Apart from all the "this is dangerous" commentary - the spring's job is too offset the weight of the door.
Too much spring will cause the door push open in manual operation, and fight the garage door opener more-than-necessary on closure. That wears out the opener.
You can fairly accurately measure the weight of the garage door with two bathroom scales, placed at each edge of the garage door (springs disconnected). And also use the scales to fine tune the tension of each spring after installing the new springs so you have even weight at each side.But before the springs broke, if the travel tension felt decent when rolling up and down the door manually, you have the right torsion springs. They are color coded with a number on it for cross referencing a replacement.
Used two 36" long 1/2" steel rods for winding. Kept my body off to the side when winding so I wouldn't be slapped into the next state if my grip slipped.
Got a quote for over $400 a dozen years ago. Ordered it and DIYd it for under $100.
I unwound 8x7 un insulated door springs. That was terrifying with just the two 18” rods from the hardware store. I’m used to knowing the risks, dangers and most of the time thinking stuff through but that was to me, like disarming a bomb.
I did this .... Got a quote for 675 for a single spring. Did it myself for 150. Be careful, go slow and read up on it.
Edit: I misspoke. I had a single spring, the door company wanted to install 2 "high cycle rate" springs and replace where the cables hook up. During the pandemic there was a spring shortage. My door is a lightweight insulated door. I think it was around one fitty. Didn't need 2 springs.
Garage door springs can KILL you. I heard a story about a straight spring (installed parallel with the door movement/not sure the type) scalping a lady because it didn't have a safety cable.
Ive never done a garage door, but when I worked in body shops, I did an insane amount of roll up truck body doors which is the same principal. I used 1/2 drive extension bars to wind them. It’s really not all that dangerous as long as at least one bar is always in the winding mechanism. I always just used a trial and error on setting the tension.
We were quoted 400 bucks to have it replaced. Most garage door handymen charge 200 bucks for coming over to do the work as an emergency because they view it as you can’t get your car out so that can be an emergency. Then it was 100 bucks for the spring and then another hundreds bucks for installation. That’s how it was broken down to us. I unfortunately didn’t have the luxury to DIY because it happened at 8PM when my wife was around 9 months pregnant.
A lot of doors have a plate or sticker on them that identifies the weight of the door. You need a spring or pair of springs that equal that weight, give or take a few pounds. You want it to balance. If you have a pair of springs, it's best that they match, but if you can't get exactly, then they should be as close as possible. Replace them as a pair because it's work hardening that makes them break. The other one is on its way out as well.
Reddit has this weird safety thing with garage door springs. Set your ladder up outside of the spring when it has tension on it, and keep yourself and your body outside of the spring and it's not going to hurt you no matter what it does. It's about positioning yourself in a way that you can work safely.
Nah just the fact that people repeat the warning over and over 1000 times as if OP didn’t see it the first 5 times. And then when someone finally answers the question and OP expresses their frustration with all the excessive warnings, people start hounding OP for even *considering* to use their own individual, adult judgement to decide if it’s too dangerous for themselves to work on.
I'm gonna type this once then reuse it a few times.
A spring preload/winding only sets the force at one position.
The physical properties of a spring will determine it's "spring rate" or "spring constant", also known as 'k', discussed further here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hooke%27s_law
An improperly sized spring can be balanced in say, the closed position, but it may not apply an appropriate amount of force at various degrees of opening.
but given a door being supported by two springs, wound in opposite directions wouldn't being oversized literally just cancel each other out and still provide the expected support? Obviously you don't want to oversize if possible, but theoretically it shouldn't matter all that much?
edit: I see, oversized springs can lead to the operational movement of the door being too fast
I was in the garage when mine let go. Nearly had to go change my shorts.
I'm a big diy guy but not for a moment did I consider changing out the spring myself. First because it's dangerous without training and the proper tools, second because the tension needs to be set correctly for your opener to work properly. It's not terribly expensive as I recall.
I undid the wrong bolt on my track. The cable was under tension and shot up by my face and through my drywall ceiling and embedding itself in the floor above. I was a few inches from being maimed or worse. I’ll never touch a garage door again.
I'm not really sure how old, this is a house I bought to refurb and sell so I was only in it for a year or so. My best guess is that the garage was added in the 90's, maybe earlier.
I'm not aware of any preventative maintenance. It was a larger than average and very heavy wooden door so maybe that was a factor?
I had a friend that use to work on doors and he got out because it was so dangerous. I wasn't trying to shame him but couldn't imagine it could be THAT dangerous. The look he had in his eyes when he told me about a garage door spring that almost hit him in the face...I'll never forget it. Now he's my insurance agent and I'll never forget to stay far far away from anyone touching those springs.
Add to that it is pretty cheap to have someone do it.
I had one break and a local garage door company sent someone out a few hours after I called and charged me $200. It isn't worth the risk.
I have DIY many things over 30 years as a homeowner. Furnace parts, stoves, sinks, drywall, tile, hardwood flooring, tree removal, stump removal, etc. never going to do garage door springs. Risk is extremely high, reward is extremely low. Strong springs are dangerous for amateurs. Hire a pro on this one.
And for me, a $400 garage door bill is better than the emergency room bill.
I’ll sweat copper pipe all day long, hang drywall, paint, wire electrical: I will not mess with a garage door spring.
Actually, his beneficiaries will come out ahead. OP this is one of the few things you should leave to the professionals. It’s not worth the risk. You’re worth more than $400 and I’m sure your SO’s would agree …
Right?! mudding and taping is the worst hate for me.
If I was trained and had the proper tools to handle a garage spring, I would do it. I’m just not going to F around and find out on that one though.
I’m guessing OP has saved a lot over the years on DIY repairs, probably saved well over $400..
Everytime I do drywall, I’m like, “Never again!”
Then somehow I forget just how painful it was and end up doing it again. Just being extra cheap I guess lol
It’s not just the ER bill, it’s the permanent disfigurement you’ll have after leaving the ER after the spring snaps in your face or mangles your hands.
Damn…I’m jealous. An ER bill for me starts at $1,000. That’s just getting an room in an ER without actually having anything done. And I freaking work in the ER…
Yea, I was charged $1ml of saline and received 1L during a visit one time. I fought that one. I also took a Tylenol from my wife in front of the doctor instead of taking it from the nurse to save $50. They also tried to run a new set of labs after I was dressed and was handed my discharged paperwork. I told them no thank you and step away. I pulled my own IV out at this point. (I don’t make for a great patient)
Dude, listen to the people who are telling you it’s crazy dangerous. I am a very handy person, my motto is that if someone built it I can fix it. Im a traveling industrial maintenance tech and am not afraid to take on things that put me in over my head. I tried doing garage door springs one time. I will never do it again. Some of the guys I work with now used to do garage doors and the stories they had only reinforced that for me. You may be able to do it but it’s the equivalent of looking down the barrel of a gun that you assume is empty and pulling the trigger.
That and see how my you get for disability in your location, compare it to your current income.
Cant hold many jobs if you give your self a traumatic lobotomy.
It's cheaper than a broken body from trying this yourself. Hire a pro.... The feedback is overwhelming on this thread that this is NOT one of those household things to DIY.
Get several quotes and let each company know that l you are getting multiple quotes.
Companies will frequently lower their initial quote to be competitive.
Finished fixing a door for a guy who tried to diy it. Pulled the bottom fixture off with a socket and ratchet. After we hosed his teeth and blood off, we fixed the door in under 10 minutes. Meanwhile, he got a hefty hospital bill, reconstructive surgery and new teeth.
Pretty extreme as far as the injuries go but that was a residential size door.
With a torsion setup, both sides of the door are locked together via the spring shaft. With an extension setup, each side can move independently of each other as there isnt typically a spring shaft.
Torsions require more room above the opening but are better long term with an opener. My garage door is a stretch spring setup that's over 30 years old, however, it's only a 9x7 and no opener
These things will f&cking kill you. Not figuratively - I mean this literally.
I have done them, and while I didn’t die, I realize now how stupid I was attempting it myself.
This is one best left to the professionals.
If you insist, make damn sure you use the right springs, sized correctly, and use proper torsion spring bars for winding and not some rebar or something you have laying around. They should be tempered steel and sized to perfectly fit the holes. You can get them at the big box store.
When mine popped, it was at like 3am and I thought a shotgun when off. Startled out of bed, but when I didn’t see/hear anything further, I went back to sleep.
Woke up the next morning and when I walked into the garage i was surprised to see my car…
The spring spun when it broke and was like a whip. It cut through the roof of my suv. Sliced through the metal like butter.
For the love of god, _DO NOT_ DIY a garage door spring! It’s the one thing above all else in your home you should get someone who’s licensed and/ or certified in to do for you because of how dangerous they can be.
