Our home’s garage door uses two torsion springs. Torsion springs are wound tight on a long rod and provide the force required to effortlessly move the garage door up and down. Since they’re wound tight and under tremendous pressure they can be dangerous if they break loose.

Back to our torsion springs… One was broken and our new garage door opener was having trouble lifting the door. A local garage door business offered to replace the spring for $350 and after some Googling my father and I discovered this is a one or two hour job in the realm of $100-150 for labor. We also discovered a very detailed installation guide by Richard Kinch called “How I Replaced Deadly Garage Door Torsion Springs – And lived to tell the tale.”

At first I wasn’t sure about the sarcasim (or humor if you like) of his web page but further Googling revealed the answer. Everyone with an opinion (and access to the Internet) repeated what they’ve been told by others: DIY replacement of torsion springs is extremely dangerous and many people have been mained or killed through improper installation.

Duh. People are also killed by improperly changing a tire, smoking cigarettes, and having sex with an infected partner.

Yes, torsion springs are dangerous due to the forces involved but if you have a brain (step #1), read some instructions (step #2), get a friend to help (step #3), get the right tools (step #4), and take your time (step #5) the installation is a breeze.

Two torsion springs and installation bars from a local dealer: $70. Time for us to install: 60 minutes including take down of existing bar, springs, and fitting new springs.

Don’t believe the foreboding hype of decapitation as long as you understand the job and take your time doing it.

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