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        Daily Chat >> General Posts >> %$#@ Garage Door
        
(Message started by: George_J on Feb 10th, 2008, 10:24am)
Title: %$#@ Garage Door
Post by George_J on Feb 10th, 2008, 10:24am
So, okay.  

Last night we were sitting in the living room, when a remarkable sound occurred in the garage--like a rifle shot.  Went to take a look, and the spring over the double-wide garage door had broken.  A good-sized chunk of broken spring had buried itself in the drywall on the opposite side of the garage.  Pretty impressive.  Fortunately, it didn't bust a window out of one of the cars, nor did it kill anybody.  

Now the door, which weighs in the neighborhood of 350 pounds, will have to be lifted manually before we can pull the cars out.  

I'm at the considering stage right now, and I figure I'll either have to get several large people to help (the hard way), or rig some sort of lever-and-fulcrum arrangement (sounds good, but probably a good way to get damaged), put two jacks underneath, and jack-and-brace, jack-and-brace, etc., etc., (better--but it sounds easier in theory than I suspect it will be in practice), or use a come-along, hooked to the spring assembly over the door, and then to the bottom of the door to crank it upward.

The come-along sounds like the best idea--I can crank it up, get the cars out, crank it down, and then deal with the garage door issue--which at this point, may as well include a new garage door and all the jewelry and rituals associated with installing a new garage door.  Only problem is, I don't have a come-along, and I don't have access to a car to go get one.  I've always meant to GET a come-along, but....you know how that goes.

Looks like I'll be knocking on some neighbors' doors before long--but I believe I'll have another cup of coffee first, and allow my self-pity to subside before that happens.  Too early to go bugging folks on a Sunday morning with my garage door issues.  

I'm sure that the whole thing will be more difficult in the doing, than in the saying.

As my old man used to say--nothing's easy.

Best,

George  
Title: Re: %$#@ Garage Door
Post by brewcrew on Feb 10th, 2008, 10:29am
If nothing's easy, do nothing. ;)
Title: Re: %$#@ Garage Door
Post by Sean_C on Feb 10th, 2008, 10:35am
Your garage door opener should still put it up George, you'll just need to assist it with your muscles in lieu of the spring. All the springs do is ass-ist. :)
Title: Re: %$#@ Garage Door
Post by George_J on Feb 10th, 2008, 10:38am

on 02/10/08 at 10:35:37, Sean_C wrote:
Your garage door opener should still put it up George, you'll just need to assist it with your muscles in lieu of the spring. All the springs do is ass-ist. :)


That would work if I had a garage-door opener.  I don't.  We've always just used the arm-strong method.  Yeah, I know--I'm a primitive.   :-X

Best,

George
Title: Re: %$#@ Garage Door
Post by barry_sword on Feb 10th, 2008, 10:40am
One good thing about living in a snowbelt area is all the neighbor's are up bright and early even on a Sunday! ;;D

Good to hear only the drywall got injured by that spring and nobody got hurt by it. I have installed a few garage doors back quite a few years ago and it is amazing the amount of preload you have to put on that spring.

Again,good to hear nobody got hurt! :) :)
Title: Re: %$#@ Garage Door
Post by Sean_C on Feb 10th, 2008, 10:42am

on 02/10/08 at 10:38:09, George_J wrote:
That would work if I had a garage-door opener.  I don't.  We've always just used the arm-strong method.  Yeah, I know--I'm a primitive.   :-X


Can you chop a hole bigenuff with your club to get one the cars through? ;;D

We need pics  ;;D
Title: Re: %$#@ Garage Door
Post by AussieBrian on Feb 10th, 2008, 10:56am
Get a naked midget to lean well forward with his fingers beneath to door.  Take a house-brick in each hand and smack them together smartly upon certain exposed parts of said midget. Door will rise automatically.

Safety Warning:  This can result in extreme pain if thumb caught between bricks!

(Proudly brought to you by Chewy's Bargain Midget Basement.)
Title: Re: %$#@ Garage Door
Post by Yorky on Feb 10th, 2008, 11:16am
::) leave the cars...it's sunday  ;)

(garage problem's....should be prioratised...for monday)

enjoy your sunday  :)
Title: Re: %$#@ Garage Door
Post by George_J on Feb 10th, 2008, 12:38pm
Well, if any of you ever face this situation, here's what you do:

First of all, don't try to use the come-along from the inside.  If a person thinks clearly, he will realize that the door will get in the way.  I make no comment on how this realization came about.

