How Long Do Garage Doors Last? The Door, Springs, Opener and Rollers

Question 01

How long does a garage door last?

B&D says garage doors typically last between 10 and 30 years. Steel-Line puts the average at about 20 years, and says a good roller door can reach 30 with proper maintenance. Where yours ends up comes down to how hard it works and how well it's looked after.

Those figures are for the door itself. The parts that move it wear out well before that, and they're made to be replaced along the way. A broken spring or a tired opener doesn't mean the whole door is finished.

B&D tests its own doors to at least 30,000 cycles. It counts that as about 30 years of use, based on an average home running the door about 1,000 times a year. One cycle is the door going up and coming back down once.

A roller door works a bit differently. Its springs sit inside the roll at the top, wound around the axle, and they wear by cycles like any other spring. It has no track rollers at all. The curtain runs up and down in side guides.

Question 02

How long do garage door springs last?

B&D rates a standard torsion spring at about 10,000 cycles, which it says is roughly 7 to 10 years for most homes that use the door three or four times a day. It rates high-cycle springs at 20,000 to 30,000 cycles. Springs wear by use, so a busy door gets through them faster than a quiet one.

Not every maker agrees on the number. Steel-Line, and another B&D guide, put torsion springs at 15,000 to 20,000 cycles. Springs vary, so plan around the lower figure. And years are only a rough guide. Count how many times your door runs on a normal day.

Here's a rough sum. A household that opens and closes the door eight times a day clocks up about 2,900 cycles a year. At that rate, a 10,000-cycle spring is used up in about three and a half years. Treat that as a rough guide only. Still, it shows why busy family homes go through springs sooner.

Tilt doors use extension springs, which stretch rather than twist. B&D rates them at 5,000 to 10,000 cycles and Steel-Line at 10,000 to 15,000. Both makers rate them below their torsion springs.

On a two-spring door, both springs have done the same number of cycles. So when one breaks, the other usually isn't far behind. Why both springs usually get replaced explains the thinking. The fix itself is garage door spring replacement, and Thom does it right across the Sunshine Coast.

Question 03

How long do garage door openers last?

Steel-Line says garage door openers typically last 10 to 15 years. How hard the opener works decides where yours ends up in that range. A door that runs all day wears its opener faster, and so does a door that's heavy or out of balance, because the motor strains on every lift.

DASMA, an international association of door and opener makers, says a spring that doesn't suit the door's weight can shorten the life of both the door and the motor. It also warns that paint or extra fittings can push a door past the weight its springs were made for.

Merlin, the opener maker, lists the signs it's time to look at your opener. Grinding noises. A door that runs slower or less predictably than it used to. Stalling mid-run. Not answering the remote or wall keypad.

Not every one of those means a dead motor. A remote that won't work is often just the remote, and garage door remote not working walks through the checks. Whether to repair the opener or replace it is covered in the garage door motor replacement cost guide. When it's time, Thom handles garage door motor replacement across the Sunshine Coast.

Question 04

How long do garage door rollers and cables last?

Steel-Line says rollers last 7 to 15 years, depending on what they're made of. Cables don't come with a set number of years, so go by how they look. Both wear a little every time the door runs, and grit and rust speed that up, most of all close to the beach.

Rollers are the small wheels that carry a sectional door along its tracks. Steel-Line says nylon rollers can crack and chip, and steel ones can bend, because dust, grit and rust cause friction that wears both kinds down. Worn rollers often show up as grinding or scraping.

Lift cables raise and lower a sectional door, winding onto drums at each end of the spring bar. Clopay, a US door maker, says that constant winding wears cables, mostly where they rub on the drums. It suggests a look every month or so for fraying, rust, kinks or broken strands. Cables that sag or look loose are a warning sign too.

A service includes a look at the cables and drums, so fraying gets picked up early. If a cable or a set of rollers needs replacing, that's part of garage door repairs.

Question 05

Does salt air near the beach shorten a garage door's life?

Yes. B&D says doors within one kilometre of the coastline age faster, and Steel-Line lists salt air, humidity and UV as things that shorten a door's life. Salt speeds up rust on springs, cables, rollers and fixings. On beachside streets, parts can wear out sooner than the typical figures in the table.

DASMA explains why for springs. Rust eats into the spring wire and weakens it, and the tiny pits it leaves let cracks grow faster. That cuts the number of cycles a spring can do. B&D says much the same. Springs in coastal and humid spots can weaken or fail sooner than expected because of rust.

One easy habit helps. DASMA suggests doors near a salty coastline stay shut where possible, since a door left open for long stretches exposes its springs to more moisture and bigger swings in temperature. So on a beachside street in Mooloolaba or Alexandra Headland, close the door when you're not using it.

Rinsing and the right sprays for the coast are covered in the salt air and rust guide.

Question 06

Can servicing make a garage door last longer?

Yes. A service catches wear while it's still small, and keeps the door balanced so the springs and opener aren't working harder than they should. DASMA says keeping the spring system maintained and lubricated to the maker's instructions helps a spring reach its full cycle life.

A service from Thom checks the spring tension and balance, lubricates the rollers and tracks, tightens the hardware, looks over the cables and drums, and tests the opener and its safety reversal. Then he runs the door by hand and under power to check it's quiet and even.

B&D's advice on springs lines up. It says a regular service lets a technician check spring tension and balance, and add protective treatments where they're needed.

How often depends on how much the door runs. Steel-Line says to have its doors serviced at least once a year, or you could void the warranty. Garage door servicing sets out how often Thom suggests booking.

Repairs and servicing are booked as a callout valued between $200 and $300 depending on the door size and the labour involved. Call Thom on 0402 882 653 or book a callout.

Question 07

Should I repair or replace an old garage door?

Repair it if the door itself is sound. Springs, openers, rollers and cables are wear parts, made to be replaced during a door's life. Think about a new door when the panels are rusted through, warped or badly dented, or when it keeps breaking down. B&D says repeated breakdowns can point to deeper problems.

• Usually worth repairing: a broken spring or cable, worn rollers, a tired opener, or a small dent, with the rest of the door in good shape.
• Time to weigh up a new door: rust through the panels, rot, warping, or the same fault coming back again and again.

Steel-Line also says grinding, rattling, shaking or screeching that lubrication won't fix can mean it's time for a new door. Get the noise checked first, though. A worn roller or a loose bolt can sound just as bad, and the noisy garage door guide helps you tell them apart. For a knock to the panels, dented garage door repair covers what can be fixed.

If a new door is on the cards, garage door installation explains how it works, and garage door types shows the options. Roller vs sectional vs tilt doors sets out how each type is built.

New doors from Deadlock: Only work valued at $3,300 or less.