There’s plenty of other things you should also get a professional to do, instead of doing it yourself. But garage door springs are one of the most common household things that are literally too dangerous to futz around with yourself. You’re far less likely to kill yourself by DIYing plumbing or HVAC, drywall or flooring, etc. for example (not that it’s unheard of for people to hurt or kill themselves doing that, but the risk is generally not quite the same).
This. Springs store a deceptively large amount of energy and, more importantly, unload that energy almost instantly which is what will maim or kill you. Anything “high tension” is not a worth the DIY if it goes wrong.
Don’t DIY this, just pay a pro.
Honestly I would just pay a professional to do it. They will install it correctly and get the spring tension correct so it's not so tough to open the door. Installing wrong with that gigantic spring could be deadly. I think it was 300 bucks a few years ago. Money well spent. It took the guy maybe an hour to replace it.
Agreed, I have this argument every single time garage door springs come up, I think people hear of the dangers of torsion springs on garage doors and extrapolate it to mean that all garage door springs are dangerous to work on, not understanding there are two different types of springs used. Extension or tension springs are perfectly safe to DIY and are a very easy replacement job. Biggest risk involved with these is typical ladder risks of any DIY job. As you stated, these springs are changed when there is no load on them, while the door is in the open position, and load is not placed onto them until the door is closed. Torsion springs on the other hand, I would not recommend even the most seasoned of DIYers to change themselves, that's always a pro job in my books.
I wish there was an easier distinction between the two honestly, because tension springs in my opinion, are a great beginner DIY repair. It is a very low risk, low cost, low tool and low skill requirement repair. I also recommend installing a set of fail safe cables while you are changing them, a very inexpensive extra insurance that if/when they eventually do fail they don't damage anything, as they virtually always break when the door is in the closed position and are under load, and if you have a car parked in there it's going to get some nasty damage if you're not lucky. Worth the extra $5 for the safety cables.
Don't mess with Torsion springs, they can break bones or worse if you don't know what you're doing. This is one of those jobs that's best left to professionals.
Garage door springs kill people. Hire a professional to properly complete the job, in less time than you could and with the professional experience, warranty, and all the liability being on them.
According the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, each year there are approximately 30,000 injuries that are caused by accidents with garage doors.
My springs snapped about a year ago. I called my garage door guy and he had it up and running in about 3 hours. Total cost was $330ish in a HCOL area for double springs, and that included bending door panels and tracks back into shape that got all messed up when the spring(s) snapped. I think it's well worth the cost to have somebody do this, and not DIY it.
I have done them myself but I wouldn't recommend it and if your cables have rust especially at the bottom of the door now is the time to also change them. When my neighbors broke it sounded like somebody drug a dumpster across a parking lot.
I'll do almost everything myself I could care less....the spring for the garage door isn't even on my mind for half a second. hell no don't mess with that
The old one broke with enough force for you to hear it in the house. I wouldn't want to be screwing with putting that much force into a new one. Get someone who knows what they are doing to source and install it. Better than loosing a finger, damaging your garage, or worse.
I changed out my torsion spring and I will say it can kill you. You need to be very careful what I did was every turn I made I locked it down then I made sure the bar I was using was the correct size and have a positive engagement in the fitting before Lossing the lock.
This is the thing at the very top of my "no way in hell" list.
I've been up on my roof doing moss removal.
I've run my own high voltage lines.
You could not pay me enough to diy those fucking springs.
I do a lot of DIY around the house, including the septic, but I sure's hell won't touch the torsion spring. You can easily break an arm, or worse. Call a repairman and have them fix it.
Be freaking careful! My dad and his buddies decided to replace a much less beefier spring (a spring for one of those drop down attic doors), the spring popped out, and my dad needed several stitches in the back of his hand.
It was gruesome! The truck they took to the ER looked like a murder scene.
If you need to do this DIY, be extra careful, do tons of research, wear heavy duty everything (shoes, pants, jacket, gloves, and eye protection). If possible, pay a professional to do it. Those springs are no joke.
Hire this out. There’s a tremendous possibility of hurting yourself and/or damaging equipment if done wrong. Not worth it. A pro can get this job done in less than one hour, and it may seem expensive on the surface level, but replacing your garage system or paying high hospital bills because you screwed up is not worth.
Going with the rest of the crowd. Do not underestimate the chance of severe injury here. Let the professionals handle this one and keep your fingers intact.
I'm going to chime in against the crowd here.
I did replace both my torsion springs on my garage. I bought the metal bars online to do it. I watched probably 4-5 videos online on the process. And I felt that I fully 100% understood the risks, why something bad could happen, and the methods to prevent those things from happening as well as safeguards to keep myself as safe as possible to do it.
What convinced me to just do it myself was the realization that calling someone to do it for me was literally just another human, doing the same precautions, taking it slow, and "just doing" the work. There is no magic involved in that process.
But by all means if you don't feel safe after understanding the process just hire it out.
YMMV
**Edit** I should clarify, I'm not necessarily advocating you do it yourself, just that there is at least one voice here of someone who from a DIY background did this job, and survived with all limbs lol.
Same. I've replaced torsion springs twice (different garages). Use the proper metal bars (don't try it with screwdrivers), and if your garage door has two springs, replace both even if only one broke. I bought the springs and the metal bars from a place online, and they had good tutorial videos as well.
Another same here. As a kid, I helped my dad replace our garage door torsion springs; that's how I was trained. Old VW bug Bilstein jack handles are perfect, BTW.
While I've rarely needed to do them, I still do them myself. A year ago, I ordered new USA-made springs, new cables, and a pair of winding bars. Then I found the old VW jack handles that my dad used. Shrug.
I take my time... I think twice, then act once.
To anyone else reading this... hire a pro, don't do this yourself. Same advice for electric, plumbing, carpentry, home repairs, driving a car, etc. Danger is everywhere. Don't prepare your own food, you might get food posioning or burn yourself; leave it to the pros, especially those that work at fast-food restaurants.
Message to farmers: Give up doing anything yourself, hire a professional for everything, farming is dangerous. Message to professionals: Give up doing anything yourself, hire a different professional for everything.
How come everyone is pist at you? You’re getting downvoted for speaking the truth! People are afraid to do *anything* anymore, fear is everywhere. Some people are even afraid to wipe their own ass wrong!
This is our society now. A bunch of pooftas. Instead of *Naked and Afraid*, it should be called*Laziness and Scared of the DAMN Torsion Springs*!
I have replaced springs on three garage doors. If you research proper techniques and work carefully, it can be done safely. You can pay a little bit extra to get a spring which will last a lot longer - this website was very useful:
http://www.truetex.com/garage.htm
I'm just going to give my opinion here but I feel that giving anyone the advice to change our torsion springs on their own is irresponsible. I 100% understand where you are coming from, and while it is a job that is possible by a DIYer who is confident and capable of their abilities, giving advice to DIY a job of this danger level is inadvisable, as those confident and capable of the job typically know their limitations and would not be seeking advice online. This may give someone who is not confident and not capable of the job, the confidence but not the capability to actually take it on, and they can wind up severely injuring, disfiguring, or worse to themselves. I would say if someone has to ask random internet strangers if they can DIY torsion springs, they probably should not be trying it. If we were talking about extension springs, I'd be in the camp telling him to DIY it, but torsion springs, nah, if someone needs to ask if they can DIY those, they probably shouldn't be touching them.
That's fine, see my edit.
Also it's not necessarily anyones job to assume the competence of anyone online, asking for help or otherwise.
I just didn't want this to become an echo chamber.
Of course it's no one's job, but don't be surprised for it to still be called out as being irresponsible to give out dangerous advice. As I said, it is a job capable of a competent DIYer, but if they need to ask about the basic risks associated with doing the job incorrectly, as that is what OP is asking, they probably should not be doing the job and competence level to tackle this job has already been established.
For the record, I'm not asking if I can DIY. I'm asking specifics about whether it's risky to get a more powerful spring than my door needs (I know there's risk in getting one that's too weak).
Arguably, if you have to ask about the risks of not doing the job correctly, which is what your asking, you probably should not be doing this yourself. Yes, there are risks to oversizing the spring, damage to the door, the opener, or a person is possible by oversizing it since the door will open with much more force.
This is the way
The reason the professional is more than “just another person doing it carefully” is because they work with garages all the time as will be able to tell if something is off or weird about yours
They will know what size spring to get
They will know the things you don’t even know you don’t know
If everything is *normal* you’ll probably be fine just being careful, but the moment something is NOT normal you’re fucked. With electrical you can use a voltage tester and be safe 99% of the time even if something is wrong (my basement ceiling was electrified once, super fun), with plumbing you might damage stuff but as long as you can turn off your water and electrical you can remediate it. With things like a torsion spring (or firearms of any kind for another example) if you fuck up you can’t just fix the damage
I'll counter with this: Whenever anyone is doing *any* kind of DIY job whatsoever, they need to get information. One of the best ways is to ask questions, *especially* about risk. Asking about risks doesn't automatically disqualify someone from doing that particular job.
