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Garage spring broken

Thanks, all good points.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus23411
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You guys are backwards. If the door is all the way UP, then the tension is mostly relieved. Sometimes you can pull the rope to disconnect the opener, then push the door back far enough to get in the space between door & wall. Use 2 C-clamps on the rails to hold the door in the up position. Then change the springs, put about one turn on them and then hook the cables to the door with the cable wound all the way around the 2 drums. Saves a LOT of spring-winding

Reply to
Tocapet

assuming you can get to them with the door up..

randy

Reply to
xrongor

Yes, generally the door is in the way of doing it.

Reply to
Michael Baugh

Excellent write up!!

Replacement of a torsion spring isn't that dangerous if you're careful and know what you're doing.

Reply to
davefr

No all springs are not the same & the two on your door may or may not be the same wire size & length so you have to measure both of them (unwound)

If you don't know what you are doing it can be very unsafe. Equipped w/ the right tools (mainly proper bars) & knowledge it still can be risky but manageable, but it's not something I recommend that the average homeowner attempt to do.

We normally recommend changing both springs at the same time since they are under the same amount of tension & will usually fatigue at the same rate. However, if the two springs are of a different wire size one may last longer then the other, but the average life cycle is 7-8 years.

The quaility of the spring material is pretty much the same but the galvanized steel springs that some are starting to use is expected to last longer then the non-galvanized. However the wire size & length of the spring determines it's life cycle for the proper amount of turns. Springs are rated by IPPT (inch pounds per turn or lifting force) & the larger the wire size, the longer the spring will be for the same IPPT, & hence the longer the spring will last. Doordoc

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Reply to
doordoc

Really, it's not worth your time. As already stated, you will not save that much money. I had mine done by a reputable local company for $35 more than I could buy the springs for. When he was done he lubricated the door and spent almost as much time adjusting the door and the opener as it took him to install the springs. The door had never worked as well since I owned the house. Money well spent.

DIY is good, but sometimes it is a fools folly. I just built a 500sqft addition on my home. I went out and priced the insulation and was not looking forward to that part of the job. So much so that I thought that I would check with insulation contractors to see if the extra money would be worth me not having to itch for a week afterwards. After calling around I got the entire thing done for $100 LESS than I could have done it for. Sometime it's smart to have someone else do the job if that's what they do for a living. I like being frugal (read cheap), but not stupid.

CR

Reply to
CR

Same thing goes for operating a table saw, driving a car, installing a window, etc. They're all dangerous, but it really gets tiresome hearing about how the homeowner should never consider trying to learn. Instead, they have some knuckle-dragger come out and install the spring that he has on the truck, instead of the right one

Reply to
Michael Baugh

Yep, same here, only the item was carpeting. Got the same carpet, with pad, installed for almost the same price of me getting it, having it delivered, and installing it myself.

But it is worth the homeowner's time to learn how to do it, so they are more diligent about watching for hangups in the track, poor lubrication, etc. Speaking of lubrication, a lot of folks grease the rails. But that just causes dirt and other debris that the door collects to be deposited in the rail. Causing problems. If a person can get a good deal, it's far better to have it done. Instead of agonizing over it, and having to learn everything at once.

Reply to
Michael Baugh

Besides al the good points that you made, this is not the kind of job that I would even enjoy. Boring as hell, inconvenient, cold, dark, no thanks.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus23411

As others have said, it may be best to have it hired out.

On a side, I replaced two panels of a 14' X 14' commercial door myself a few years ago. I consider myself a tad more than handy with tools so it did not seem like a big deal. In the end it was not a problem, but the cautions of the job being a bit dangerous are true. Standing on an extension ladder,12 feet in the air, unwinding the springs was an adventure! For me, the funny part was when I was looking for the replacement panels, a garage door company told me that I could not do it myself! Comments like that just make me more determined! I ended up finding two used panels from someone that drove a truck through their overhead door. Greg

Reply to
Greg O

Be careful of one with the word "Precision" in the name, at least in my experience. Had a full page ad and wanted to refurbish the door for $800. I thru them out.

Reply to
Art

I would add that I almost lost my head doing it myself. No joking.

Reply to
Art

Good choice. Knowing how to change oil doesn't mean that you have to be the one to do it.

Reply to
Michael Baugh

A garage-door mechanic will replace BOTH springs (as it should be done) for about $200.

No. The garage door mechanic will have the correct spring.

The garage door mechanic uses two round metal bars, perhaps 24" long.

Safe for a garage door mechanic. Not safe for the typical home owner.

Yes.

Supposedly most of these are made at the same place.

Call a pro. I know someone who got his thumb torn off messing with a garage-door spring. He is lucky to be alive.

Reply to
Phisherman

I understand you in the figurative sense, but actually, I prefer changing oil in my pickup myself. It takes less time than getting to the oil change place, not to say about waiting in line and waiting for the job to be done.

i

Reply to
Ignoramus23411

It depends. Doing it on one door, one time is not worth learning unless you just like to learn things. That's the learning curve, but that has changed to favor DIY with the innovation of ready information on the Internet.

If you have a lot of doors, or expect to have them over some multiple of their spring lifetimes (about 7 years), then you'll save plenty. With a three-door garage over a lifetime of home-ownership, I expect to save $1000s.

I can now repair my garage door springs faster than I can shop for a service call and nurse that task along. And I know it is done right.

And you may just save plenty learning simply knowing how its done. I've gotten plenty of stories from those who have paid as much as $800 for a job that should cost $100 or $150.

Eh? Either the spring were overpriced, or the service was underpriced, likely the former.

If you priced uninstalled springs from a door dealer, you got either "we don't sell springs", or a ridiculously high price. They're not really in that retail business, and they want you to believe that you can have a service call and installation for only $35.

Well, then it didn't work right before the spring broke, and if you knew how to evaluate and adjust them, you could have had it working well all along. Another benefit learning this yourself.

You'll also have the skills to replace the entire door, if that should ever become necessary. That's also going to save me a bundle on my aging, 25-year-old doors.

Reply to
Richard J Kinch

Should be less than that.

Not necessarily.

The standard winding bar for residential doors is 1/2" mild steel, 18" long.

Over 1000 correspondents happily tell me they did it themselves.

No, he got hurt by ignorance of proper technique.

I have spent years trying to sort through the friend-of-a-friend horror tales to get to the truth of injuries from torsion springs. I have collected a few reliable first-hand accounts of injuries. The cause seems to be simply not having the simplest of tools and techniques.

Typically, someone is hurt because he loosens the cone setscrews without knowing to engage a winding bar first.

There is a wide variation in service life. Price has little to do with it. See my page:

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Reply to
Richard J Kinch

I have done both torsion and extension spring replacements on garage doors. The last time one broke I called around to get a price on the torsion springs and if memory serves me they were $55 a piece. I have seen them on the internet for maybe $45. I was busy and didn't really have time to do it so I called the guys who do it for a living and the whole job was done for $135 plus tax. Over priced springs, maybe. Under priced service, maybe but the company has been in business for 35 yrs. They must do something right. Yes, they make money on the springs. They buy them by the truck load for cheap. Having the job done by someone else even if it cost you $50 more would take a long time to save $1000's. It really is not that difficult a job but a slight botch may result in injury.

Hell, I'm not say>

Reply to
CR

My time is worth a lot if the job is unpleasant. My time is worth more or less nothing if I like what I am doing (such as fixing my generator).

Knowing myself, I would pay a lot more if I had to, to avoid injury which would be too probable in this instance.

Unfortunately, even some unpleasant jobs are better done by myself, due to large amount of time needed to select and hire and wait for contractrs.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus24153

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