The Dangers of Replacing a Garage Door Spring

admin • Jun 08, 2016

With all of the informative information on the internet, it is easy to learn how to do many home maintenance and remodeling projects yourself. However, not every repair in your home should be tackled by someone with no experience with the task. One of the most important maintenance tasks in your home that you should never try to DIY is replacing a garage door spring. Because of the huge tension the springs hold, it is extremely dangerous to attempt a garage door spring replacement yourself.

replacing a garage door spring

How Does a Garage Door Torsion Spring Work?

A garage door torsion spring uses basics physics to function. Mechanical energy is stored as the springs are twisted and tightened. They are mounted above the opening of your garage door so as the garage door goes down, the cables will make the spring wind up to move the garage door system. The same sort of action occurs when you open your garage door – the springs will unwind to allow the cables to lift the heavy door open. This winding and unwinding causes the springs to weaken over time. People will either see signs of wear on their springs and try to perform a replacement themselves, or the spring will snap while in use, causing tremendous damage.

Why Is Replacing a Garage Door Spring Dangerous?

A big reason why there are numerous injuries from replacing a garage door spring is because of how old garage doors were constructed. New garage doors have safety cables so if a spring were to break, the spring stays in place. Old door do not have the spring safety mechanism, causing the spring to snap under tension. The result of this is a spring that goes through walls into a next room to injure someone, scratches the top of cars, or hits and injures you as you are trying to replace it.

The Dangers of Replacing a Garage Door Spring From a Customer

One of our customers tried to replace the garage door spring themselves. As he was trying to remove the spring that was still under tension, the spring broke in his hand. The spring broke his thumb, causing permanent nerve damage preventing him from using his hand again. Another customer had the spring break off, ricocheting and hitting him in the face. The power behind the spring causes a massively deep cut on his forehead and bruised his eyes badly. We hear these stories all the time after people get hurt and call us to finish the spring replacement.

Garage door springs can last anywhere between five to seven years with average garage door use, so they do not need to be replaced often. But when it is time to replace springs, it is important to call a professional technician who has the tools and the skills to accomplish the task without causing damage to property or people.

Don’t let your springs fail you! Call Door Systems, Inc. and schedule any type of appointment in June, from installation to service, and receive a FREE 10 point safety inspection!

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