The Aspect Of Garage Door Spring Replacement
Most of us who have automatic garage doors may never have to deal with the aspect of garage door spring replacement. Many of us surely take the operation of our automatic garage doors for granted, as we pull into our driveways, press the magic button on the remote that is hooked to the car visor, and watch the door rise as we pull into the warm comfort of the garage.
This procedure is especially gratifying if we have groceries and small children to get into the house because it is raining. Surely this magic door that we have relied upon so many times will continue to function forever, but there may come a day when we push the button and nothing happens. Then what?
So we call the garage door service and they come out to the house and inform you that the springs are broken, and you ask, “What are the springs?”
The garage door springs are located near the roof of the garage near the back behind the tracks that the door move upon. The springs are make of heavy coiled steel and they are under a high degree of torsion which allows the springs to help the garage door motor to move the door up and down. In other words the springs take a lot of the load off of the motor.
When the door is being lifted up, then the springs are tightening up, and when the door is being lowered, the springs unwind a little. However, there are occasions when the springs will actually break or lose their torsion and not be effective, and if that is the case they must be replaced.
It is possible for the homeowner to buy the parts and do the work in replacing the springs as a do-it-yourself project, but unless a person is very mechanical and has experience in that type of work, it is recommended that he have the process done professionally.
It can be very dangerous to replace these springs as they are under a high degree of tension and if they should “spring” they can be extremely injurious to anyone who is close by. There are many stories about qualified repair persons who have been injured in this process.
It would be safe to say that any lay person should defer to a garage door mechanic who is proficient and well trained to do this kind of work. Think about it for a minute. The old spring must be removed while it is under the pressure of the tension, and a new spring must be installed and put under that kind of extreme tension. One slip-up could have disastrous consequences.
Most generally, garage door spring replacement should be left to the professionals who are in the field as they have the training, the tools and the technical know-how to get the job properly done. Yes, it can be less expensive to finish this job yourself, but for 99 percent of us, it is not even worth the risk.
