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Every counterbalanced garage door in Perth runs one of two spring systems: torsion or extension. They do the same job — storing the energy that lifts an 80–180 kg door so the motor barely works — but they do it differently, wear differently, fail differently, and carry different risks when they let go.
Knowing which system your door uses tells you what a repair involves before you pick up the phone. This guide covers how to identify each type, how they compare, and what replacement actually costs. For the full picture on lifespan, warning signs and maintenance, start with our complete garage door springs guide.
Which spring type do I have?
Stand inside the garage with the door closed and look up at the wall above the door opening.
- One or two large coiled springs wrapped around a horizontal steel shaft directly above the door — torsion springs
- Long, thinner springs running parallel to the horizontal tracks on each side of the door, stretching as the door closes — extension springs
- No visible springs and a curled door that disappears into a drum above the opening — a roller door, with the spring assembly hidden inside the barrel
A quick age clue
Most Perth sectional doors installed in the last 20 years run torsion springs. Extension springs usually mean an older tilt door, an early sectional install, or a budget conversion. Either way, the identification takes ten seconds and tells your technician what to load on the van.
How torsion springs work
A torsion spring is wound around a steel shaft mounted horizontally above the door. As the door closes, cables attached to drums at each end of the shaft wind the spring tighter, storing energy as twist. Opening the door releases that twist in a controlled way, feeding lift through the cables evenly on both sides.
Because the energy transfers through the shaft and drums rather than directly through a stretching coil, torsion systems move the door smoothly and keep it level. They are rated around 10,000 open-close cycles as standard, with high-cycle versions available at 20,000 or more, and when a torsion spring finally breaks it usually stays contained on its shaft rather than flying free.
- Standard on modern sectional doors across Perth
- Smoother, better-balanced movement with less wear on the opener
- Longer rated life and predictable, contained failure
- One spring on lighter single doors; two or more on doubles and insulated doors
How extension springs work
Extension springs mount along the horizontal tracks on each side of the door and stretch as the door closes, storing energy the way a stretched rubber band does. Pulleys and cables convert that stretch into lift as the door opens.
The weaknesses follow from the design. Each side works independently, so uneven wear pulls the door out of level. The repeated full-length stretching fatigues the steel faster than twisting does. And when an extension spring breaks, the two halves recoil at speed — which is why every extension system must have safety containment cables threaded through the springs. If yours doesn't, that's worth fixing this week, not eventually. We cover the risk in detail in are garage door springs dangerous?
Check for containment cables
Look for a steel cable running through the centre of each extension spring, anchored at both ends. It catches the spring if it snaps. Missing or frayed containment cables on an extension system are the single most important safety fix on older Perth doors.
Torsion vs extension side by side
- Location — torsion: above the door on a shaft; extension: beside the horizontal tracks
- How they store energy — torsion: twisting; extension: stretching
- Rated life — torsion: ~10,000 cycles standard, 20,000+ high-cycle; extension: typically shorter in practice
- Balance — torsion: even lift through one shaft; extension: two independent sides that can drift out of level
- Failure mode — torsion: usually stays on the shaft; extension: recoils, needs containment cables
- Noise — torsion: quieter; extension: more clatter from pulleys and cables
- Space — torsion: needs headroom above the door; extension: suits low-headroom garages
- Cost to replace — the same ranges either way (see below)
The one genuine advantage extension systems keep is headroom: a garage with very little space above the opening may not fit a torsion shaft without low-headroom hardware. For everything else — lifespan, balance, safety, noise — torsion wins, which is why it became the standard.
What about roller doors?
Perth's roller doors use torsion springing too, but the springs live inside the barrel the curtain wraps around, so you never see them. When a roller door spring fails the whole door suddenly feels enormously heavy, and the fix is done as a spring-assembly job on the barrel rather than as loose springs. The symptoms and the danger are the same — if a roller door won't lift, stop forcing it and see our garage door won't open guide.
Is converting from extension to torsion worth it?
If your extension springs are healthy, there's no urgency — fit containment cables if they're missing and keep the door serviced. The conversion question comes up when the springs fail, because that's when the labour overlaps.
- Replacing like-for-like extension springs is the cheapest path today and is completely reasonable on a door nearing the end of its life.
- Converting to torsion at replacement time makes sense on a door you'll keep for years: better balance, longer spring life, quieter running, and less strain on the opener.
- If the door itself is over 20 years old with worn cables, rollers and hinges, price a new sectional door before paying for a conversion — our garage door repair cost guide covers where that line sits.
We quote conversions on inspection, since track condition, headroom and door weight decide the hardware. There's no call-out fee to quote anywhere in the Perth metro area.
What each costs to replace in Perth
Spring replacement is priced by the number of springs, not the type. These are our actual price-list ranges, supplied and fitted, including removal of the old springs and re-balancing the door:
- One broken spring — $240–$280
- A matched pair (×2) — $440–$550
- Three springs — $660–$770
- Four springs — $880–$1,000 (oversized, insulated or commercial doors)
- Re-tension existing sound springs — $280–$330
- Lift cable replaced or re-seated — $280–$550
- After-hours or emergency attendance — add $500
Full detail on what moves the price sits in our spring replacement cost guide, or get an instant range from the price calculator. If a spring has already failed and the door is stuck, our emergency garage door repairs team carries common spring sizes on the van.
Torsion or extension, the spring that's failed is the one you don't touch. The type changes how we do the job — it never changes whether it's a DIY job. It isn't.