Spring work on a residential door in this city lands at an estimated $185 to $320 for one torsion spring and an estimated $265 to $430 for a matched pair, with older extension spring sets at an estimated $155 to $260. Read those as guide figures for budgeting rather than quotes, because the final number depends on parts nobody can size accurately over the phone.
The four things that move the price
Spring size. Wire diameter, inside diameter and length are matched to the weight of the door. A 16 by 7 insulated double needs heavier wire than a light single-car door off Third Avenue, and heavier wire costs more.
One spring or two. Most doubles run a pair on one shaft. When one breaks the other has done identical hours, so both get changed and the pair price applies. A single spring on a wide door is a conversion, priced on its own.
Cycle rating. Builder-grade springs are wound for roughly 10,000 cycles. High-cycle springs cost more up front and last two to three times as long, which pays on a door that runs six times a day.
What else came apart. Springs seldom fail alone on a door that has been left to itself. Cables, bearings and rollers of the same age often get added once the shaft is exposed and tension is already off.
Included against quoted separately
- In the spring price: springs sized to the actual door, winding to correct tension, a hand balance test, lubrication of the shaft and bearings, and resetting the opener travel and force so it stops working to an old weight.
- Quoted on top: lift cables at an estimated $145 to $245 a pair, a drum or end bearing at an estimated $165 to $275, a roller set at an estimated $125 to $225, opener repair at an estimated $145 to $325.
Why the cheapest quote often costs more
A number well under the low end usually means one of three things. The spring going on is the lightest stock size that roughly fits instead of the correct one, so the door runs heavy and the opener carries the difference. Only the broken spring is being replaced on a two-spring door, which puts new steel beside a spring at the end of its life. Or the figure is really a call-out fee and the repair gets priced once the van is on the drive.
Ask for the wire size and cycle rating in writing, and ask whether the balance is checked by hand with the opener disconnected. Anyone doing the job properly answers both without pausing.
Two local notes
West of I-5, through Harborside and the Bayfront streets, salt air pits coils and takes cycles off a spring before its rated life is up. Coated or galvanized springs cost slightly more and are the sensible buy near the bay. East of I-805, the Eastlake and Rancho del Rey tracts went up with the same hardware in the same year, so springs on those streets reach end of life in clusters. If a neighbor has just had theirs done, price yours before it breaks. Planned work is the same repair at the standard rate.