Garage Door Springs
Many garage doors use springs as the mechanism to raise and lower them. Garage door springs come in two types – torsion springs and extension springs.
Torsion springs are the ones that are wound up above the garage door opening itself. They are wound around a rod, and there are two – one on either side of the center line.
These are very, very, very tightly wound, and if one breaks, don’t touch the door. People have been maimed and killed trying to fix torsion springs, so do yourself a favor and call a professional.
If one spring breaks, have both replaced, because they often break within a few months of each other, due to similar age and wear and tear.
It’s important enough to repeat – do NOT try to repair, tighten, or loosen a torsion spring yourself! It is not a good do it yourself job. You may be injured or even killed!
The other kind of garage door springs are extension springs. These are the ones on the left and right side of the garage that run along the upper, left, and right door tracks.
While it’s still a tricky job to replace one of these springs, it is much more doable for a do it yourselfer. The risk of injury is not nearly as bad as with a torsion spring.
However, these springs still contain deadly force when stretched (when the door is closed), so pay careful attention to what you’re doing, work with a partner, and follow instructions carefully.
Do not allow anyone near the area where you’re working – curious children and friends can easily become injured.
It’s important when you’re replacing a broken extension spring to look carefully at the other springs on the door, to make sure you put the new one on in the proper manner.
When you buy a replacement spring, take the broken pieces with you to the store to make sure you’re buying precisely the same size and gauge as the original.
Search for manufacturer’s guidelines to replacing garage door springs, or if those can’t be found, look for instructions from someone who has done it several times before. If you have any qualms at all, hire a professional.
