How long does a garage door last?

Lifespan by part

"How long does a garage door last" is really several questions, because the parts fail on completely different schedules.

Steel sections: 20 to 30 years. Wood sections: 10 to 20 depending on how well they're finished. Torsion springs: 4 to 8 years at typical use. Openers: 10 to 15 years. Steel rollers: 5 to 8 years. Nylon rollers: 12 to 20. Cables: 8 to 15. Photo-eye sensors: 10 to 15. Bottom seal: 5 to 10.

This is why a 20-year-old door often just needs springs, rollers and cables rather than replacing. The expensive part — the sections — is usually the part still doing fine.

Cycles, not years

Springs are rated in cycles. One cycle is one open plus one close. A standard 10,000-cycle spring gives about seven years at four cycles a day, but only three and a half at eight.

Households that use the garage as the main entrance burn through cycle life two to three times faster than the calendar suggests. If that's you, high-cycle springs are worth the difference.

Signs the door itself is done

Cracked or split sections. Rust bubbling through, particularly along the bottom edge where salt and meltwater sit. Sections that no longer sit flush against each other. A door that's been repaired three times in two years. A wooden door that's delaminating or rotting at the base.

One failed spring on an otherwise straight door is not on this list.

What extends it

Annual service, correct lubrication, nylon rollers, keeping the bottom seal intact so water isn't sitting against the steel, and washing road salt off the lower sections a couple of times each winter. None of it is dramatic, and together it adds years.