Are my garage door's springs correctly adjusted?
I went to install my garage door opener and it says that the door should hold its own weight when let go half way up. It comes down with weight when I do this, and weighs quite a bit.
The home builder said its fine. But is it?
No. When fully opened, the door should stay open, or possibly close slightly (not more than a few inches).
At halfway, the door should either be neutral (stay still) or close slowly. You should easily be able to hold the weight of the door with one hand.
When fully closed, the door should stay closed.
Sounds like your builder is:
- trying to not do work he should do
(or)
- ignorant and doesn't know what he's talking about
Think of it this way – in the event of a power failure, you will need to disengage the drive on your opener. You should be able to easily (EASILY) open and close the door. If you can't, the counter-ballance springs are not doing their job.
I'm not a saleperson or installer – just an person with experience performing home repair and replaced my own door & spring system. One of my neighbors has done this on a regular basis — sounds like you need additional springs or a spring with a higher spring rate.
No. When fully opened, the door should stay open, or possibly close slightly (not more than a few inches).
At halfway, the door should either be neutral (stay still) or close slowly. You should easily be able to hold the weight of the door with one hand.
When fully closed, the door should stay closed.
Sounds like your builder is:
- trying to not do work he should do
(or)
- ignorant and doesn't know what he's talking about
Think of it this way – in the event of a power failure, you will need to disengage the drive on your opener. You should be able to easily (EASILY) open and close the door. If you can't, the counter-ballance springs are not doing their job.
I'm not a saleperson or installer – just an person with experience performing home repair and replaced my own door & spring system. One of my neighbors has done this on a regular basis — sounds like you need additional springs or a spring with a higher spring rate.
References :
http://www.statelinedoors.com/safety.asp
the springs should be adjusted so you can easily open and close the door by hand. Make sure the tracks are straght and the rollers and hinges are lubricated. If your trying to install a GDO on and old missadjusted poorly maintained door. you'll never get it working right. Be caureful, you can get hurt quickly if your not cautious working on spring adjustments.
References :
witch way do i turn the springs to adjust the doors
References :
No. The general rule when installing a spring for the number of wraps is the height of the door plus a half. So if your door is 7' tall you put 7.5 wraps or 30 quarter turns. The spring should be painted. count the number of lines and for each time it completes a revolution that is one wrap.
If you wish to add tension email me. I am not comfortable posting that info where any one can find it as it can be dangerous. However your task is fairly simple and carries less risk than installing a new spring.
References :
employee at a garage door company