We had roughly 3”+ of snow yesterday, so I got Big Red into action as I posted yesterday.
After a couple of hours, it all looked pretty good and relatively smooth, so I called it a day and prepared to put Big Red up for the night. I pulled up to the shop door where I keep the off road diesel, shut Big Red down, stepped off, walked over to the entry pad, put in the combination, hit the enter key, and that’s when it happened.
There was a explosion that sounded like someone with a 50 cal BMG was shooting up the shop. Wood chips flew a good 20’, and the door was jumping all directions at once. It stopped 3/4 of the way up.
I’m not sure if I was more concerned about a coronary, or needing a change of clothing, but it could have been both. The good news was the wood chips stopped flying, and the door quit convulsing. I gathered up my courage, and went in to get the diesel can, then fueled Red and put him in the shed.
After getting some eye protection and my hard hat, I agai worked up my courage and pressed the button a second time. Thankfully, the door… went all the way down to reveal a good sized hole in my sheet rock, and the center support for the door springs detached from the wall. Being of sound mind and not fond of garage door springs, I called the local door company.
I didn’t mention that the shrapnel was a combination of wall board and… press board. It turns out, the building contractor had failed to put a stud on the centerline above the door. Instead, they nailed a pretty piece of press board over the centerline as the attachment point for the spring support, and after 18 years it finally had enough, and proceeded to self destruct. That thing spun like a wood chipper.
The good news is we were able to move the support off center, and anchor it in a stud. All seems well… for now. There are three more lifting doors to worry about.
Edit: here’s the hole created by the spring support. Surprisingly small for all the debris and commotion.
After a couple of hours, it all looked pretty good and relatively smooth, so I called it a day and prepared to put Big Red up for the night. I pulled up to the shop door where I keep the off road diesel, shut Big Red down, stepped off, walked over to the entry pad, put in the combination, hit the enter key, and that’s when it happened.
There was a explosion that sounded like someone with a 50 cal BMG was shooting up the shop. Wood chips flew a good 20’, and the door was jumping all directions at once. It stopped 3/4 of the way up.
I’m not sure if I was more concerned about a coronary, or needing a change of clothing, but it could have been both. The good news was the wood chips stopped flying, and the door quit convulsing. I gathered up my courage, and went in to get the diesel can, then fueled Red and put him in the shed.
After getting some eye protection and my hard hat, I agai worked up my courage and pressed the button a second time. Thankfully, the door… went all the way down to reveal a good sized hole in my sheet rock, and the center support for the door springs detached from the wall. Being of sound mind and not fond of garage door springs, I called the local door company.
I didn’t mention that the shrapnel was a combination of wall board and… press board. It turns out, the building contractor had failed to put a stud on the centerline above the door. Instead, they nailed a pretty piece of press board over the centerline as the attachment point for the spring support, and after 18 years it finally had enough, and proceeded to self destruct. That thing spun like a wood chipper.
The good news is we were able to move the support off center, and anchor it in a stud. All seems well… for now. There are three more lifting doors to worry about.
Edit: here’s the hole created by the spring support. Surprisingly small for all the debris and commotion.