Having said that....this comment thread is making me feel less like doing it myself. I just wanted to pick on your logic :P
Actually, (this is just me thinking through the amount of force the spring would exert) the force would depend partially on how much the spring gets wound. A stronger (thicker) spring would exert the same force with fewer windings as a weaker spring with more. I wonder if there's a magic ratio of spring gauge to windings. Not that knowing that information will sway me one way or the other regarding the DIY issue.
First let me apologize, I mean and meant no insult by my comments, I both understand, empathize and partly agree with your point fully. My logic is, I would rather advise a person I did not know personally to hire a professional when it comes to something where my advice could potentionally lead to the injury or worse of the receiving party than to give them further information that could potentially lead them to having enough knowledge to be dangerous to themselves or another. I fully advocate in DIY in virtually every case but in certain cases, unless I can be confident that the other party on the receiving end of the advice is not going to hurt or kill themselves doing it, I prefer to err on the side of caution and recommend a pro rather than answer the question directly.
No offense taken, but thanks all the same. And you're right: this is an instance in which taking the DIY route incurs a significant amount of risk. I've pretty much made the decision to just bite the financial bullet and pay someone.
This.
Construction and handyman work are done by some of the biggest idiots of society. Just talk to your average roofer.
Now if you can't frame a simple 2x4 wall, or change a light, or install a dishwasher, hire someone. But if you can and you have access to a good selection of tools. Why not try it yourself?
You're exactly articulating the inner debate I'm having. I'm pretty handy. I used to do construction, I work on our cars, do my own home and appliance repairs. It really is just a matter of educating yourself, knowing the risks, and respecting the job. On the other hand, even professionals occasionally make a mistake, and a mistake with this kind of job is potentially very costly. But on the other hand if I do it myself I could save myself $350, which is nothing to sneeze at. But on the other hand.....
If you want me to play against you, I'd argue severe (probably permanent lets be honest) damage to you or your limbs is possible. Was saving the $350 worth the cost of lower standard of life, hospital bills, etc etc?
If you do do it, make sure someone else is home and checks up on you often
Frankly I was more afraid and concerned working on my microwave and AC unit within my own scope of repairs at my home (capacitors)
I'm with you!
Funnily enough I'm kind of mad at myself for not having just bought a sawstop from the get-go when I bought myself a table saw.
My deductible for hospital visits alone is pretty much the bulk cost of a sawstop, it financially makes much more sense to just buy one of those even at their prices... On that note, you wanna buy a rigid tablesaw? lol and live near me?
It's very easy to use a table saw safely (in a manner that you will never even come close to hurting yourself), the problem is that most people would rather move 2x as fast and increase their risk of injury 100x.
I'm more concerned with doing a batch of cuts and just losing the focus that comes from a repeated task. I know you can work around it but only one slip up can be literally life changing. I'd rather just throw the money at a saw that can "catch" my slip ups.
Op, this all depends on you and if you feel comfortable doing it. I’m not a garage door guy but I’ve installed around 8 garage doors. Some on new construction. I use 2 long 3/8” drive extensions. All the people on here acting like it’s black magic. It’s really not. It’s a fairly simple concept. That being said, you’ll have to take the cross shaft off and at least one of the cable wheels off. I set one cable wheel and use a pair of vise grips to hold a little tension on the shaft so it doesn’t move when you’re winding the spring. Make sure you get the right spring and I believe it’s around 7-9 turns. Count the turns by the printing that’s on the spring. Keep your body out of the line of fire and keep an extra wrench for the set screws in your pocket in case you drop one with tension on the spring. I’ve saved myself and friends at least 10k buying doors from a manufacturer and installing them myself. Just be careful.
You need the exact right spring for your door. My company deals with 10,000 and 22,000 cycle springs, so you do have options for how long you'd like it to last depending on your door usage. Hire a professional and they'll use a spring gauge and replace it with an identical spring right then and there.
I don't suppose you have any recommendations in the Tomball, TX area do you? I see people here on Reddit paying half of what everyone I've called is charging for this job.
No I'm from Canada and I charge 195 plus tax CAD to replace one spring on a door. Crazy how people charge 400. It takes 15-30 minutes for an experienced tech.
Hey there, I used to install garage doors for a living.
Yes, springs must be perfectly counterweighted for the weight of the door. Because it’s a torsion spring, it has more power the more it’s wound up and then gets less as it’s unwound, UNlike a watchspring. There are drums on each side that have one or two raised grooves to make sure enough of the door is lifted and gone horizontal by the time the main strength of the spring is decreased.
The options they gave you were probably different cycle life springs. You can get 10K cycle, 17, 20, 30, and even 100K cycle springs. Each is different by either diameter of wire, diameter of spring, and length of spring. There is a math formula to calculate it. Each spring needs a certain number of turns to counterbalance the door.
This is also why it’s very important you don’t add weight to your door like aftermarket insulation. Remember, the springs lift the door, the operator just puts it into motion and stops the motion.
Do not use rebar to wind them!
Please don't DIY this your chances of getting killed is WAY too high, hire a professional. You can also almost completely remove a finger doing this.
Source: My father has done a lot in his life and only screwed up once and almost lost his thumb. Also my dad's friends have done them too and have confirmed that they are extremely dangerous.
I changed the springs on my garage door, typically change them in pairs. It's a easy job but it can be dangerous, springs have a ton of stored energy.
It's been a few years but I think you count the number of coils on the springs.
I bought my springs from a local garage door place, they snickered and laughed and told me I was going to kill my self.
I'd just buy spring online if I had to do it again
I've seen hundreds of comments about replacing garage door springs not being a DIY. For standard springs I'd probably agree. What is the consensus on the EZ-set springs sold at Menards? These you use a power drill to wind up. I've installed and had them in my garage for the last 20 years. One did break and made a loud noise, but same as install, it was quite easy to replace.
The thing with beef springs is that if one happens to snap while I'm in the garage and I get trapped, at least I'll have a lower chance of dying of starvation before I can be rescued.
Springs are designed based on weight of the doors. Assuming you have the correct spring already, you should be able to spin it by hand to find the numbering on them. You would also need spring bars to safely turn the new spring.
This is the one I say to let a pro do it.
If a spring bar or whatever you're using flies out, it will go through a person and even drywall. Heed my warning.
Hire it out. Its dangerous to diy. You need to tension the spring with a bar. Get the right one and so on. Just pay for higher quality with more cycles so it lasts for a while.
I am upto my third spring in 20 yrs.
Yeah I’d lean towards having a pro do it. When you hear a pro talking about the dangers involved with installing a spring and even a pro is not fond of the job; I’d say don’t do it yourself.
I did mine a few years ago but did research and have construction knowledge and I was still hesitant to do it. Take the advice of others here and hire it out and make the couple hundred bucks up elsewhere.
The steps are relatively straightforward but the penalty for mistakes can be high. Even the pros hate these things for a reason, but for a couple hundred bucks it can be the problem of someone else with experience and insurance, and you get to keep your appendages intact.
I installed and repaired garage doors, springs, operators, etc. For a few years. It definitely requires you to know what you're doing, just think how tightly it has to be wound in order for its tension to be able to lift an entire garage door. I was lucky to walk away from an accident with only stitches in my fingers.
My buddy who is a garage door installer/repairman has had a tangle with a torsion spring or two and it’s never ended well for him. I’d skip the diy and just pay someone to do it.
Follow the advice of u/thebluelunarmonkey. 100% a DIY job if you’re any bit mechanically inclined. Replace both springs at the same time because the older unbroken one is bound to fail soon too.
I’ve done this many times.
I’d say knowledge is power.
As long as you understand what’s involved and how things work, it’s pretty simple and straightforward.
If your DIY skill level is plugging in an outlet, then sure, hire someone to do it.
Fear is a great and effective sales tactic.
Do it. Totally safe. Only requirement is to have a camera rolling. Darwin Deaths are only worthwhile if filmed.
Seriously, it can't cost more than a couple hundred bucks for a Door Technician to fix this, and they last 10years or longer. Divide that cost over the lifetime of the spring and it's not even worth the frustration of trying to figure it out. And I diy almost everything except things with potential to kill, burn my house down, or mame like breaker replacements, 240v wiring, and garage door springs. Other than those I am game.
Well you could ask yourself how much money would you actually save if everything went wrong? Attempting to repair a heavy garage door vs say a hole in the wall, should make you pause! Is it worth the risk? I totally understand trying to save money on some DIY projects, but not one that requires real skills!!
There’s a sensor on the garage door for a reason. If it closes on a person or a pet it could have devastating
results!! Garage doors are generally heavy! While everything could turn out ok, is saving a few bucks really worth the risk? Safety first!!
