Bad start / Friday Night

General Inspection Topics General Inspection Discussion
#1

I seem to be spending far to many friday nights at home lately,but at least this time it is not my fault.

One of my lady friends invited me over for a night of dinner,and sitting down to a Chicago Bulls Playoff Game(now that they are on the verge of finishing off last years world champion and worth watching).
after I hit the garage door opener There was a bang that shook me up for a second.Turns out an bracket that supports one of the door tracs broke.
Soon as I jumped out I pulled the plug on the opener and found a piece of 2x4 to prop it up,then pulled my van forward in case it collapsed.
Next I went thru the phone book and was suprised to find that these guys come out on emergency basis.Makes sense tho as who wants to leave a normaly locked area open to the public.
Any way to make a long story short,he gave me a few tips when checking garage doors.
When testing for retract never sit your 2x4 perpindicular to the door as the new metal doors can dent at the bottom fairly easy if there is to much pressure.
Check the bottom bracket where the cable attaches for signs of wear or rust.
When inspecting the door it is amazing how many begin to crack in the middle
as they are cheap gauge material not able to handle the stress.
If you check your neighbors around you it will be a suprise just how many have this problem

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At least the Bulls won,

#2

I never use a 2x4 or a roll of paper towels. I use my hands to gauge the tension on garage doors. I learned my lesson 4 years ago when a garage door folded due to my 2x4!!!

It cost me $85.00 to fix it. I know it failed under testing , but I did it anyway.

If I tested all garage openers with a 2x4 I would bend about 50% of them as they are not set correctly.

I use my arms and pretend that it is a child… If it seems to hard I wright it up.

Live and learn.:wink:

#3

Also check the springs. It’s not unusual to see two different springs. When a spring breaks, you should always replace both. Of course, it’s never done that way.

#4

Just replaced both my springs after just one broke. So SOMETIMES it’s done that way! :cool:

#5

Ditto. . .

#6

Ditto, Ditto,Ditto:) :slight_smile:

#7

We still have tension springs and he recomends going to compression type above the opening for safety.

#8

Torsion springs are much safer.

Marcel :slight_smile: :slight_smile:
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#9

That is the recommended way to check the door according to my friends at the Original Overhead Door Co.

Also check the angled control arm to be sure it’s loose. If the arm is installed tightly, it can cause damage to itself or the door. This also came from the OOD Co.

And also, from experience, I recommend that the door be all the way open before backing the wife’s van out of the garage.

#10

Ditto.

#11

I use a small child to test garage doors…JUST KIDDING!

#12

You people take your jobs too far. Enough about the garage door, how did the evening turn out with your friend? :wink:

Kevin

#13

Buy the time the guy was done I had put it off till tonite.
Went well as you can fill in the blanks.
Remember the lights went out if you see my saturday thread.

#14

Might want to inspect those tires on the van too…

#15

Hey watch it Bruce I just bought two $25.00 tires for that grey beast.
Paid $1,000 3 years ago and never had an engine problem yet .Thank you God.(Yes used.)You go to a good Mexican run shop in Chicago and you get the best deals.

#16

If the door has springs ,I always recommend torsion instead . But with springs there should always be a wire going through the center for a safety measure if that spring ever breaks. There is a lot of force on that spring ,and when it goes it can cause a tremendous amount of damage.a lot of springs line up with an entry door to the house.OUCH!

#17

Ditto that.

#18

Did the OOD guy tell you that?? :mrgreen:

#19

Uh…well…ah…uh…yeah,well…no, actually, I didn’t hear about it from the OOD guy…

but I did hear about it!!!

#20

I decided to use the bottle of water trick at my last inspection,but wouldn’t you know it.there was no door closer.No handle either (wrote that up).