djay wrote:
All,

I've never replaced a garage door torsion spring and one of my two is
broken.
26" 1.75 ID .2187 Diameter RH spring is broke.
I probably should replace both at the same time, correct?
Reading through a couple of "how to" websites the replacement doesn't seem
all that difficult - just dangerous in a couple of instances and time
consuming.
For those of you who have accomplished this yourself or have had a pro do
it,
what would you recommend? I'm pretty handy (worked framing, plumbing,
electrical
[no garage door experience] finish carpentry etc for 7 summers) but I'm not
sure that
there are any additional tips/tricks (words of wisdom - I've seen the posts
before!) that
you could provide?

Thanks,

Djay


I had a spring break twice, so far, in 29 years.
You could still lift the door but it was a
grunt with only one spring assisting. Each time
I was gone, so my wife called the people that
installed the door. The worker changed both
springs the first time but only one spring the
last time.

I've never changed the springs but retensioned
them because my door is wood with Masonite panels
and changes a lot in weight from hot dry summer to
wet winter. Make sure that the bars you use to
wind/unwind the springs fit well because you don't
want a slip. I used two 1/2" round bars I already
had and they fit perfectly.

Get two (three if you have a double garage) saw
horses and a plank(s) so you can walk back and
forth. If necessary make the saw horses the
height that you can work comfortably. Saw horses
and planks (or better, torsion boxes of 3/8
plywood and 2x4's works good and you will use them
a lot in house maintenance.

As long as you have the time, work carefully tie
down anything that can move, you will have no
problems. You don't really have to replace both
springs. Contrary to what others said, I don't
think that one spring breaking indicates the other
is likely to also. Springs don't all receive the
same temper so some break and some don't with the
same use. Currently, on my door, one spring has
about 10 years of use and the other has about 15
years of use. Being retired, I would probably
change it myself, unless the charge to replace it
is really high.