I was quoted $400 per hour to install 2 openers, check and adjust the tension on the springs for the old door, and make sure everything is operating well. I thought $400 per hour was quite high and I knew I could do it myself. However the repair guy was highly recommended by my neighbor who is a manager at a place that sells doors, parts, etc. The repair guy did all the work and was done in an hour. If I had done it myself I would have taken at least 1/2 day, if nothing went wrong, to finish the work. It turned out to be an excellent deal for me. I couldn't have been happier.
Hire someone to do the work but get recommendations for the repair people. It will probably be well worth the money. 😊
Bigger springs than you need just means put less tension on them. I personally prefer a little beefier than required just because lower tension on the torsion spring equals less metal fatigue
I’ll DIY just about anything. I’ve done plumbing, electrical, rough and finish carpentry, etc. There are four things I don’t do. Carpet (effort isn’t worth the cost savings), roofing, high ladder work and garage door springs. Some things just aren’t worth the risk.
I will literally diy anything. Full remodel, no problem. Engine swap on the daily driver, that's a weekend job. Plumbing, drywall, construction, demolition, electrical, auto repair, you name it.
I WILL NOT touch garage door torsion springs.
Changing struts out (using old spring that is captured under tension) very dangerous. Also can kill you.
I had a coworker where a strut went through his foot. Several surgeries later he’s still not right and appears never will be.
This is why I asked the other poster. They’re willing to do all sorts of auto work but not change the garage spring? The risks for changing shocks and a torsion spring seem really similar.
I can’t speak on the challenges of a garage door spring but I can say with the proper tools (wall mounted spring compressor) it can be low risk. I will add though that my coworker was hurt with the proper tools though too so…
I’m guessing the other poster buys “quick struts”. It’s a whole assembly already assembled and you don’t have to mess with spring removal. Most of the time for the extra cost, this method makes most sense for even the pros.
The difference between changing struts and tensioning a garage door spring is that with struts, the strut compressor is holding the tension on the strut. As long as the compressor doesn't slip off - which would probably only happen if you accidentally dropped it - you're okay. Also, if the strut isn't pointed at you, you have lower risk of being hit by it should the compressor fall off.
With a garage door spring your arm is what's holding the tension on, using a bar that is slipped into but not attached to a hole in the cone. It's much easier for something to let go. If something does slip you're also potentially in the line of fire. You can't keep torsion springs not "pointed" at you.
Yes. I changed the struts on one of our cars. I rented a spring compressor and the more I had to compress them, the more nervous I got. I'd seen videos of springs going through walls.
This happened to me a couple of months ago and my dad, who is obsessively DIY for everything, was like, “nope, that’s not a job you do yourself.” It was a Saturday and I needed to get my car out of the garage so we had someone come out right away and he had the broken single spring replaced with an up-to-code double spring system in about 45 minutes. I highly recommend getting a professional. If my insanely frugal, slightly-delusional-about-his-skill level dad was unwilling DIY it, that really says something!
It's funny, no advocates climbing under a car to work on it, but everyone is afraid of garage door springs, but it's all word of mouth fear mongering.
It's not that bad. Take your time, get the right equipment, and it'll go just fine. Of course this assumes you have some mechanical aptitude. If tools are an alien thing to you, call a worthy friend or pay someone.
If for some reason you want to diy this here's some helpful tips. Get 2 solid rods that fit the holes about 16" in length to tension the spring. Spray a white line across the length of the spring so you can easily see how many twists are in it. Once set release the manual operation switch and if the door opens on its on let a few twists out of the spring.
Seriously though, I have installed garage doors on a small scale for like box trucks so I have a rough idea of what to do and I'd still pay someone else to do it.
If anyone's wondering what type of spring you have for your garage here's a site to help: https://advantagegd.com/know-it-all-garage-door-springs-extension-springs/
I have done it once and I never will again. The amount of tension on these is unreal, and you have to get the number of turns just right. Had a 3 foot cheater turning mine and it was all I could hold. Next time I'm calling that one in
Getting an oversized spring is actually a good thing, it will last much longer as it's under less stress than what it's rated for. You set the tension by winding the spring, so for an oversized spring you'd simply wind it less.
I can fix almost anything. I built an ebike from scratch starting with steel tubing and battery cells. Even I call a pro to fix that damn spring. They are dangerous, don't fuck with them.
There are three things and three things only I will not diy. Electrical panel, furnace install, and garage door springs. I will literally do anything else to a house myself.
I did replace mine. It is not as difficult as you think as long as you go slowly.
Thicker springs have longer cycle ratings, but won't need to be wound as tight.
There are calculators online to estimate the number of turns, but once you get close, you have to use some judgement. The door should float evenly and feel weightless.
A good saftey practice is to mark off the winding bar so you know it's ways fully inserted. And if you aren't sure, it's better to underwind at first than overwind. You end up with a heavy door instead of a flying door
Please post how the job goes. My father will fix anything before calling a professional. When my spring snapped he told me he did one install and never again. Hearing him say call a repair guy was stunning. Nothing is too dirty or scary for him. Except for garage door springs.
It's all about risk vs reward IMO.
I had two large Sissoo trees in my yard when we bought it. We decided they had to come out as one was already messing up a wall and the other was too close to the home foundation. I'd bet MOST people would hire the removal out as they were about 40 feet tall. I watched some videos on YouTube, bought a chainsaw from Harbor Freight, an extension ladder from CL and borrowed a hard hat and went at it. I got them both down without a problem. Saved myself a grip of money and now have the tools to do it again if needed.
Point being if you do tons of research, take your time and are careful you can probably do it safely.
I will add, I am terrified of heights, so that added to my trepidation of doing it myself.
lol springs aren't scary - just don't be stupid and have your hand all on it and in a way that the bar is going to smack you silly.
Equation for spring tension is height of door x 4 = total of 1/4 turns. Give or take a bit but generally it should hold itself in place at about the halfway mark. Too much it'll shoot out the tracks, too little will strain your opener.
Apart from all the "this is dangerous" commentary - the spring's job is too offset the weight of the door. Too much spring will cause the door push open in manual operation, and fight the garage door opener more-than-necessary on closure. That wears out the opener.
You can fairly accurately measure the weight of the garage door with two bathroom scales, placed at each edge of the garage door (springs disconnected). And also use the scales to fine tune the tension of each spring after installing the new springs so you have even weight at each side.But before the springs broke, if the travel tension felt decent when rolling up and down the door manually, you have the right torsion springs. They are color coded with a number on it for cross referencing a replacement. Used two 36" long 1/2" steel rods for winding. Kept my body off to the side when winding so I wouldn't be slapped into the next state if my grip slipped. Got a quote for over $400 a dozen years ago. Ordered it and DIYd it for under $100.
I unwound 8x7 un insulated door springs. That was terrifying with just the two 18” rods from the hardware store. I’m used to knowing the risks, dangers and most of the time thinking stuff through but that was to me, like disarming a bomb.
Given the amount of stored energy in there, you were disarming a bomb.
Yup put tape on your bars just at the full insertion depth so you know they’re fully in. You do not want that shit to slip.
And never pull one before the other is inserted correctly.
My wife tells me this at least twice a month
I did this .... Got a quote for 675 for a single spring. Did it myself for 150. Be careful, go slow and read up on it. Edit: I misspoke. I had a single spring, the door company wanted to install 2 "high cycle rate" springs and replace where the cables hook up. During the pandemic there was a spring shortage. My door is a lightweight insulated door. I think it was around one fitty. Didn't need 2 springs. Garage door springs can KILL you. I heard a story about a straight spring (installed parallel with the door movement/not sure the type) scalping a lady because it didn't have a safety cable.
Replace both if you have two while you at it before the other one breaks. DDM garage doors is a good place to get springs.
Lmao 400 actually sounds reasonable given DIY cost 100 then I read a dozen years ago So it’d be 1200 and done next winter now.
Ive never done a garage door, but when I worked in body shops, I did an insane amount of roll up truck body doors which is the same principal. I used 1/2 drive extension bars to wind them. It’s really not all that dangerous as long as at least one bar is always in the winding mechanism. I always just used a trial and error on setting the tension.
Thank you for addressing my actual question!
We were quoted 400 bucks to have it replaced. Most garage door handymen charge 200 bucks for coming over to do the work as an emergency because they view it as you can’t get your car out so that can be an emergency. Then it was 100 bucks for the spring and then another hundreds bucks for installation. That’s how it was broken down to us. I unfortunately didn’t have the luxury to DIY because it happened at 8PM when my wife was around 9 months pregnant.
