Garage Door Springs Part II:

So, now you have been introduced to your friend, the torsion spring. I say "your friend" because when it comes to opening your garage door, the torsion spring does most of the heavy lifting for you. It saves your back, and your garage door opener. The spring lets the door down easy as well, rather than allowing it to crash to the floor.

Let's say your torsion spring breaks, leaving you locked inside. The natural inclination of most independent, handy homeowners is to fix the broken spring themselves. Dollar and cents-wise this sounds like a sound decision.

There are some additional considerations than just dollars and cents, however. Safety is the first concern you should have. Replacing torsion springs can be fairly dangerous. The springs, when wound are under tremendous pressure. If they are released without being controlled, they can cause damage to your garage, and anyone in the way could be seriously injured by a tool, the door, or just things coming apart. The proper tools are required for installing and winding garage door torsion springs. If the spring is suddenly released, while being wound. the winding bars could potentially be thrown with considerable force, or if a body part is in the way, could smash it hard enough to break bones.

Second consideration is knowledge. A trained technician can determine which spring(s) to install, out of a wide variety of possibilities, to provide the best balance for the door, AND the longest possible life. The choice is based on spring size and the number of turns the spring must be wound to get the correct IPPT or "inch-pounds per turn"rating for your door. In order to determine that, the technician needs to know the weight of the door, the height and width of the door, the radius of the bend in the track, the drum size and other considerations. Information needed is also the inside diameter of the old spring, the total relaxed (unwound) length of the spring and the wire size within 1/16". Also, you will need to accurately measure both springs on a double wide door, since they often are slightly different in order to get the best IPPT. They are made in left and right twist, because on double-wide doors they sit on either side of the center point, and therefore turn in opposite directions.

Remember, a well balanced garage door will lift easily by hand, and when released at about 4 feet above the floor will stay at that position. The garage door should not drop or lift by itself in any position. Usually, the door will slowly go down by itself after being pulled down (manually) but should not drop with enough force to crush your foot or potentially damage to door or floor. The garage door, when lifted manually, should move up with the same force as going down so it won't slam into the door stop or the gdo itself. Qualified technicians know how to choose and install the proper springs, with the proper tension for the longest spring life and safest operation. Keep in mind that if you feel lucky and want to repair,install or adjust them yourselves without sufficient training, you are accepting the full risk on yourself.

If you live along or near the Wasatch Front area of Utah, my friends at Professional Garage Door Service  -- utahgaragedoors.com --can quickly get your garage door springs replaced with high quality, long-lasting oil-tempered springs. They can be reached at 801-804-5835. They are very competitively priced, and guarantee their work.