Garage door repair. Did I get hosed?

[Yendor357]

I have 3 single garage doors at my house. The house was built in ‘93.

I don’t know what a spring costs. But there is a garage door place about 3 miles down the road. I just take the old broken spring to them. They sell a new spring to me. I can’t remember what a spring costs.

It took me longer to watch the YouTube “How to” video than what it did for me to replace the spring. It’s not hard. There is a certain procedure to it. My cables are still in great shape. I guess I saved a bunch of money doing it myself.

I’ve mentioned a few times that I worked for UPS for 43 years, a lot of those years I was pulling trailers. UPS had very few swing door trailers. The vast majority were roll up type; basically a garage door. It is absolutely AMAZING how easily a well lubricated garage door works, when properly set up. Grease and oil are your friend.

 

[LVSteve]

I would say YES!

Changing springs isn't a complicated job, you just have to be careful when tensioning the springs as they can be dangerous if they get away from you. It has been about 25 years since I had to replace a spring set, but my recollection is that at that time the replacement springs were about $30 for the pair from Home Depot! $30 is a damned far cry from over $600 that you say you paid! Even if they are twice as much now!

I have done about six sets in my life, no injuries because I understand how to do it safely!

You are fortunate to have the skill and bravery to tackle such a job. I'm unsure what tension is required for my garage door, but Home Depot has springs that look similar to mine for $100-$150. It's pretty irrelevant as there was no way I was attempting this job. I'm happy to pay for the contractor's skill, business license, and insurance.