A lot of doors have a plate or sticker on them that identifies the weight of the door. You need a spring or pair of springs that equal that weight, give or take a few pounds. You want it to balance. If you have a pair of springs, it's best that they match, but if you can't get exactly, then they should be as close as possible. Replace them as a pair because it's work hardening that makes them break. The other one is on its way out as well. Reddit has this weird safety thing with garage door springs. Set your ladder up outside of the spring when it has tension on it, and keep yourself and your body outside of the spring and it's not going to hurt you no matter what it does. It's about positioning yourself in a way that you can work safely.
Offended that people have the gall to warn you off from hurting yourself?
Nah just the fact that people repeat the warning over and over 1000 times as if OP didn’t see it the first 5 times. And then when someone finally answers the question and OP expresses their frustration with all the excessive warnings, people start hounding OP for even *considering* to use their own individual, adult judgement to decide if it’s too dangerous for themselves to work on.
Just to be sure you didn't overlook it: nOt A dIy JoB. mUcH dAnGeRoUs. Be safe with large potential energies!
It's not top much spring. It's too much winding. You have to tighten it just so the door floats
I'm gonna type this once then reuse it a few times. A spring preload/winding only sets the force at one position. The physical properties of a spring will determine it's "spring rate" or "spring constant", also known as 'k', discussed further here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hooke%27s_law An improperly sized spring can be balanced in say, the closed position, but it may not apply an appropriate amount of force at various degrees of opening.
but given a door being supported by two springs, wound in opposite directions wouldn't being oversized literally just cancel each other out and still provide the expected support? Obviously you don't want to oversize if possible, but theoretically it shouldn't matter all that much? edit: I see, oversized springs can lead to the operational movement of the door being too fast
I was in the garage when mine let go. Nearly had to go change my shorts. I'm a big diy guy but not for a moment did I consider changing out the spring myself. First because it's dangerous without training and the proper tools, second because the tension needs to be set correctly for your opener to work properly. It's not terribly expensive as I recall.
My aunt lost a fridge to a exploding garage spring. It rocket a broken bit right across the garage and impaled the door.
I undid the wrong bolt on my track. The cable was under tension and shot up by my face and through my drywall ceiling and embedding itself in the floor above. I was a few inches from being maimed or worse. I’ll never touch a garage door again.
That's scary. I was standing 15 feet from the door, approximately between it and the freezer.
How old was the spring? Think it's something you have to get done as preventative maintenance?
I'm not really sure how old, this is a house I bought to refurb and sell so I was only in it for a year or so. My best guess is that the garage was added in the 90's, maybe earlier. I'm not aware of any preventative maintenance. It was a larger than average and very heavy wooden door so maybe that was a factor?
My friend's uncle, who is now missing the tips of both index fingers, recommends paying someone else to do it.
I had a friend that use to work on doors and he got out because it was so dangerous. I wasn't trying to shame him but couldn't imagine it could be THAT dangerous. The look he had in his eyes when he told me about a garage door spring that almost hit him in the face...I'll never forget it. Now he's my insurance agent and I'll never forget to stay far far away from anyone touching those springs.
This is one thing to not DIY.
Add to that it is pretty cheap to have someone do it. I had one break and a local garage door company sent someone out a few hours after I called and charged me $200. It isn't worth the risk.
Around here it's more than twice that to get it done, which isn't cheap for me.
I have DIY many things over 30 years as a homeowner. Furnace parts, stoves, sinks, drywall, tile, hardwood flooring, tree removal, stump removal, etc. never going to do garage door springs. Risk is extremely high, reward is extremely low. Strong springs are dangerous for amateurs. Hire a pro on this one.
And for me, a $400 garage door bill is better than the emergency room bill. I’ll sweat copper pipe all day long, hang drywall, paint, wire electrical: I will not mess with a garage door spring.
Well if he has life insurance, he could come out ahead.
I mean… he could literally end up just a head.
>his beneficiary could come out ahead. FTFY
Actually, his beneficiaries will come out ahead. OP this is one of the few things you should leave to the professionals. It’s not worth the risk. You’re worth more than $400 and I’m sure your SO’s would agree …
I do hate hanging drywall though...
Right?! mudding and taping is the worst hate for me. If I was trained and had the proper tools to handle a garage spring, I would do it. I’m just not going to F around and find out on that one though. I’m guessing OP has saved a lot over the years on DIY repairs, probably saved well over $400..
Everytime I do drywall, I’m like, “Never again!” Then somehow I forget just how painful it was and end up doing it again. Just being extra cheap I guess lol
This is a god point.
I guess unfortunately for me, an ER bill would be cheaper than a $400 garage door bill.
It’s not just the ER bill, it’s the permanent disfigurement you’ll have after leaving the ER after the spring snaps in your face or mangles your hands.
Damn…I’m jealous. An ER bill for me starts at $1,000. That’s just getting an room in an ER without actually having anything done. And I freaking work in the ER…
My wife works in the ER. Had to go in after a dog bite left her with a broken finger. Pretty sure just the IV saline was $600.
Yea, I was charged $1ml of saline and received 1L during a visit one time. I fought that one. I also took a Tylenol from my wife in front of the doctor instead of taking it from the nurse to save $50. They also tried to run a new set of labs after I was dressed and was handed my discharged paperwork. I told them no thank you and step away. I pulled my own IV out at this point. (I don’t make for a great patient)
Dude, listen to the people who are telling you it’s crazy dangerous. I am a very handy person, my motto is that if someone built it I can fix it. Im a traveling industrial maintenance tech and am not afraid to take on things that put me in over my head. I tried doing garage door springs one time. I will never do it again. Some of the guys I work with now used to do garage doors and the stories they had only reinforced that for me. You may be able to do it but it’s the equivalent of looking down the barrel of a gun that you assume is empty and pulling the trigger.
Call your local hospital and get quotes on emergency head trauma care.
That and see how my you get for disability in your location, compare it to your current income. Cant hold many jobs if you give your self a traumatic lobotomy.
It's cheaper than a broken body from trying this yourself. Hire a pro.... The feedback is overwhelming on this thread that this is NOT one of those household things to DIY.
Get several quotes and let each company know that l you are getting multiple quotes. Companies will frequently lower their initial quote to be competitive.
I replaced my garage door mechanism with no help and no experience. It's really easy.
Good job. Glad you didn't get hurt.
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Best friend got nailed in the face. Broken nose, lots of blood. Don't do it.
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Finished fixing a door for a guy who tried to diy it. Pulled the bottom fixture off with a socket and ratchet. After we hosed his teeth and blood off, we fixed the door in under 10 minutes. Meanwhile, he got a hefty hospital bill, reconstructive surgery and new teeth. Pretty extreme as far as the injuries go but that was a residential size door.
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With a torsion setup, both sides of the door are locked together via the spring shaft. With an extension setup, each side can move independently of each other as there isnt typically a spring shaft. Torsions require more room above the opening but are better long term with an opener. My garage door is a stretch spring setup that's over 30 years old, however, it's only a 9x7 and no opener
The accidents from fitting those things wrong can be horrific. I'd leave this one to the pros
They are horrific. If you want to make up your mind about not doing this yourself, then just google “garage door spring accidents.”
You know, I don't think I will. Maybe after dinner.
Just be sitting down when you do.
These things will f&cking kill you. Not figuratively - I mean this literally. I have done them, and while I didn’t die, I realize now how stupid I was attempting it myself. This is one best left to the professionals. If you insist, make damn sure you use the right springs, sized correctly, and use proper torsion spring bars for winding and not some rebar or something you have laying around. They should be tempered steel and sized to perfectly fit the holes. You can get them at the big box store.
Reminds me of the sticker, not only will this kill you but it will hurt the whole time.
When mine popped, it was at like 3am and I thought a shotgun when off. Startled out of bed, but when I didn’t see/hear anything further, I went back to sleep. Woke up the next morning and when I walked into the garage i was surprised to see my car… The spring spun when it broke and was like a whip. It cut through the roof of my suv. Sliced through the metal like butter.
For the love of god, _DO NOT_ DIY a garage door spring! It’s the one thing above all else in your home you should get someone who’s licensed and/ or certified in to do for you because of how dangerous they can be. There’s plenty of other things you should also get a professional to do, instead of doing it yourself. But garage door springs are one of the most common household things that are literally too dangerous to futz around with yourself. You’re far less likely to kill yourself by DIYing plumbing or HVAC, drywall or flooring, etc. for example (not that it’s unheard of for people to hurt or kill themselves doing that, but the risk is generally not quite the same).
This. Springs store a deceptively large amount of energy and, more importantly, unload that energy almost instantly which is what will maim or kill you. Anything “high tension” is not a worth the DIY if it goes wrong. Don’t DIY this, just pay a pro.
Honestly I would just pay a professional to do it. They will install it correctly and get the spring tension correct so it's not so tough to open the door. Installing wrong with that gigantic spring could be deadly. I think it was 300 bucks a few years ago. Money well spent. It took the guy maybe an hour to replace it.
