Spring replacment
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.
There is an option to match springs that will last longer.
The idea behind the spring is to help lift the door.
Balance- Doors can be very heavy, and each door has a matching spring just strong enough, to make it easy (Relatively) So when the door is closed the spring 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. In some specific cases, doors can be heavy also with the right springs, a garage opener can be a help.
In WA there are 3 types of spring systems,
the less common one is the one that unique to Wayne Dalton a door manufacturer brand, in which the spring is hidden inside the bar.
A Wayne Dalton torque spring is hidden inside the bar
The most common spring Is the torsion spring. There are 3 factors for every torsion spring, The Radius of the spring, The wire size, and the length of the spring.
The torsion spring system usually lasts between 10 to 30 thousand cycles.
Replacing these types of springs takes more experience to be replaced. The cost for replacement can go anywhere from $250 to $800 and sometimes more depending on the company you choose, the extra parts that in some cases need to be replaced, amount of springs, the system itself, the warranty that some companies provide with springs replacement, and the door itself.
A regular classic new door is about $300 for spring replacement and a full-view glass door insulated door can be double or triple the price since it is a very heavy door and way more labor.
A broken torsion spring
But typically a pair of 2 torsion springs or extension springs without any extra parts should be not more than a few hundred for parts and labor, full view doors and old wooden heavy doors can be more expensive since require more labor.
At garage plus NW we charge $299 for a single classic door for spring replacement.
The Labor!
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”
Extension springs are less complicated to replace. Here is a guide on “How to replace an extension garage spring by yourself”.
One of two extension springs.
Warning on a spring. Be careful!
Example for a shaft needed a replacement since the spring screws were over tighten
When the spring is installed correctly, the door should be balanced, easy to lift manually, staying in a fully closed position, staying at a fully open position, ideally staying halfway open/closed, or stopping at any position during the opening or closing manually.
At Garage Plus NW we have almost all spring types in our van, to ensure same-day service,
We also sell springs at our location at 401 N 87th St Seattle WA 98103 Apt #2.