Springs
Heard a noise? The door won't open?
A broken spring is one of the most popular issues when it comes to repairs.
The spring has a life expectancy and at some point, it will break.
The idea behind the springs is to help lifting the door.
Without the springs the door will be heavy to lift,
The springs are there to help you lift and balance the door
Door Balance-
Doors can be very heavy, each door has a matching spring just strong enough, to make it easy (Relatively) to lift.
So when the door is closed the spring will fully bound and will pull it up just enough that any average person will be able to lift the door with no problem,
regardless of the weight of the door.
It also prevents the door from falling and closing by itself.
When the door is completely open there is zero tension on the spring, and as down it goes as more tension
on the spring.
Perfect balance is when the door will stay put on any step of the way.
Good balance is when the door stays up, it can stay still in the middle, and of course will stay closed when it closed.
In some specific cases with special doors, doors can be heavy also with the right springs, this doors are installed together with a strong
.
In WA there are 3 type of springs system, and a "one piece" door that is pretty rear and stopped manufacturing a long while ago
We will focus on the first 3
Most common is the Torsion system
there are 3 measurements for the torsion spring. The thickness of the wire,
the length of the spring, and the diameter of the spring.
So a 225X2X24 wire thickness will be 225, Num 2 represents 2 inch diameter and the lentgh of the spring is 24 inches.
The torsion spring system usually lasts between 10 and 30 thousand cycles.
Open and close is 1 cycle. So open and close it 3 times a day (3 cycles) equal about 1000 times a year means about 10K cycles in 10 years.
Replacing torsion springs does take experience to be replaced. (Learn how coming soon)
The cost for replacement can go anywhere from $400 to $800 (Well you can always find cheaper)
and sometimes more depending on the company you choose.
Things that can effect pricing
Sometimes some extra parts need to be replaced
amount of springs- 1,2 sometimes 3 or 4
The system itself- Can be old and rusty and harder to deal with,
warranty, Type and weight of the door working environment and more.
As well most of the time the springs will be in the common size range but in some cases a custom-made spring is needed.
A regular single traditional door is about $400-$500 for spring replacement
Thinking of doing it yourself?
Well in my opinion it is a very hard mission to get killed while replacing a residential Garage door spring,
I do remember googling it and apparently, the death warning note on the springs is valid.
I can understand why the torsion spring adopted the name "The wrist breaker"
The spring carries a lot of tension and if this tension loses up all at once and hits a body part,
it can cause some series damage. If you still want to do it yourself, please do it with a lot of caution.
Here is a guide "How to replace a torsion spring by yourself"
Number 2 is the extension springs.
They are common in WA state.
They aren't design for heavy doors and sometimes they can be usefully
when there is a low headroom (height between the top edge of the door and the ceiling).
They are easier to replace and can be found at Home Depot and lows on the shelves.
and the last one is unique to Wannye Dalton doors
It is hidden inside the bar, and when break usually
converted to a torsion springs system.
More springs topics
1. Only 1 spring broke should I replace them both?
Well, you can change only 1, if you want to see us more often. It can last few more years
Yet, I always recommend to replace them both while we work and we are already out there. And who know how long the second spring will last
2. I have 2 springs, can I convert it to one heavy duty spring?
Yes, we can match the force of both springs with 1, In my personal onion it is better to have 2.
I'll explain, In case one break the other one is there for back up, it still provides half the force,
so if one breaks and the door falls down it will fall more gently, and maybe will even still be operative until you will replace springs.
3. What will happen if I'll install the wrong size?
Well if the spring will be to strong
for the door, the door won't be balance and won't stay down (closed), and if it will be too weak the door won't stay up (open).