A garage door spring is a very heavy duty spring that is designed to lift your garage door. Keep in mind that a garage door weighs between three hundred and three hundred and fifty pounds. Garage door springs have a life expectancy of five to ten years. Since they have to be replaced so frequently, you may be tempted to save a few dollars and install replacement springs yourself. Before you do, you should know about the dangers of garage door spring installation.
As mentioned earlier, a garage door spring is designed to lift a door which weighs approximately three hundred twenty five pounds. If one of these springs breaks it can cause significant harm to anyone in the area as well as to vehicles and other property stored in the garage.
When removing a worn garage door spring, the dangers are just as great as a spring breaking. The spring will become loose at some point in the process and if it slips from the tool you are using to remove it, can become a lethal projectile.
Likewise when installing the new spring, one slip will allow that new spring to also become a lethal projectile.
When replacing the garage door spring, the door must be retracted. If it is not retracted you are working against the force to lift the door and the normal tension that holds the door in place. When the spring is removed from its bracket, unless the door is supported in some other manner, the entire garage door is likely to roll down its track without the support of the spring. The significant weight of the door itself is enough to crush a human or cause major damage to your property. If there is glass in the garage door, the glass may shatter and be sent as flying projectiles throughout both the inside and outside of the garage.
As you can see, garage door spring installation is no job for an amateur. This is one job that is best left to a Indianapolis garage door company. A trained expert will not only have the proper tools and knowledge of these springs, as this is his job on a daily basis. They will be trained in the proper ways of installing garage door springs avoiding any harm to people or property.
If you are tempted to try this job on your own, you should at least call first for some bids to replace the spring. You may find that the cost of spring replacement is surprisingly inexpensive. Remember that even if you decide to replace the spring yourself, you will have to buy the spring or springs. You may also need to buy some special tools for installation that you will only use every five to ten years. These will add to your expense of the replacement costs.
Because of the garage door installation dangers, you should be sure that the contractor you select to replace your garage door is insured. If he is properly insured and any damage does occur, either to your property or the contractor or his property, you will not be responsible for replacement or health care costs.