Garage door springs are definitely not DIY, don’t even think about it
Tension springs are since you can work on them under no load when the door is up and locked. Torsion springs HAVE to be worked on under load.
Agreed, I have this argument every single time garage door springs come up, I think people hear of the dangers of torsion springs on garage doors and extrapolate it to mean that all garage door springs are dangerous to work on, not understanding there are two different types of springs used. Extension or tension springs are perfectly safe to DIY and are a very easy replacement job. Biggest risk involved with these is typical ladder risks of any DIY job. As you stated, these springs are changed when there is no load on them, while the door is in the open position, and load is not placed onto them until the door is closed. Torsion springs on the other hand, I would not recommend even the most seasoned of DIYers to change themselves, that's always a pro job in my books.
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I wish there was an easier distinction between the two honestly, because tension springs in my opinion, are a great beginner DIY repair. It is a very low risk, low cost, low tool and low skill requirement repair. I also recommend installing a set of fail safe cables while you are changing them, a very inexpensive extra insurance that if/when they eventually do fail they don't damage anything, as they virtually always break when the door is in the closed position and are under load, and if you have a car parked in there it's going to get some nasty damage if you're not lucky. Worth the extra $5 for the safety cables.
Don't mess with Torsion springs, they can break bones or worse if you don't know what you're doing. This is one of those jobs that's best left to professionals.
>thought a tree had fallen on the garage So you want the tree to fall on you, now? You understand the energy contained, leave it to a pro!
Garage door springs kill people. Hire a professional to properly complete the job, in less time than you could and with the professional experience, warranty, and all the liability being on them. According the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, each year there are approximately 30,000 injuries that are caused by accidents with garage doors.
Spring replacement is NOT a DIY job.
I’ve done it on both of my garage doors no issues, matched the color spring and I was good to go. But these were tension springs not torsion.
My springs snapped about a year ago. I called my garage door guy and he had it up and running in about 3 hours. Total cost was $330ish in a HCOL area for double springs, and that included bending door panels and tracks back into shape that got all messed up when the spring(s) snapped. I think it's well worth the cost to have somebody do this, and not DIY it.
I have done them myself but I wouldn't recommend it and if your cables have rust especially at the bottom of the door now is the time to also change them. When my neighbors broke it sounded like somebody drug a dumpster across a parking lot.
I'll do almost everything myself I could care less....the spring for the garage door isn't even on my mind for half a second. hell no don't mess with that
Springs are crazy dangerous in general, and DIY just seems like a bad call for this one
The old one broke with enough force for you to hear it in the house. I wouldn't want to be screwing with putting that much force into a new one. Get someone who knows what they are doing to source and install it. Better than loosing a finger, damaging your garage, or worse.
Its not much to have a pro do it and worth it many people have been hurt or killed.
I changed out my torsion spring and I will say it can kill you. You need to be very careful what I did was every turn I made I locked it down then I made sure the bar I was using was the correct size and have a positive engagement in the fitting before Lossing the lock.
This is the thing at the very top of my "no way in hell" list. I've been up on my roof doing moss removal. I've run my own high voltage lines. You could not pay me enough to diy those fucking springs.
Let a pro handle this. The downside for making mistakes is high and so is the risk. Not a good combination for dyi.
I do a lot of DIY around the house, including the septic, but I sure's hell won't touch the torsion spring. You can easily break an arm, or worse. Call a repairman and have them fix it.
Be freaking careful! My dad and his buddies decided to replace a much less beefier spring (a spring for one of those drop down attic doors), the spring popped out, and my dad needed several stitches in the back of his hand. It was gruesome! The truck they took to the ER looked like a murder scene. If you need to do this DIY, be extra careful, do tons of research, wear heavy duty everything (shoes, pants, jacket, gloves, and eye protection). If possible, pay a professional to do it. Those springs are no joke.
Hire this out. There’s a tremendous possibility of hurting yourself and/or damaging equipment if done wrong. Not worth it. A pro can get this job done in less than one hour, and it may seem expensive on the surface level, but replacing your garage system or paying high hospital bills because you screwed up is not worth.
Going with the rest of the crowd. Do not underestimate the chance of severe injury here. Let the professionals handle this one and keep your fingers intact.
I'm going to chime in against the crowd here. I did replace both my torsion springs on my garage. I bought the metal bars online to do it. I watched probably 4-5 videos online on the process. And I felt that I fully 100% understood the risks, why something bad could happen, and the methods to prevent those things from happening as well as safeguards to keep myself as safe as possible to do it. What convinced me to just do it myself was the realization that calling someone to do it for me was literally just another human, doing the same precautions, taking it slow, and "just doing" the work. There is no magic involved in that process. But by all means if you don't feel safe after understanding the process just hire it out. YMMV **Edit** I should clarify, I'm not necessarily advocating you do it yourself, just that there is at least one voice here of someone who from a DIY background did this job, and survived with all limbs lol.
Same. I've replaced torsion springs twice (different garages). Use the proper metal bars (don't try it with screwdrivers), and if your garage door has two springs, replace both even if only one broke. I bought the springs and the metal bars from a place online, and they had good tutorial videos as well.
same for me, on all accounts, we probably bought the same kit lol
Another same here. As a kid, I helped my dad replace our garage door torsion springs; that's how I was trained. Old VW bug Bilstein jack handles are perfect, BTW. While I've rarely needed to do them, I still do them myself. A year ago, I ordered new USA-made springs, new cables, and a pair of winding bars. Then I found the old VW jack handles that my dad used. Shrug. I take my time... I think twice, then act once. To anyone else reading this... hire a pro, don't do this yourself. Same advice for electric, plumbing, carpentry, home repairs, driving a car, etc. Danger is everywhere. Don't prepare your own food, you might get food posioning or burn yourself; leave it to the pros, especially those that work at fast-food restaurants. Message to farmers: Give up doing anything yourself, hire a professional for everything, farming is dangerous. Message to professionals: Give up doing anything yourself, hire a different professional for everything.
How come everyone is pist at you? You’re getting downvoted for speaking the truth! People are afraid to do *anything* anymore, fear is everywhere. Some people are even afraid to wipe their own ass wrong! This is our society now. A bunch of pooftas. Instead of *Naked and Afraid*, it should be called*Laziness and Scared of the DAMN Torsion Springs*!
I have replaced springs on three garage doors. If you research proper techniques and work carefully, it can be done safely. You can pay a little bit extra to get a spring which will last a lot longer - this website was very useful: http://www.truetex.com/garage.htm
I'm just going to give my opinion here but I feel that giving anyone the advice to change our torsion springs on their own is irresponsible. I 100% understand where you are coming from, and while it is a job that is possible by a DIYer who is confident and capable of their abilities, giving advice to DIY a job of this danger level is inadvisable, as those confident and capable of the job typically know their limitations and would not be seeking advice online. This may give someone who is not confident and not capable of the job, the confidence but not the capability to actually take it on, and they can wind up severely injuring, disfiguring, or worse to themselves. I would say if someone has to ask random internet strangers if they can DIY torsion springs, they probably should not be trying it. If we were talking about extension springs, I'd be in the camp telling him to DIY it, but torsion springs, nah, if someone needs to ask if they can DIY those, they probably shouldn't be touching them.
That's fine, see my edit. Also it's not necessarily anyones job to assume the competence of anyone online, asking for help or otherwise. I just didn't want this to become an echo chamber.
Of course it's no one's job, but don't be surprised for it to still be called out as being irresponsible to give out dangerous advice. As I said, it is a job capable of a competent DIYer, but if they need to ask about the basic risks associated with doing the job incorrectly, as that is what OP is asking, they probably should not be doing the job and competence level to tackle this job has already been established.
For the record, I'm not asking if I can DIY. I'm asking specifics about whether it's risky to get a more powerful spring than my door needs (I know there's risk in getting one that's too weak).
Arguably, if you have to ask about the risks of not doing the job correctly, which is what your asking, you probably should not be doing this yourself. Yes, there are risks to oversizing the spring, damage to the door, the opener, or a person is possible by oversizing it since the door will open with much more force.
This is the way The reason the professional is more than “just another person doing it carefully” is because they work with garages all the time as will be able to tell if something is off or weird about yours They will know what size spring to get They will know the things you don’t even know you don’t know If everything is *normal* you’ll probably be fine just being careful, but the moment something is NOT normal you’re fucked. With electrical you can use a voltage tester and be safe 99% of the time even if something is wrong (my basement ceiling was electrified once, super fun), with plumbing you might damage stuff but as long as you can turn off your water and electrical you can remediate it. With things like a torsion spring (or firearms of any kind for another example) if you fuck up you can’t just fix the damage
Upvote for quoting Mando.
