Safety First! Please review all instructions before getting started. Once that you have determined that you are needing a replacement garage door spring please follow the steps outlined below in order to determine the proper spring(s) are being ordered. It is very important to order exactly what is measured or recommended.
Step 1
The first thing we are going to do is determine if we need a single spring or a pair of springs for our garage door. Most residential double car garage doors will take a pair of springs while a single car garage door will only take a single spring. If your garage door only has a single spring and you'd like to upgrade to a pair we would be more than happy to help you make the conversion. You can simply follow the next steps and then Contact Us.
Step 2
Next we are going to make sure that we are measuring the correct spring. We want to be sure that we are measuring a broken garage door spring or a spring that is fully unwound. Springs expand a few inches when under tension so if we measure them it will give us an improper measurement when ordering a correct replacement. Most of the time you will have a matching pair of springs on the door so if the broken spring is a few inches shorter than the one under tension, this is a good test to ensure that you have a matching set. If you believe you have a mis-matched set for any reason Contact Us.
Step 3
Now that we know what we are looking for we can start taking measurements. We can start with the Wire Size of the spring. This will be the thickness of the individual coils. To make this quick and painless we made a helpful Chart that you can compare your measurements to that will tell you your correct Wire Size. Go ahead and start by measuring 10 coils of the spring and then 20 coils, making note of how long these segments are in total to the nearest 1/16".
Step 4
Now that we have our first measurement we can move on to the Inside Diameter (ID) of your spring. Most residential garage doors will have an ID of 1 3/4" or 2". If you happen to have one larger than this no worries, you can contact us for ordering. Most of the time the cones on the end of the springs will be labeled with a few digits that may help you determine what you have. P200 will signify a 2" ID and P175 a 1 3/4" ID. When you take your measurement here just be sure that you are measuring the actual Inside of the spring coils.
Step 5
The last actual measurement we'll take is the overall length of the spring(s). To do this make sure that the spring is in one piece by loosening the set screws of the spring (again making sure it is broken or unwound, NEVER UNDER TENSION) and sliding the broken pieces together. Measure the overall length of the coils not including the end cones on the spring. If you are unable to get the pieces to slide together to can simply add the individual lengths together for your total length. Now when making note of the length, if you happen to get a measurement that falls between two whole lengths you can round to the nearest whole inch. For example, 24 1/4" can be ordered as 24" and 24 1 /2" can be rounded up to 25".
Step 6
This step will mainly be for if you have a single torsion spring. We need to determine if your spring is a Right, or Left hand wound spring. This can be done by looking at the spring and noticing the direction the coils are being wound. We added a few diagrams below to help make this process a breeze.
Questions? Thats the easy part. Contact us.
WARNING: Torsion springs, extension springs, and other garage door hardware can cause serious injury or death if not handled and installed properly. Professional installation is recommended. Do NOT attempt to install springs or hardware yourself unless you have the proper tools, reasonable mechanical aptitude, experience, and upper arm strength. Read and understand all instructions before any work is done. Extension and torsion springs, along with attached hardware, are under extreme tension at all times. All tension must be released from springs before any work is performed.