Scenario Pricing · Updated 14 October 2026
When Only One Spring Breaks
Cost and Decision
One torsion spring has a gap in its coils, the other looks fine, and the quote is for two. What replacing both costs, what replacing one would save, and why the door industry says to do both.
Headline numbers: both springs $145 to $520; the broken one only $110 to $360. Doing both now adds just the second spring's part, $35.38 to $157.94. Doing it later adds another visit of labor, $75 to $200. Parts, labor and service call included.
Our estimate, not a quote: spring prices from DDM Garage Doors and DIY Garage Door Parts, labor from Yelp's cost guide; the replace-both advice from DASMA and HomeAdvisor. All read 14 October 2026.
How we price this: Our ranges are estimates built from published inputs, not quotes: retail spring prices, the service-call and hourly rates in Yelp's cost guide, and job times from HomeAdvisor and Yelp. Low ends are rounded down and high ends up to the nearest $5. Sources, first read 13 October 2026 and re-read 14 October 2026: DDM Garage Doors, DIY Garage Door Parts, Yelp cost guide, HomeAdvisor and DASMA, Safety Tips for Garage Doors. HomeAdvisor and Angi are both owned by Angi Inc., which pays this site a commission for quote requests. (Angi Inc. 2025 Form 10-K)
Show the arithmetic
- Pair of torsion springs replaced (pair; estimate from stated inputs; includes parts, labor, service call): $145 to $520. parts 2 x $35.38 to 2 x $157.94, plus labor $75 to $200 (a $75 to $100 service call covering the first hour, plus up to one more hour at $100): $145.76 to $515.88, rounded out to the nearest $5.
- One torsion spring replaced (per spring; estimate from stated inputs; includes parts, labor, service call): $110 to $360. parts $35.38 to $157.94, plus labor $75 to $200 (a $75 to $100 service call covering the first hour, plus up to one more hour at $100): $110.38 to $357.94, rounded out to the nearest $5.
- Labor and service call for one visit (per job; estimate from stated inputs; includes labor, service call, minimum labor): $75 to $200. $75 service call when the job fits in the first hour (HomeAdvisor: two springs in 30 minutes to one hour); $100 service call plus one more hour at $100 when it runs to about two hours (Yelp): $75 to $200.
Parts are priced at what the two suppliers charge the public. Installers buy for less and many mark parts up, and neither figure is published, so a quote's parts line can be higher than ours.
Wage check: The BLS puts the median mechanical door repairer (the occupation that includes garage door mechanics) at $26.79 an hour (May 2025). Wages are 70.0% of private-industry employer costs (June 2026), so that technician costs an employer about $38.27 an hour before the van, insurance, overhead and profit. Yelp's $40 to $100 hourly rate sits at or above that cost, which is what a billed rate should do. (BLS OEWS, 49-9011 Mechanical Door Repairers; BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation)
The three ways to do it
| Option | Our estimate |
|---|---|
| Both springs now (one visit)DASMA and HomeAdvisor: replace both | $145 to $520 |
| Only the broken spring nowwhere a company will do it | $110 to $360 |
| Broken spring now, the other on a later visittwo visits: the extra is $75 to $200 of labor | $220 to $720 |
The later-visit row is two single-spring jobs added together and rounded once (our arithmetic). It is not a forecast of when the second spring breaks: we found no published data on that.
What you will be told, and why
Expect the quote to be for two springs. Yelp's cost guide warns its readers: "If you have 2 springs and 1 loses tension or breaks, you'll usually have to pay to replace both of them." That is not an upsell invented on the day. DASMA, the Door and Access Systems Manufacturers Association, tells homeowners: "If your door has two springs, replace both, even if one is not broken. This will not only prevent any damage caused by the breaking of the second spring, but also keep your door working efficiently." HomeAdvisor gives the engineering reason: "balanced tension is essential for safe operation of the door."
