More dumb questions on insulating rollup garage doors.

[David Hostetler]

Okay so now that the first door is insulated which has already had an appreciable difference in both temp, and noise, I have also noticed that the foam board adds a bit of weight to the door, and eliminates the ability to grab the lip of each door panel to lift / lower the door. So some quick questions are in order...

#1. You guys with insulated doors with no garage door openers, how do you raise / lower the door? What do you grab on to? I am thinking about putting some heavy duty pulls on the doors, but wanted to be sure I was doing the right thing...
#2. What do I need to do in order to compensate for the added weight of the insulation? Do I need to have the springs replaced or tensioned somehow?

[Bill LaPointe]

David,

You can buy lift handles at Lowes and probably HD. You can add a little additional tension to the springs, but not much. (Maybe 1/2 turn.) If you add any more than that you will greeatly reduce the life of the spring(maybe 50%). On the other hand, the cost to replace the springs is not inexpensive. Call a professional, if you choose to adjust the tension on the springs. I know a lot more people hurt by trying to adjust springs than have been hurt by woodworking machinery.

[Darryl Hazen]

Since your door now weighs more, check and make sure there are retaining cables inside your springs. If not have them installed. If a spring should suddenly fail the pieces become projectiles. Depending on when the springs were originally installed there may not be cables installed. I had a house built in the early 70's which didn't have the cables. One morning went to open the door and couldn't lift it. Checked inside and found one spring had failed. Spring pieces were scattered all over the garage. Somehow the pieces missed two cars. You do not want to be working in there if one fails.

[David Hostetler]

The house was built in 1984, and I am certain that the garage door hardware is original.

I have been considering having the springs redone professionally anyway as they have been letting the door drop back down unless perched "just right" prior to adding the extra weight.

What sort of contractor does this sort of work? This isn't something I want to try on my own...

[Steve Peterson]

The handle is built into the door. It would be easy enough to put a "D" shaped handle on the center metal beam about a foot up from the floor. This would allow an easy place to grip with no clearance issues.

Steve

[Darryl Hazen]

The safety cables are used if you have two springs on each side of the door. Those are extended when the door is down and help to lift the door. If your door has two springs above the door, they're contained by the rod that passes through them. Either way I would have a professional install/adjust the springs or cables. Springs that size are too dangerous to tackle without the proper tools or training.

[Jim O'Dell]

We had a spring break on our door last month. 18' wide wood door!! I couldn't even budge it much less lift it! Call a garage door installer. I did a search for local businesses and found about 15. Mom and pop stores are easier to deal with, but someone like The Overhead Door Co. could do it as well. Seems like it was about 375.00. I tightened both springs a little over 5 years ago. Wasn't that big of a deal to me, but I was nervous the whole time. This is the double spring above the door.
I have had one of the setups where the springs are on each side of the door release while I was working on it. Totally my fault. No security cables. Swiped right across the nose, scratching the glasses in the process. Scared the hooey out of me! Jim.

[David Hostetler]

I have experience with auto repair and have seen what McPhearson struts can do if the coil spring gets loose. I am NOT trained to do those big springs on a garage door. I am certainly going to call a pro to do them. I have a feeling I am going to need heavier springs with the added weight of the insulation...

[Jerome Stanek]

I use to install doors and you just need the springs adjusted. If you paint ba door you nshould have bthe csprings adjusted also even with an opener it will help the opener last longer. just be careful if you ytry this yourself.