Broken Garage Door Torsion Springs---Huge Facepunch Needed!

[CatamaranSailor]

So I am a pretty handy guy when it comes to construction. My wife and I rehabbed two houses and built another one from scratch. So why, dear Mustacians, did I allow myself to be snookered when it came to my broken garage door?

I’d always heard that torsion springs on garage doors are super dangerous...like playing with dangerous reptiles / cut your head off / running with sharp swords on slippery sidewalks dangerous.

So when I had one break yesterday, along with the supporting cable, I called in a garage door contractor rather than even doing the basic diagnostics.
$400 later…I have two new torsion springs, new cables and my garage door has been “tuned up” whatever that means.

Now, I’m not disparaging the contractor. He showed up, did the work, the door is happy and now opens and closes with the light touch of my fingertip.

Of course, now I realize after watching a few “How To’s” on YouTube, that torsions springs, while dangerous, can easily be done by the layman if they are careful. I also realize now that the contractor charged me $89.00 for each spring, when I can get them for half that at Home Depot.

I realize now that if I’d done an ounce worth of homework, I could have done the same repair job for $150 and a few hours of my time.

Basically, I require a large number of facepunches…

Pleases don’t hate me….

[AlwaysLearningToSave]

Facepunch given. I just replaced mine on my own a while back. For all the warnings i heard about how dangerous torsion springs are, you would think you need some kind of specialized training.  But all you need is a basic understanding of how springs work and how to run a wrench.

I paid a little moore than i probably needed to get the spring from an overhead door dealer, but i figured i was paying for the expertise of ensuring i got the right gauge and lenghth of spring.

The other ripoff is the pair of bars they try to sell as torsion spring tenstioners for $20.  Just buy a three foot piece of 1/2 inch steel rod and cut it in half with a hack saw. Same tool at a fraction of the cost.

[Financial.Velociraptor]

In TX Home Depot can't sell you torsion springs, only coils.  You have to be licensed to buy the things.  (Some state senator's son must have lost a hand or something.)  I replaced mine with coils.  The door eventually needed to be replaced and I got the whole smear plus two torsion springs for 649 installed.  I'm happy with that price.

Protip: treat your springs with WD-40 or some other oil once or twice a year to hold off corrosion.  They will last decades longer that way.

[BlueMR2]

I work in that industry, and yeah, it's not like it's a bomb up there that will blow you up if you get near it.  However, I've met several other people in the industry who have lost fingers from accidents involving the springs.  The company I work for also got sucked into a lawsuit where somebody died, impaled by the winding device they were using.  Rare, but be aware.

$400 seems excessive.  I don't change my own despite knowing how because there are so many pinch points and things that can go wrong.  It's a very large moving object, and the local dealers I have around here charge much more reasonable prices...

[MgoSam]

Rare, but be aware.

I like the wording. It reminds me of the phrase, "Trust but verify."

[jacksonvasey]

I'm so glad my garage door uses extension springs.  I just had mine replaced by a pro for $110 all-in, $17 for each spring and the rest was labor and 'tune-up'.  I probably could have done it myself, but after I replaced the door opener myself, I was pretty sick of dealing with it.  Money well spent.

[zolotiyeruki]

I've replaced garage door springs in both homes I've owned.  It's not a big deal, really--get yourself a 3' piece of bar stock from the hardware store, cut it in half, and with that and a crescent wrench, you can do the job yourself pretty easily.

Financial.Velociraptor, is there a reason you don't just order the spring online?  That's gotta be cheaper than paying someone to do it for you.

[Spork]

In TX Home Depot can't sell you torsion springs, only coils.  You have to be licensed to buy the things.  (Some state senator's son must have lost a hand or something.)  I replaced mine with coils.  The door eventually needed to be replaced and I got the whole smear plus two torsion springs for 649 installed.  I'm happy with that price.

Protip: treat your springs with WD-40 or some other oil once or twice a year to hold off corrosion.  They will last decades longer that way.

...but I've had friends order them off the internet here.

I've replaced them... and it was springs for a monster heavy wooden door.  As said: it's really not as scary as they make it.  It's just one of those "Go slow & be cautious" things.

The OP's price isn't awful.  I've had friends pay upwards of $800 for a pair.  When you're stuck with a car in the garage you can't get out... you're quick to pay anything sometimes.