View Full Version : Garage spring replacement (proactive?)
Garage spring broke in the 1-car garage today. I'm not going to do it myself, but plan to call someone to come out tomorrow to take care of it. We use that door a lot to go in and out of, and I also have a 2 car garage that doesn't see as many cycles.
Still, with a garage guy coming out, should I be thinking about having the 2-car garage done at the same time? Is there such a thing as proactive spring replacement, or should I just wait until it snaps? (This all assumes of course that they give me a good deal on reduced labor for doing 2 doors on the same trip, otherwise I won't bother).
I would go ahead and have it done . . . just because that's how my luck would run. I'd skip it and then the 2nd one would break a week later.
We have a 2 car garage with individual door and when one side's spring broke, I just had both replaced.
It's just a matter of time on the second one...do it while the guy is out rather than a second call...
Do it while they are there any way. Save the expense of an emergency call out when you can't get your car out of the garage because a spring is broke.
My buddy Trapper Searles owns garage doctor, give him a shout. (720) 626-1311
It's just a matter of time on the second one...do it while the guy is out rather than a second call...I'd also check on the price difference of a 20 or 30,000 cycle spring. Most builders install 10,000 cycle springs and that is the most common replacement spring used for the repair
TEAMRICO
01-01-2018, 21:17
Well happy New Years to me, my garage door opener dies today....I know what I will be doing tomorrow!!!!
Me and the boy will have to do a manual lift to get the wife's car out in the morning.
Rooskibar03
01-01-2018, 21:32
Funny story. One of mine broke a long while back, foolish me is like oh, I can fix that. Go to HD and buy two new ones, figure ill replace both.
Get out the ladder and a big ass socket wrench and go about loosing the non broken one. Just about the time I think to myself “seems like there is some tension here” the thing breaks loose. Socket wrench snaps around in my hand the socket itself hits me square in the sternum and off the ladder.
Holy hell that hurt, time to call the professional. Guy comes out and takes a look, says “who loosened that?”
“I did”
“You still got all your fingers?” (Which is funny now because at the time I did)
“Yeah” and I lift up my shirt and show him this massive 3/4” bruise on my chest.
Dude about peed himself laughing at me.
Lesson learned. Somethings you call the pros for.
Funny story. One of mine broke a long while back, foolish me is like oh, I can fix that. Go to HD and buy two new ones, figure ill replace both.
Get out the ladder and a big ass socket wrench and go about loosing the non broken one. Just about the time I think to myself “seems like there is some tension here” the thing breaks loose. Socket wrench snaps around in my hand the socket itself hits me square in the sternum and off the ladder.
Holy hell that hurt, time to call the professional. Guy comes out and takes a look, says “who loosened that?”
“I did”
“You still got all your fingers?” (Which is funny now because at the time I did)
“Yeah” and I lift up my shirt and show him this massive 3/4” bruise on my chest.
Dude about peed himself laughing at me.
Lesson learned. Somethings you call the pros for.
Those things scare the hell out of me. One of my wife's uncles lost an eye from a DIY garage door spring attempt . . . I will never, ever touch one of those myself.
I’ve replaced my garage door springs twice. It’s not a big deal.
But, as for the original question, probably best just to have them do the other ones while they’re there rather than next week or next month when it breaks.
Great-Kazoo
01-01-2018, 23:56
Best you get a price before committing, they're proud of their labor charges. However paying them is easier than staring at a cast on your arm for 2-3 months.
Not recommending you do something you are not comfortable with. Watch a video or two and with the right bars the wind/unwind is straightforward. I thightened up the tension on MILs door and it was easy with a helper. Of course when my door spring went it was during a family gathering, so I just paid the man to get it done that day.
Those things scare the hell out of me. One of my wife's uncles lost an eye from a DIY garage door spring attempt . . . I will never, ever touch one of those myself.
Sounds just like a call I went on, late 70's maybe early 80's.
henpecked
01-02-2018, 10:49
Do it while they are there any way. Save the expense of an emergency call out when you can't get your car out of the garage because a spring is broke.
My buddy Trapper Searles owns garage doctor, give him a shout. (720) 626-1311
Thanks for lead, I had a spring break this past week. There scheduled to fix it tomorrow. They promptly returned my call and answered all my questions.
OP, I agree you should get the other done as well.
Rehash of another GD spring thread...
HD or any other local place won't even sell you the springs anymore. I had to buy mine online.
While I've done the unwind/wind myself on several previous occasions, using appropriate bars and some common sense, my current setup has "winders" built into the system so it's a completely simple DIY. Everyone I called locally wouldn't work on it unless they replaced it with standard parts, which was cost prohibitive (and seemed stupid to me) at the time. It's just a couple springs for cryin out loud.
Who's gonna run the go fund me page when Brian eats a spring? :D
NFATrustGuy
01-02-2018, 14:37
I recently replaced my garage door opener and discovered my springs had lost a bit of tension and caused the door to be a bit heavy. I bought the right steel rods, watched a few videos and adjusted the springs to spec on my own. A pro could've done it 10x faster and with more confidence than me, but I enjoy learning new skills.
I'm planning to order replacement springs for both my garage doors. I'll probably end up replacing the old ones whenever I have the time--before they break--because stuff like that never happens at a convenient time!
I should start saving up and clearing out shit in the garage, about time for another spring to explode.....
henpecked
01-02-2018, 18:32
Ryan from "the garage doctor" came today and got it fixed. All for 259.00. explained everything in detail. Thanks Lars for the lead
Who's gonna run the go fund me page when Brian eats a spring? :D
LOL. I already had one stupid injury this week, and wasn't looking for another one. Had it taken care of this morning for around a couple hundred bucks. Installer was super fast, and interestingly enough his feedback was not to the other door. He basically said it would make sense to do a 2nd spring if it was on the same door since you were already taking it apart, but not to mess with a separate door, because it could be 10 more years until it would have any problems. Wasn't expecting to be talked out of having the work done, but it's always nice to get good, honest, feedback instead of being "sold" on something.
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