The two springs went on at the same time and have lifted the same door the same number of times, so they have used up the same share of their rated cycles. A spring's rating is a design figure, not a failure date, and we found no published data on how long a surviving spring lasts. But you cannot tell from the outside how close it is, and if it breaks, you pay for the visit again.
The numbers behind replacing both
Most of the cost of a spring job is the visit, not the spring. On our estimate a single spring costs $110 to $360 and a pair $145 to $520. The labor and service call are the same either way, $75 to $200 on Yelp's published rates; the second spring adds only its part price, $35.38 to $157.94 at the two suppliers we price.
Split the job across two visits and you pay the labor twice: one spring now and one later comes to $220 to $720, against $145 to $520 in one visit. If the second spring breaks after hours, add any emergency fee on top: see emergency repair, and car trapped behind the door if that is where you are now.
Balance and matching springs
The two springs share the door between them, so they need to match the door and each other. A new spring next to an old one is not a matched pair. Ask the technician to measure both old springs before ordering: DIY Garage Door Parts, a spring supplier, notes that "it is not uncommon to have a different spring size on the left hand wound and right hand wound springs." How springs are sized to a door is on our torsion spring replacement cost page.
If someone offers to replace only one
Compare the offer with the pair price. The saving is one spring's part price, $35.38 to $157.94, not a share of the labor. Ask what the warranty covers: it can only cover the spring that was fitted, not the old one left on the shaft. If the full pair is more than you can pay today, say so and ask for the price of each spring as a separate line, so you know what the second one will cost.
Planning to replace the whole door soon? Say so before any work starts and ask for the options as separate lines. A broken spring on its own does not mean the door is finished: DASMA notes that "Springs wear out" on every door.
Do this while the springs are off
A pair replacement is the cheapest time to move to longer-rated springs, because the labor is the same job: see high-cycle spring replacement cost. It is also the time to look at the lift cables. DASMA: "If these cables are frayed or worn, they are in danger of breaking, which can cause injury." Pricing for the two together is on spring and cable replacement cost.
What to ask when the technician arrives
- Is this a two-spring door, and are you quoting for both springs?
- What is the price for both, and for the broken one only, each as a separate line?
- Have you measured both old springs, left and right wound?
- What is the warranty on the new springs and on the labor, in writing?
- Will you check the cables and the balance of the door after fitting?
- What would a high-cycle pair add, as a separate line?
Related cost guides on this site
Frequently Asked
Why does the contractor want to replace both springs when only one broke?
Because the door industry says to. DASMA: "If your door has two springs, replace both, even if one is not broken. This will not only prevent any damage caused by the breaking of the second spring, but also keep your door working efficiently." HomeAdvisor: "balanced tension is essential for safe operation of the door." Both springs went on together and have lifted the same door the same number of times.
What does replacing only the broken spring save?
The part price of one spring, and nothing on labor, because the visit is the same. On our estimate one spring costs $110 to $360 and the pair $145 to $520; the difference is the second spring, $35.38 to $157.94.
What does it cost if the second spring breaks later?
Another single-spring job, $110 to $360 on our estimate, because it means a second service call and a second round of labor. One spring now and one later comes to $220 to $720 in total, against $145 to $520 for the pair in one visit: the extra is one more visit of labor, $75 to $200.
How soon will the surviving spring break?
Nobody can tell you from looking at it, and we found no published data on how long a surviving spring lasts. What is known is that both springs have done the same work on the same door. That is why DASMA says to replace both even if one is not broken.
What if I plan to replace the whole door soon?
Then say so before the technician starts, because new springs would go on the door you are about to replace. Ask what they would do and what it costs as separate lines. DASMA's advice still stands: on a two-spring door, replace both. A broken spring alone does not mean the door is finished; DASMA says "Springs wear out" on every door.
FAQ sources, read 14 October 2026: DASMA, Safety Tips for Garage Doors, HomeAdvisor, Yelp cost guide, DDM Garage Doors, torsion springs for 7 ft doors and DIY Garage Door Parts, 0.218 x 2 in. x 35 in. spring.