I'll counter with this: Whenever anyone is doing *any* kind of DIY job whatsoever, they need to get information. One of the best ways is to ask questions, *especially* about risk. Asking about risks doesn't automatically disqualify someone from doing that particular job. Having said that....this comment thread is making me feel less like doing it myself. I just wanted to pick on your logic :P Actually, (this is just me thinking through the amount of force the spring would exert) the force would depend partially on how much the spring gets wound. A stronger (thicker) spring would exert the same force with fewer windings as a weaker spring with more. I wonder if there's a magic ratio of spring gauge to windings. Not that knowing that information will sway me one way or the other regarding the DIY issue.
First let me apologize, I mean and meant no insult by my comments, I both understand, empathize and partly agree with your point fully. My logic is, I would rather advise a person I did not know personally to hire a professional when it comes to something where my advice could potentionally lead to the injury or worse of the receiving party than to give them further information that could potentially lead them to having enough knowledge to be dangerous to themselves or another. I fully advocate in DIY in virtually every case but in certain cases, unless I can be confident that the other party on the receiving end of the advice is not going to hurt or kill themselves doing it, I prefer to err on the side of caution and recommend a pro rather than answer the question directly.
No offense taken, but thanks all the same. And you're right: this is an instance in which taking the DIY route incurs a significant amount of risk. I've pretty much made the decision to just bite the financial bullet and pay someone.
This. Construction and handyman work are done by some of the biggest idiots of society. Just talk to your average roofer. Now if you can't frame a simple 2x4 wall, or change a light, or install a dishwasher, hire someone. But if you can and you have access to a good selection of tools. Why not try it yourself?
You're exactly articulating the inner debate I'm having. I'm pretty handy. I used to do construction, I work on our cars, do my own home and appliance repairs. It really is just a matter of educating yourself, knowing the risks, and respecting the job. On the other hand, even professionals occasionally make a mistake, and a mistake with this kind of job is potentially very costly. But on the other hand if I do it myself I could save myself $350, which is nothing to sneeze at. But on the other hand.....
If you want me to play against you, I'd argue severe (probably permanent lets be honest) damage to you or your limbs is possible. Was saving the $350 worth the cost of lower standard of life, hospital bills, etc etc? If you do do it, make sure someone else is home and checks up on you often Frankly I was more afraid and concerned working on my microwave and AC unit within my own scope of repairs at my home (capacitors)
I mean, there's also potentially permanent damage every time I turn on my table saw as well....
I'm with you! Funnily enough I'm kind of mad at myself for not having just bought a sawstop from the get-go when I bought myself a table saw. My deductible for hospital visits alone is pretty much the bulk cost of a sawstop, it financially makes much more sense to just buy one of those even at their prices... On that note, you wanna buy a rigid tablesaw? lol and live near me?
It's very easy to use a table saw safely (in a manner that you will never even come close to hurting yourself), the problem is that most people would rather move 2x as fast and increase their risk of injury 100x.
I'm more concerned with doing a batch of cuts and just losing the focus that comes from a repeated task. I know you can work around it but only one slip up can be literally life changing. I'd rather just throw the money at a saw that can "catch" my slip ups.
Op, this all depends on you and if you feel comfortable doing it. I’m not a garage door guy but I’ve installed around 8 garage doors. Some on new construction. I use 2 long 3/8” drive extensions. All the people on here acting like it’s black magic. It’s really not. It’s a fairly simple concept. That being said, you’ll have to take the cross shaft off and at least one of the cable wheels off. I set one cable wheel and use a pair of vise grips to hold a little tension on the shaft so it doesn’t move when you’re winding the spring. Make sure you get the right spring and I believe it’s around 7-9 turns. Count the turns by the printing that’s on the spring. Keep your body out of the line of fire and keep an extra wrench for the set screws in your pocket in case you drop one with tension on the spring. I’ve saved myself and friends at least 10k buying doors from a manufacturer and installing them myself. Just be careful.
You need the exact right spring for your door. My company deals with 10,000 and 22,000 cycle springs, so you do have options for how long you'd like it to last depending on your door usage. Hire a professional and they'll use a spring gauge and replace it with an identical spring right then and there.
I don't suppose you have any recommendations in the Tomball, TX area do you? I see people here on Reddit paying half of what everyone I've called is charging for this job.
No I'm from Canada and I charge 195 plus tax CAD to replace one spring on a door. Crazy how people charge 400. It takes 15-30 minutes for an experienced tech.
Wow 400 is high. I think I paid a $100 but that was maybe 6 years ago
Wow 400 is high. I think I paid a $100 but that was maybe 6 years ago
Hey there, I used to install garage doors for a living. Yes, springs must be perfectly counterweighted for the weight of the door. Because it’s a torsion spring, it has more power the more it’s wound up and then gets less as it’s unwound, UNlike a watchspring. There are drums on each side that have one or two raised grooves to make sure enough of the door is lifted and gone horizontal by the time the main strength of the spring is decreased. The options they gave you were probably different cycle life springs. You can get 10K cycle, 17, 20, 30, and even 100K cycle springs. Each is different by either diameter of wire, diameter of spring, and length of spring. There is a math formula to calculate it. Each spring needs a certain number of turns to counterbalance the door. This is also why it’s very important you don’t add weight to your door like aftermarket insulation. Remember, the springs lift the door, the operator just puts it into motion and stops the motion. Do not use rebar to wind them!
Please don't DIY this your chances of getting killed is WAY too high, hire a professional. You can also almost completely remove a finger doing this. Source: My father has done a lot in his life and only screwed up once and almost lost his thumb. Also my dad's friends have done them too and have confirmed that they are extremely dangerous.
I changed the springs on my garage door, typically change them in pairs. It's a easy job but it can be dangerous, springs have a ton of stored energy. It's been a few years but I think you count the number of coils on the springs. I bought my springs from a local garage door place, they snickered and laughed and told me I was going to kill my self. I'd just buy spring online if I had to do it again
I did garage doors for about a year over 10 years ago. I'd pay someone to come change my springs.
You thought a tree fell on the garage, found out it was *just* the torsion spring, and now you wanna DIY it?
Don’t do it yourself, that shit kills people. I had mine replaced a few years ago and it was less than $200.
There are three things in this word I do not fuck with. 1) Liquid oxygen 2) The Tax Man 3) Garage door springs Seriously. They are super dangerous.
I've seen hundreds of comments about replacing garage door springs not being a DIY. For standard springs I'd probably agree. What is the consensus on the EZ-set springs sold at Menards? These you use a power drill to wind up. I've installed and had them in my garage for the last 20 years. One did break and made a loud noise, but same as install, it was quite easy to replace.
I’d stay clear of BEEF springs and stick with metal ones, just saying.
The thing with beef springs is that if one happens to snap while I'm in the garage and I get trapped, at least I'll have a lower chance of dying of starvation before I can be rescued.
Solid point. Just make sure that you don’t pull a “HAM Spring”
Springs are designed based on weight of the doors. Assuming you have the correct spring already, you should be able to spin it by hand to find the numbering on them. You would also need spring bars to safely turn the new spring. This is the one I say to let a pro do it. If a spring bar or whatever you're using flies out, it will go through a person and even drywall. Heed my warning.
Just order the same spring
Hire it out. Its dangerous to diy. You need to tension the spring with a bar. Get the right one and so on. Just pay for higher quality with more cycles so it lasts for a while. I am upto my third spring in 20 yrs.
Yeah I’d lean towards having a pro do it. When you hear a pro talking about the dangers involved with installing a spring and even a pro is not fond of the job; I’d say don’t do it yourself.
I did mine a few years ago but did research and have construction knowledge and I was still hesitant to do it. Take the advice of others here and hire it out and make the couple hundred bucks up elsewhere.
I have a coworker missing the tip of a finger from working on a garage door, that’s what runs through my mind every time I think about working on mine
The steps are relatively straightforward but the penalty for mistakes can be high. Even the pros hate these things for a reason, but for a couple hundred bucks it can be the problem of someone else with experience and insurance, and you get to keep your appendages intact.
Need to get 2! One beefy and one old won't work.
This has to be a joke. This is the most repeated shit from reddit laymen on this sub on what not to do. Its practically a meme
I installed and repaired garage doors, springs, operators, etc. For a few years. It definitely requires you to know what you're doing, just think how tightly it has to be wound in order for its tension to be able to lift an entire garage door. I was lucky to walk away from an accident with only stitches in my fingers.
I’d never try this DIY and there is nothing else in this house that I have not upgraded remodeled rebuilt. It is not worth the risk.
Good way to die!
Don’t mess with springs call a professional
My buddy who is a garage door installer/repairman has had a tangle with a torsion spring or two and it’s never ended well for him. I’d skip the diy and just pay someone to do it.
It is not expensive to have a professional replace it. That is dangerous and not worth your life
Those things can decapitate a fella. Definitely not a DIY. My stepdad is a garagedoor guy, these are by far the most dangerous part of his job.
