I heard the strangest noise this morning.
 

wife and I were sitting and working on our respective computers. we both heard it. it was like a "beerrrp-crack" noise. WTF? did someone hit something outside? I walked around the home and found nothing out of order. even my dog heard it. I found nothing and moved on with my life.


we went out for some to-go lunch. (a GYRO)
we just pulled back into the garage and I saw paint chips on the ground. WTF? I looked and swept it up. paint was by the garage door. hmmm..maybe this is related to the mystery noise?

so weird. we pull in, close the garage door. I was about to pull a ladder out to peek at my roof when I saw it. a broken GARAGE DOOR SPRING!! A-HAH!!! mystery solved. what's funny is my wife has opened/closed that door at least 5x.

I called a local company and he said not to use the door and they will be here at 4:00PM. for the record my wife has zero powers of observations, unless it is some unsanctioned purchase on our credit card :). she wouldn't have notice paint chips EVER.

changing out a garage door spring is like NOT DIY level for me. I saw a technician send a spike while flying fixing my mom's door. it looks super dangerous. I will change both springs hopefully. happy Friday Folks. haha.. first time ever something broke on my house during normal business hours. YAY!

It's totally DIY level. The dangerous part is out of the way. The spring has no tension on it now that it's broken. I've installed a few doors. It isn't rocket science.

We were in the living room and we heard BAM! coming from the garage area. I went out there and inspected all three cars, and saw no problem. Then I noticed the spring on the garage door for the single door was broken. I just called a repair guy to replace it.

I worked in a photo lab that processed accident photos from an doctor. One set of photos was a mangled face and arm of a guy that was winding up the spring and the tool let go. I did not want to be that guy.

Same experience here. It is DIY.

I've never understood how the "tool let go". To wind you need two bars. Before you remove one bar, you make sure the other is capable of winding the spring. I get what you're saying though, you definitely don't want to be carless when winding. These new Ez set springs are a wonderful thing.

In case you have to rush to the hospital?

I've replaced several springs in my time.

A lot depends on the door weight. I've got two flimsy aluminium doors, and they don't need much prewinding at all ,especially with an overpowered door opener. A heavier wooden door might need a bunch of preload, which can get a little scary when winding. I replaced the door at my dad's place. The door was heavy as hell. Not only did you need to raise the heavy door, you needed to wind the heck out of the spring. It gets scary, especially without the right tool.

The last time I bought a spring, I was a little surprised they would even sell springs to laypeople such as myself. The garage door place custom cut me a spring, and heated and bent the catches on each end. Fun to watch. He just used an oxyacetylene cutting torch for everything. IIRC-he even said he shouldn't be making me one, and to keep it on the lowdown. I happily paid in cashish and went on my merry way. I'm sure the next time I need one, the spring will have novel some 5G technology and blue tooth, requiring a subscription for monthly spring updates to garmin or something to make sure NEST compatibility makes sure no victim intruder gets crushed ,and John Deere software will be able to override my door at any time until Adobe makes an end of life statement, at which point, I will park my car outside.

I don't do shock springs and wouldn't be tempted to do a garage door spring.

This is the way to go for big torsion springs:

https://www.surewinder.com/

This is the way to go for big torsion springs:

https://www.surewinder.com/

I bought a pair of those metal windy sticks. Now that I have them, the garage door springs are sure to never break on me. Like bringing along an umbrella on an overcast day. Or rain tires to the track. Cheap insurance.

Was that technician high?

Easy DIY, not any more dangerous than working under a car you jacked up yourself.

I bought a pair of springs with the winder bars for $60 on Amazon a few years ago when mine went. Still going strong. I also kept the winding bars ... I have used them a couple times for other purposes.

G

Yeah, this is one of those jobs where people who have never actually done it constantly say how dangerous it is.

I guess yes, for the average guy who has absolutely no mechanical aptitude or experience, it’s probably not a good idea. Just like jacking up a car and getting underneath to change the oil is probably not a good idea.

Super funny posting up and all the DIY plumage shows up.

I didn’t want to do it. There. I needed it ASAP and just figuring out the spring I needed was too much time. I had work to do. It was easy money spent. Dude showed up with a van full of various springs.

I was in a webex meeting. We all have our superpowers. Good for all you that did it yourself. Win!

DIY? ... poof! gone

Yup. Just yesterday I was rubbing my friend that has a housecleaning service, “cleaning a toilet is so easy to do…”

That you never hear.

erm...how about changing MacPherson springs with sloppy 2-hook compressors ready to unleash fury?
(I have never had the danger radar go off more than that)

Roll up door springs are simple:
-Notate number of springs and turns. Draw a line.
-Don't put your fingers near them.
-Expect tools to break loose and spin at any time.
-Always have several extra vise grips firmly attached just in case.
-Un-compress 1/4 turn at a time. Double wrenches. Go slow.

Door should hang naturally in the 1/8 to 1/14 open position to minimize strain on the the motor pull assembly.
Centered to the runners which indicates balance. Look at the roller pins both sides.

Man, that took a moment to realize it was a typo! :)

Cleaning toilets isn't as glamorous as risking a limb or two winding garage springs, that's why it may be less challenged? I see a good thread to start there, Vash! "DO YOU CLEAN YOUR OWN TOILET?". I'll let you go ahead, people will be confused if I start it.

G

We hire a lady to clean our house. She spends about three hours here cleaning the toilets, sinks, and showers. She mops the tile and wood floors, and vacuums the carpeting, and cleans the counter tops in the bathrooms, laundry room and kitchen.

We do it ourselves when she was on vacation to visit her relatives out of state. It is not an arduous chore, but my wife is retired, and I work from home. We can afford the service. I do however still mow and edge my yard myself. That would be about $45 per week in the summer growing season. It is not the money, I just really need the exercise. I am not going to pay a gym for the honor of using their exercise equipment, I can just mow my yard and get some exercise.

I still work on my old 1980s cars myself. There are no shops around where I could take my El Camino. No OBD2 port to plug in a computer to have the car diagnosis itself. I prefer to work on my 911 myself. It is a major part of the hobby of old cars.

just interesting that a bunch of stranger-internet-friends that really dont know me, are super quick to jump to opinion mode to say DIYing garage door springs is easy.

sure, i have never done it, but i could. i didnt WANT to. my reasonings? not really important, but they are my reasonings. it looks easier than compressing my truck springs to change struts.

maybe i am getting older, and set in my ways. i do my life my way, you do it yours. it is really why some of these forums are getting old. i can tell a buddy in my face to STFU and he could read my body languange and know i am joking. RUBBING him. damn typos.

this thread was really about the crazyist house noise i have ever heard. it was badass. and very difficult to pinpoint.