main entrance, use another door until the repair is done. One burned-out opener turns a spring job into a spring and opener job.
Life is measured in cycles, one cycle being one open and one close, rather than in years, so a door used many times a day wears its springs far faster than a door used twice. Standard springs are built for a finite cycle count in the thousands, and higher-cycle options exist for busy households. When you book the repair, it is worth mentioning how heavily the door is used, because that is the information that decides whether an upgraded spring makes sense.
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