Garage Door Removal

[Mrwurm]

Rob, I have done this job myself on two or three occasions. I don't know if my steel rods are 18 inch or 24 inch. Keep in mind that a standard 7ft tall garage door requires less tension than an 8 or 10ft high door. I would be very cautious in any case. Stay to the side of the steel rods when working. Never let the theoretical plane of rotation intersect with your body. It's kind of like working with a chain saw. If you keep the saw to the outside of your hip, then any kickback is most likey to miss your head. Same holds true for torsion springs. Stand to the side and any mishaps with the steel bars are likely to hit your shoulder (ouch) but not your head. I equate working with torsion springs to the same danger level as working in a circuit breaker box. Both can be accomplished with due care and knowledge. If you are not 100% sure that you can do this task, then don't.

 

[RobS]

Thought I'd post a follow up for those who may be remotely interested...

I ordered the new garage door and it came in yesterday. Had today off and the wife took both kids to pick up her nephew at college. Bonus for me /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

I spent a good bit of the day working on the garage door. It went exactly as I had planned. I raised the old one all the way up and clamped it in place. There was so little tension in the springs I could slacken the cable by hand to disconnect each end. Then used the FEL to lower the door. From there it was pretty much disassemble the old and reverse the steps to install the new. I never felt any sense of danger from the old unit's springs and the new one has springs that are adjusted with a hand drill. Pretty nifty. Now I need a nice, warm, dry day to paint the trim and it's ready to sell /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif