Garage Door Spring Rips Garage Apart

[andy]

One of the cables broke on my garage door. It appears that when it broke the spring pressure did the damage. The door track is (was) hung from a vertical 2x4 coming down from the ceiling. (I have an 8 foot high door in a garage with a 9 foot ceiling). The spring was attached to a large eye hook in that 2x4. The spring actually shattered that 2x4 causing the track to become disconnected and free hanging. The spring was found in the rear of the garage where it knocked a bunch of cans of oil and other automotive chemicals all over the floor and a chunk of wood was ripped off one shelf. This left a major mess with oil on the floor.

Luckily I entered the garage via the walk in door. I was shocked when I went in there. I first noticed the oil mess and started cussing at my cats, thinking they had gotten in there. But there were no cats. When I turned around I noticed the door track hanging free and soon discovered the spring on the floor.

I heard these springs are dangerous, but I never knew they could do this much damage. I know I can fix this, and this time I intend to use a hardwood 2x4 or maybe a 4x4 if I can find one. However, I dont like the idea of walking into a garage with these springs ready to fly, which could cause severe injury.

Is there any way to secure the spring so if something breaks, at least it will stay up in the air where it belongs? This is an older 8 foot high, 9 foot wide wooden door. It's not that heavy, but still needs the springs to lift it. Where I used to live we had a 10 foot wide fiberglass door and I could lift it without springs, although it was a bit of a struggle. Those springs were not as large (and likely not as powerful).

I'm off to buy a new cable, but I wont feel safe going into the garage until I can find a way to make those springs safer. Placing them inside a steel tube (pipe) seems like one way, but how?

Anyone got any tips?

Thanks

Andy

[Oren]

-- Oren

..through the use of electrical or duct tape, achieve the configuration in the photo..

[Oren]

Mine are 2 X 6 instead of 2 X 4.

-- Oren

..through the use of electrical or duct tape, achieve the configuration in the photo..

[andy]

HUH???????? And your reply is ???????

[Oren]

It was a malfunction between the chair and keyboard :-/

-- Oren

..through the use of electrical or duct tape, achieve the configuration in the photo..

[J.A. Michel]

I had this happen twice at my old house. The eyes of the springs develop fatigue cracks over time, and when the crack propagates deep enough....BAM!! The best solution is to get new garage doors with torsion springs on them.

If you don't want to do that, then replace all the springs so they are the same age and have the same number of cycles on them. Replace every 5 years or so before the have a chance to break.

[DerbyDad03]

After an about a week's absence, a coworker came into work with a face that looked like it had been beaten with a bat. In fact, it had been beaten with a garage door spring that let go as he was walking through the garage. Luckily, his son heard a strange sound from the garage and went out to find his dad on the floor - broken, bleeding and barely concious.

His face was one ugly mess.

[Paul Franklin]

Extension springs should always have a second, separate piece of wire rope running through the middle of the spring and secured solidly at each end with a separate screw eye (not the one holding the spring. This is called a spring keeper, and it keeps the spring from flying loose if it breaks or comes free from the cable or attachment point. Pick the attachment points so the spring can slide along the keeper as it extends and contracts.

HTH,

Paul

[DerbyDad03]

- The best solution is to get new garage doors with torsion springs on them.

While a torsion spring may not let go with the force of an extension spring, they do present a different kind of danger.

Many years ago, before I knew jack about stuff around a house, my wife called and told me the garage door was stuck about half way down. When she tried to use the opener, it just went clunk. When I got home, I looked at the cables and noticed they weren't on the pulleys any more. I had no idea what was going on, so I grabbed the release cord for the opener and pulled it.

Little did I know that the torsion spring was broken and all that was holding the door up was opener. I also didn't know that my 2 year daughter was at that exact moment running into the garage. As soon as I pulled the cord, the door dropped with it's full weight and miracously stopped just inches before it hit my daughter. The cables had tangled themselves around the brackets and caught the door. Or should I say that God wrapped the cables around the brackets and stopped the door. I'm not a mushy guy, but I still get all weird inside knowing how close I came to probably killing my daughter.

[andy]

OK, so what you are saying is the cable goes thru the inside of the springs coil and attaches somewhere to the garage frame, right? This makes sense. If there is a picture on a website that would help so I know if this cable goes straight or what.....

Buying a new door is not in the budget, and I sort of like my old wooden one. These fiberglass doors are ugly. I will replace the springs and cables, but that still dont account for metal failure since anything can break at any time. I do like the idea of these extra cables.

Thanks

Andy

[Richard J Kinch]

There was a tragic case just like this a few years back. The door fell and pinned the child. The door was too heavy for the dad to lift off the child. The child suffocated while dad watched.

The spring manufacturer was held liable.

[DerbyDad03]

-- If there is a picture on a website that would help so I know if this cable goes straight or what.....

See page 4:

[Meat Plow]

Saftey cable through it if it's one that hangs with a pulley on the end.

[JoeSpareBedroom]

There is no photo. This newsgroup does not allow pictures in messages. Post the picture for free at a site like

[JoeSpareBedroom]

Interesting question: What kind of twit has kids wandering around while he's working on a garage door?

[ValveJob]

I've had both springs on my main door break and each time it punched thru the sheetrock.

I heated the end with a blow torch and put a new 'end' on it and have had no trouble since I did the work. That tells me that when they originally made the springs, they must have weakened the metal more than I weakened the metal.

[Oren]

You catch on fast!

-- Oren

..through the use of electrical or duct tape, achieve the configuration in the photo..

[David Starr]

I had a spring break 2 weeks ago. The spring keeper prevented any damage. Replacing both springs took me less than an hour.

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[John McGaw]

Proper installation of extension-style door springs calls for retainer cables which are threaded the length of the spring. The cable is secured to the front and rear of the rail supports (not to the spring itself) and are usually about 3/32" - 1/8" diameter aircraft-style cable. The idea is to keep the spring from becoming a ballistic missile should the spring separate. I've found that every replacement spring I've bought over the past ten years has come with the retainer cable and included instructions on how to install them. Most likely you would be better off replacing all of the springs at one go and installing the retainers but you could probably buy the cable separately along with the proper clamps to secure them and install on all the springs.

[Jacque Asse]

I ran garage door cable through each of the springs, and attached the ends to eye hooks in the studs as well as the frames. This will keep the spring contained ... at least will limit the travel it may take.