Posted June 12th, 2007 at 11:14 pm by Dan Musick
I am not a lawyer, but I do share my opinion at times. This is a response to Karen’s question concerning legal advice on a guestbook entry dated June 12, 2007.
Karen,
I am sorry you have had the problems with your door. Whenever I replace springs, I try to avoid some of the difficulties you have had, but it is not always easy.
First, I normally recommend replacing both springs. If the customer is not home, however, and no one is there to authorize replacing both springs, I only replace one. Otherwise, the customer is under no obligation to pay for the other spring. The company did the right thing.
Second, I always check to make sure the spring anchor bracket is secure. Yesterday, however, I replaced springs on a door where the base of the bracket had been covered with drywall and painted. What should I have done? I bet that it will last. If it doesn’t last beyond the warranty period, I would not charge to repair it. Otherwise, I would charge to repair it. Who would pay for the drywall repair if I had ripped it off to check the anchor bracket? I would be more likely to end up in court if I had checked the bracket.
Third, when the company gave you the wrong springs, it would have been better to have returned both sets of springs to the company and let them give you the correct springs. I would have appreciated the same courtesy. A judge might still ask the first company to give you the correct springs.
Fourth, you wrote that the second company said the spring that broke looked used. Did they put that in writing? Would the serviceman who was there be willing to state that in court? A judge needs hard evidence. To be perfectly frank with you, I’m not sure I can recognize a used spring, especially if it has been up to over a year. I recently ran into a conflict with a customer because I recommended replacing only one spring because the other looked new. A few months later, the “new” spring broke. I did the right thing for the right reason, but I was wrong.
Fifth, it is common for doors to have different size torsion springs. Many manufacturers, installing door companies, and service companies do this for a variety of reasons. Whenever I do it, I wind the springs, so they have the same cycle life. Having different springs would not cause the spring bracket to come loose and bend the shaft.
I wish you well in your efforts to resolve this.
Thank you for your kind comments about our instructions.
Dan
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