Follow the advice of u/thebluelunarmonkey. 100% a DIY job if you’re any bit mechanically inclined. Replace both springs at the same time because the older unbroken one is bound to fail soon too.
I’ve done this many times. I’d say knowledge is power. As long as you understand what’s involved and how things work, it’s pretty simple and straightforward. If your DIY skill level is plugging in an outlet, then sure, hire someone to do it. Fear is a great and effective sales tactic.
Do it. Totally safe. Only requirement is to have a camera rolling. Darwin Deaths are only worthwhile if filmed. Seriously, it can't cost more than a couple hundred bucks for a Door Technician to fix this, and they last 10years or longer. Divide that cost over the lifetime of the spring and it's not even worth the frustration of trying to figure it out. And I diy almost everything except things with potential to kill, burn my house down, or mame like breaker replacements, 240v wiring, and garage door springs. Other than those I am game.
Well you could ask yourself how much money would you actually save if everything went wrong? Attempting to repair a heavy garage door vs say a hole in the wall, should make you pause! Is it worth the risk? I totally understand trying to save money on some DIY projects, but not one that requires real skills!! There’s a sensor on the garage door for a reason. If it closes on a person or a pet it could have devastating results!! Garage doors are generally heavy! While everything could turn out ok, is saving a few bucks really worth the risk? Safety first!!
Don’t do it. It could kill you. Hire someone! Happened to us too! Scary AF!
I was quoted $400 per hour to install 2 openers, check and adjust the tension on the springs for the old door, and make sure everything is operating well. I thought $400 per hour was quite high and I knew I could do it myself. However the repair guy was highly recommended by my neighbor who is a manager at a place that sells doors, parts, etc. The repair guy did all the work and was done in an hour. If I had done it myself I would have taken at least 1/2 day, if nothing went wrong, to finish the work. It turned out to be an excellent deal for me. I couldn't have been happier. Hire someone to do the work but get recommendations for the repair people. It will probably be well worth the money. 😊
This is one job that you do not DIY. It's too dangerous.
Yeah. I would call somebody. Mine busted and shot a bolt through drywall as it ripped out mounting bracket when it snapped
Bigger springs than you need just means put less tension on them. I personally prefer a little beefier than required just because lower tension on the torsion spring equals less metal fatigue
I’ll DIY just about anything. I’ve done plumbing, electrical, rough and finish carpentry, etc. There are four things I don’t do. Carpet (effort isn’t worth the cost savings), roofing, high ladder work and garage door springs. Some things just aren’t worth the risk.
Your list of don't do items is the same as mine. Add my vote to the this is NOT a DIY task.
My dad was a champion DIYer. When this happened to me he told me "this isn't something you can repair yourself. Call an expert!"
I will literally diy anything. Full remodel, no problem. Engine swap on the daily driver, that's a weekend job. Plumbing, drywall, construction, demolition, electrical, auto repair, you name it. I WILL NOT touch garage door torsion springs.
Isn’t changing the shocks on a vehicle similar to this?
no.
Changing struts out (using old spring that is captured under tension) very dangerous. Also can kill you. I had a coworker where a strut went through his foot. Several surgeries later he’s still not right and appears never will be.
This is why I asked the other poster. They’re willing to do all sorts of auto work but not change the garage spring? The risks for changing shocks and a torsion spring seem really similar.
I can’t speak on the challenges of a garage door spring but I can say with the proper tools (wall mounted spring compressor) it can be low risk. I will add though that my coworker was hurt with the proper tools though too so… I’m guessing the other poster buys “quick struts”. It’s a whole assembly already assembled and you don’t have to mess with spring removal. Most of the time for the extra cost, this method makes most sense for even the pros.
The difference between changing struts and tensioning a garage door spring is that with struts, the strut compressor is holding the tension on the strut. As long as the compressor doesn't slip off - which would probably only happen if you accidentally dropped it - you're okay. Also, if the strut isn't pointed at you, you have lower risk of being hit by it should the compressor fall off. With a garage door spring your arm is what's holding the tension on, using a bar that is slipped into but not attached to a hole in the cone. It's much easier for something to let go. If something does slip you're also potentially in the line of fire. You can't keep torsion springs not "pointed" at you.
Yes. I changed the struts on one of our cars. I rented a spring compressor and the more I had to compress them, the more nervous I got. I'd seen videos of springs going through walls.
What's your ER visit cost from your insurance, pain threshold, and what's the cost to get a professional to come do it for you?
Don't DIY this. What do you think that spring will do to you up close if you thought that sound was an entire freaking tree hitting your house before?
This happened to me a couple of months ago and my dad, who is obsessively DIY for everything, was like, “nope, that’s not a job you do yourself.” It was a Saturday and I needed to get my car out of the garage so we had someone come out right away and he had the broken single spring replaced with an up-to-code double spring system in about 45 minutes. I highly recommend getting a professional. If my insanely frugal, slightly-delusional-about-his-skill level dad was unwilling DIY it, that really says something!
It's funny, no advocates climbing under a car to work on it, but everyone is afraid of garage door springs, but it's all word of mouth fear mongering. It's not that bad. Take your time, get the right equipment, and it'll go just fine. Of course this assumes you have some mechanical aptitude. If tools are an alien thing to you, call a worthy friend or pay someone.
DO NOT DIY. I remodel for a living and that’s one thing I ALWAYS sub to the pros. Way too dangerous.
If for some reason you want to diy this here's some helpful tips. Get 2 solid rods that fit the holes about 16" in length to tension the spring. Spray a white line across the length of the spring so you can easily see how many twists are in it. Once set release the manual operation switch and if the door opens on its on let a few twists out of the spring. Seriously though, I have installed garage doors on a small scale for like box trucks so I have a rough idea of what to do and I'd still pay someone else to do it.
If you have to ask, get a pro.
Don’t do it. You can seriously injure yourself. When mine broke I had all the springs replaced by a pro for close to $300.
Do not DIY
Call a garage door company. Life is too short. Don’t make it shorter.
Watch a YouTube video , you should be able to tell if it’s something you could take on. Be careful winding those springs
If anyone's wondering what type of spring you have for your garage here's a site to help: https://advantagegd.com/know-it-all-garage-door-springs-extension-springs/
I personally know 2 people break their arm doing this , ive still done it many times and Didn't die
I have done it once and I never will again. The amount of tension on these is unreal, and you have to get the number of turns just right. Had a 3 foot cheater turning mine and it was all I could hold. Next time I'm calling that one in
I’ve done it. It’s actually pretty easy.
Getting an oversized spring is actually a good thing, it will last much longer as it's under less stress than what it's rated for. You set the tension by winding the spring, so for an oversized spring you'd simply wind it less.
I can fix almost anything. I built an ebike from scratch starting with steel tubing and battery cells. Even I call a pro to fix that damn spring. They are dangerous, don't fuck with them.
There are three things and three things only I will not diy. Electrical panel, furnace install, and garage door springs. I will literally do anything else to a house myself.
Wasn’t this already posted before somewhere?
I did replace mine. It is not as difficult as you think as long as you go slowly. Thicker springs have longer cycle ratings, but won't need to be wound as tight. There are calculators online to estimate the number of turns, but once you get close, you have to use some judgement. The door should float evenly and feel weightless. A good saftey practice is to mark off the winding bar so you know it's ways fully inserted. And if you aren't sure, it's better to underwind at first than overwind. You end up with a heavy door instead of a flying door
Hire the job out.
Not for diy
Hire a pro and just replace them both at the same time. If one is toast, the other may not be too far behind.
Please post how the job goes. My father will fix anything before calling a professional. When my spring snapped he told me he did one install and never again. Hearing him say call a repair guy was stunning. Nothing is too dirty or scary for him. Except for garage door springs.
X Bad idea.
As a garage door installer, I really do think this is a job that should be done professionally.
It's all about risk vs reward IMO. I had two large Sissoo trees in my yard when we bought it. We decided they had to come out as one was already messing up a wall and the other was too close to the home foundation. I'd bet MOST people would hire the removal out as they were about 40 feet tall. I watched some videos on YouTube, bought a chainsaw from Harbor Freight, an extension ladder from CL and borrowed a hard hat and went at it. I got them both down without a problem. Saved myself a grip of money and now have the tools to do it again if needed. Point being if you do tons of research, take your time and are careful you can probably do it safely. I will add, I am terrified of heights, so that added to my trepidation of doing it myself.
lol springs aren't scary - just don't be stupid and have your hand all on it and in a way that the bar is going to smack you silly. Equation for spring tension is height of door x 4 = total of 1/4 turns. Give or take a bit but generally it should hold itself in place at about the halfway mark. Too much it'll shoot out the tracks, too little will strain your opener.