Garage Door Spring Re-Tensioning Help

Status
Not open for further replies.

Splint Eastwood

New User
Matt
Due to either Homebuilder/ Previous Owner poor construction design, the pad that holds both the tension spring and garage door arm came apart.

They used only three 3in nails to secure the wood pad to the garage. Needless to say, it didnt hold up. I've taken it apart and repaired using 4 in threaded bolts.

But, the Garage Spring was de-tensioned.


What tool(s), manpower, procedure is needed to re tension spring, How many Lbs. ?

Thanks

Garage Door 002.JPG
 

junquecol

Bruce
Senior User
CALL A DOOR COMPANY! Torsion springs are no joke to play with, as spring has to be tensioned with the door down.
 

KenOfCary

Ken
Staff member
Corporate Member
Exactly what I was going to say. This is NOT a DIY job. PLEASE - get professional help and avoid loss of life or limb.
 

Splint Eastwood

New User
Matt

Phil S

Phil Soper
Staff member
Corporate Member
Overhead Door Company on gresham lake rd, Ed Patton is my sales rep
 

Gotcha6

Dennis
Staff member
Corporate Member
I am a builder by trade and I have de-tensioned and tensioned these beasts by myself before. I would have to echo the above advice. It is a very dangerous procedure even with the proper tools and every time I've ever had to do this I find myself singing hymns........
 

Berta

Berta
Corporate Member
My husband has tried this and it ended up costing us more money. His advise is 'Do Not Try This'!!
 

Alan in Little Washington

Alan Schaffter
Corporate Member
Yup, scarey as heck. I did not do a full retension, I just adjusted the springs on my three doors after installing new Wayne Dalton i-Drive openers. The i-Drive is really sensitive to door-spring balance and all three springs needed a much better adjustment than the installer had done. I only had to take a few turns but I took extra special precautions during the process.

I suspect if a partially tensioned spring ever got a way from you, you could get hurt REALLY badly by whatever tension rod you used- break a hand, lose fingers, break your jaw, lose an eye or two, and if it hit your neck close to your carotid artery . . . .!!! I would never recommend anyone without the proper training or tools attempt it.
 

Gotcha6

Dennis
Staff member
Corporate Member
Yup, scarey as heck. I did not do a full retension, I just adjusted the springs on my three doors after installing new Wayne Dalton i-Drive openers. The i-Drive is really sensitive to door-spring balance and all three springs needed a much better adjustment than the installer had done. I only had to take a few turns but I took extra special precautions during the process.

I suspect if a partially tensioned spring ever got a way from you, you could get hurt REALLY badly by whatever tension rod you used- break a hand, lose fingers, break your jaw, lose an eye or two, and if it hit your neck close to your carotid artery . . . .!!! I would never recommend anyone without the proper training or tools attempt it.
Not to mention disability insurance........
 

nn4jw

New User
Jim
My daughter's garage door broke a spring and I watched the garage door guy install and tension new ones. That job immediately went on my short list of repairs I'll never attempt myself.
 

manfre

New User
Manfre
This can't be echoed enough, don't do this yourself.

You've already got a few recommendations of people to use, but if you want one more I can pass along contact info for the person who installed my 18' x 8' garage door a month or so ago.
 

Splint Eastwood

New User
Matt
Thanks all, for the overwhelming votes of : "Don't try this at Home!"

And, for names of Garage Folks.

Now for the last obvious question: @ how much for this type of job?

Thanks in advance!

Matt
 

junquecol

Bruce
Senior User
Thanks all, for the overwhelming votes of : "Don't try this at Home!"

And, for names of Garage Folks.

Now for the last obvious question: @ how much for this type of job?

Thanks in advance!

Matt
A quick call Monday morning can get you the answer right from the horses mouth.
 

DaveD

New User
Dave
The only challenge to the job is figuring out which way the spring tension is and act accordingly when you hang on to your adjustment bars. I have two 3/4" diameter bars, about 18" long with ground down ends to fit snugly in the spring coupling.

The spring isn't going to hurt you. It's captive on the bar. The bars you use to tension it with, if they slip out of the coupling or rotate in the opposite direction you expect can surprise you, and possibly hurt you.

As Clint Eastwood (a relative of yours?) said in one of his movies...a man has to know his limits.

There are various pieces of info on the Internet on how to do this. Probably even a YouTube video or two.

My guess is its a service call charge to have someone come out and do it. $75? It's a 5-10 minute job for someone that's comfortable doing it.

Some doors have two springs. 15 minute job then.
 

merrill77

Master Scrap Maker
Chris
I've tightened the springs on one of my doors once. I recall thinking that this is pretty easy when done carefully...and would be nearly trivial with the right tools. The spring is captive on the axle.
 

woodworker2000

Christopher
Corporate Member
I can recommend Roy Gershon at Triangle Garage Doors (919.457.9418 or 800.361.5616). He replaced the torsion springs on my garage doors a week ago and I found his prices to be very reasonable based on calls I made to other local companies. I know they also do the installation work for Lowe's for whatever that means to you. When I called, Roy, the owner/operator was the one who answered the phone and he came to my house the same day I called. He took the time to explain to me what he was doing and why and I didn't feel like he was trying to sell me anything other than what I needed (torsion springs). As he was re-installing one of the axles, he did slightly damage a bracket on the door so it made a noise when the garage door was operating (one of the end brackets with bearings in it). He pointed out the noise to me and didn't try to hide the fact that he had damaged the bracket. He didn't have the part on his truck but made an appointment for first thing the next morning to replace the part. He wouldn't accept payment until after he had replaced the part the next day and everything worked properly. For reference, the total cost to me replace 4 torsion springs was less than $400 w/tax.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Premier Sponsor

Our Sponsors

LATEST FOR SALE LISTINGS

Top