Garage Door Springs
Jessica and I hopped out of the car last weekend, only to be greeted with a loud THWANG from above. One of the garage door springs snapped and sprung back. Luckily, it had a safety cable run through it or we could have had serious problems. As it was, it whacked the ceiling and scraped a bunch of the popcorn ceiling off, but that was the extent of the damage.
I replaced the springs last weekend and thought I’d write this up so I can remember how to do it on the other door.
Weigh your garage door. Raise door. Put a clamp up high on the track to hold the door in place. Remove both springs. Put a bathroom scale on the ground. Lower the door (with a friend) onto the scale.
Buy double-loop springs: The original builders grade springs were single-loop and that’s where the spring failed.
Check how the springs are attached: I had to get a link to connect the spring to the existing angled steel. Again, a single loop spring would be easier to install by just sliding it over the steel, but would wear on that spot.
Install a safety cable! Who knows what could have happened if Jessica had been hit by the spring? 300 pounds of tensioned spring flying around could make for a very bad day.
This is a single loop spring that connects directly to the angle steel bracket of the garage door opener
My replacement spring, with the double loops at the ends
The link I used to connect the spring to the angle steel bracket. This link rates at 880 pounds while the garage door weighs about 300.
The link, spring, and safety cable.
