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So, apparently everyone else in the entire world gets the "don't touch garage door springs" talk from a parent or other responsible adult as a child. I didn't (

So, apparently everyone else in the entire world gets the "don't touch garage door springs" talk from a parent or other responsible adult as a child. I didn't (and my brother did!!!). About six months after moving into my house I was fed up with the janky garage door opener that came with it so I went to Home Depot and bought a new one. I managed to assemble the new one myself with only a few hiccups. It then came time to remove the old garage door opener. I first took down the actual motor unit that was attached to the ceiling and got it set on the ground with the rail still attached. The end of the rail was attached to a metal bracket that formed a right angle with lots of holes for bolts to go through[0] which was then attached to the drywall above the garage door. I got up on a ladder and set to removing the bolts. The last bolt, unbeknownst to me, was attached to a piece of metal through which the garage door spring went [1]. What happened next all tool place within maybe 1/4 a second. As soon as I turned the socket wrench enough to loosen the bolt I heard a loud pop and felt something hit my hand. HARD. I looked down at my hand and saw blood. "No big deal, I cut myself on things all the time. We've got lots of bandages." Then I noticed the subcutaneous tissue (your hand doesn't have much, but there's still enough that deep cuts look different). "Okay this is gonna need stitches, I better get down and take care of this." And then I saw the bone. "ohfuckohfuckohfuck." I hopped down off the ladder and ran inside and started screaming "CALL 911!!!" to my girlfriend who was upstairs. I made it to the kitchen where I got a dish towel, put my hand on the counter, and clamped down as hard as I could. The paramedics arrived about 5 minutes later (we live very close to a fire station). By then I'd calmed down but was so full of adrenaline I could barely hear or see anything. At one point I blanked out for maybe 30 seconds? I'm not entirely sure. The EMT said it was an adrenaline dump and that it was fairly normal. Of course when I got to the ER every single nurse who heard the story said I was lucky to be alive. If it had hit my head it would have caved in my skull (and I was on a ladder...). Apparently that happens more than you'd think. They eventually hooked me up with a drip of hydromorphone. "This is the good stuff." one nurse said. Bullshit. I was in so much pain it barely did anything. It brought it from 10/10 to 9.5/10. That's using my new 10 point scale. I thought I'd experienced a 10 before when one time my dentist started drilling before the lidocaine had fully kicked in. I'd put that at about a 6 now. I really cannot describe in words how bad the pain that night and the following months was. My hand is a lot better now though. The third surgery gave me back my mobility and the physical therapy got me back up to about 60% of the strength I had before. I'll never be able to point straight with my right index finger, but I can make a fist and type. As a programmer both are very important. [0]: Exactly like this https://mobileimages.lowes.com/product/converted/040395/040395515567.jpg https://mobileimages.lowes.com/product/converted/040395/0403... [1]: Basically this, except mine is shaped slightly different http://www.truetex.com/gar913.jpg http://www.truetex.com/gar913.jpg

jacquesm 10y ago
Oh this is bad. I'm so sorry for you. I installed two of those doors (big ones, 16'x16') a while ago and while doing that I kept telling myself 'keep clear, keep clear'. The trick to this is that there is a hole in one of the retainers that you put a strong steel bar through, this will allow you to release the spring tension turn-by-turn until there is so little tension on them that you can let them go. Very very scary stuff, large springs. Even small ones are not without danger (think old alarm clock springs, those can take an eye out when they let go). Best of luck with your recovery, I really hope you get back to 100% functionality. And thank you for sharing the story, it just might help save someone else from doing something like this. edit: more risky springs are found in the suspension of vehicles, don't mess with them without the right tools and knowing what you are doing.
- HappyTypist 10y ago
  Thanks for sharing your story. I never got this talk either. Next time I'm dealing with garage door repairs, I think I will call for a tradesman.
- abakker 10y ago
  Garage door springs are a prime candidate for air spring conversions. Yes, they'll require more services, and yes, more expensive, but a lot easier to wrangle. Alternatively, you could package a counterweight that would do the same thing. I recently helped a neighbor with his broken spring mechanism (old 60s house in San Francisco). The whole thing was made out grossly inadequate metal which had sheared. What started out as a simple welding project turned into substantial reengineering just to get the door to work to get his car out. Final lesson: steel fatigues and cracks from work hardening and bad tolerance installation. If you have an old door mechanism, don't trust it. Replace it. They're moderately expensive, but the modern ones are not nearly as hanky as the older ones. Don't DIY a garage door unless you have good levels of hands on fabrication experience and a good practical knowledge of what type of fasteners to use to anchor the door hardware to the building substrate. (I.e. Deck screws won't work.)
kaybe 10y ago
Don't touch garage door springs, got it. Never heard that before. I hope you will improve further.

jacquesm 10y ago

Oh this is bad. I'm so sorry for you. I installed two of those doors (big ones, 16'x16') a while ago and while doing that I kept telling myself 'keep clear, keep clear'. The trick to this is that there is a hole in one of the retainers that you put a strong steel bar through, this will allow you to release the spring tension turn-by-turn until there is so little tension on them that you can let them go. Very very scary stuff, large springs. Even small ones are not without danger (think old alarm clock springs, those can take an eye out when they let go). Best of luck with your recovery, I really hope you get back to 100% functionality. And thank you for sharing the story, it just might help save someone else from doing something like this. edit: more risky springs are found in the suspension of vehicles, don't mess with them without the right tools and knowing what you are doing.

HappyTypist 10y ago
Thanks for sharing your story. I never got this talk either. Next time I'm dealing with garage door repairs, I think I will call for a tradesman.
abakker 10y ago
Garage door springs are a prime candidate for air spring conversions. Yes, they'll require more services, and yes, more expensive, but a lot easier to wrangle. Alternatively, you could package a counterweight that would do the same thing. I recently helped a neighbor with his broken spring mechanism (old 60s house in San Francisco). The whole thing was made out grossly inadequate metal which had sheared. What started out as a simple welding project turned into substantial reengineering just to get the door to work to get his car out. Final lesson: steel fatigues and cracks from work hardening and bad tolerance installation. If you have an old door mechanism, don't trust it. Replace it. They're moderately expensive, but the modern ones are not nearly as hanky as the older ones. Don't DIY a garage door unless you have good levels of hands on fabrication experience and a good practical knowledge of what type of fasteners to use to anchor the door hardware to the building substrate. (I.e. Deck screws won't work.)

kaybe 10y ago

Don't touch garage door springs, got it. Never heard that before. I hope you will improve further.