My garage door spring snapped last Tuesday at 6am

I was heading out to work and hit the opener button when I heard this loud bang like a gunshot. The whole door came crashing down and now it's stuck half open. I called a local repair guy and he quoted me $380 to replace both springs and the cables. He said I was lucky it didn't hit my car or injure me. Has anyone else had a spring fail like that out of nowhere, and did you attempt a DIY fix or just pay for the pro?

2 comments

2 Comments

finley_wells664d ago

Yeah, I read something about this a while back actually. There was this article from a garage door safety group saying torsion springs have a limited cycle life, like 10,000 to 15,000 opens and closes. If you open your door maybe 4-5 times a day, that's about 5-7 years before they just snap. So yours failing at 6am on a Tuesday sounds pretty normal honestly. I've heard stories from a few people who tried the DIY route and ended up in the ER because those springs store a ton of energy even when the door is down. The professional quote seems high but in my experience that's about the going rate for most areas, plus they probably included a warranty or at least the labor for a safe install. Better to pay the $380 and know it's done right than risk a busted tool or a trip to the hospital over a do-it-yourself job.

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the_alice20h ago

That 5-7 year timeline lines up with so many household things honestly, like how water heaters and washing machines seem to time their breakdowns for the worst possible moment. It's like everything in a house has an invisible expiration date that we never think about until it's 6am and we're stuck.