After an appropriate interval to allow for blue venting to occur, I installed a heavy eye-bolt into the frame above the garage door on the outside, hooked one end of the come-along to the eye-bolt and the other to the bottom handle on the outside of the garage door, and the thing came right up.

It's all real easy when you do it right.  This ever happens again, I even have the eye-bolt installed and ready to go.   ;)  

'Course, it never will.

Best,

George
Title: Re: %$#@ Garage Door
Post by Groov on Feb 10th, 2008, 1:01pm
Hey George...I once had one of those old style door springs let go right next to my head. I got lucky, if it had hit my head I would have likely been killed or injured severely.

I think they don't make those anymore for that reason. The new ones I've seen are a coil above the door. If it breaks, nothing gets blasted.

Dave
Title: Re: %$#@ Garage Door
Post by kayarr on Feb 10th, 2008, 1:25pm
I too had one of the suckers let loose right by my ear.   :o We got the door up and things were fine.  Not near as bad as thought!  (course I had my Big, Strong, Impervious, Tenacious, Relentless clusterhead HeMan to do the liftin';)

Kimberly
Title: Re: %$#@ Garage Door
Post by Racer1_NC on Feb 10th, 2008, 2:12pm
It's in the building code around here.......safety wire those suckers. After one went by my head one morning, I had them all wired by sundown.

Bill
Title: Re: %$#@ Garage Door
Post by monty on Feb 10th, 2008, 2:43pm

on 02/10/08 at 10:24:52, George_J wrote:
So, okay.  

I'm at the considering stage right now, and I figure I'll either have to get several large people to help (the hard way), or rig some sort of lever-and-fulcrum arrangement (sounds good, but probably a good way to get damaged), put two jacks underneath, and jack-and-brace, jack-and-brace, etc., etc., (better--but it sounds easier in theory than I suspect it will be in practice), or use a come-along, hooked to the spring assembly over the door, and then to the bottom of the door to crank it upward.


My vote is for the come-along or some kind of block and tackle.  Probably on the outside, as the top of the door will swing inward as it moves up.
Title: Re: %$#@ Garage Door
Post by Annette on Feb 10th, 2008, 3:40pm

Wow ! In Sydney we only have flimsy roll up garage doors made of colourbond ( thin sheet of painted steel ) and they weigh nothing.

Is yours a wooden door ?
Title: Re: %$#@ Garage Door
Post by Jonny on Feb 10th, 2008, 3:49pm

on 02/10/08 at 15:40:08, Annette wrote:
Is yours a wooden door ?


G-Man, she wants to know if you have wood....LMAO  [smiley=grin2.gif]

Sorry Annette, I had to do it....LOL
Title: Re: %$#@ Garage Door
Post by Annette on Feb 10th, 2008, 3:52pm

Jonny, I am sorry but the only kind of wood that is any good to me is the type that I can chop and burn  ;;D
Title: Re: %$#@ Garage Door
Post by Jonny on Feb 10th, 2008, 3:53pm

on 02/10/08 at 15:52:24, Annette wrote:
Jonny, I am sorry but the only kind of wood that is any good to me is the type that I can chop and burn  ;;D


[smiley=eek.gif] [smiley=JAW_DROP.gif] [smiley=eek.gif]
Title: Re: %$#@ Garage Door
Post by Annette on Feb 10th, 2008, 4:34pm

on 02/10/08 at 15:49:13, Jonny wrote:
Sorry Annette, I had to do it....LOL



Sorry Jonny, I had to do it .... LOL  ;)
Title: Re: %$#@ Garage Door
Post by Charlie on Feb 10th, 2008, 5:03pm
Yikes. That's a scary thing.

Where I live, we have automatic openers :D....My dad loved it when they were new. He found out that the remote worked on the funeral home garage too...he was a card..... Mine wouldn't shut and I had disconnect the spring until I got it adjused. Things are PITA now and then

Glad only your drywall took the hit.

Charlie
Title: Re: %$#@ Garage Door
Post by George_J on Feb 10th, 2008, 6:36pm

on 02/10/08 at 15:40:08, Annette wrote:
Is yours a wooden door ?


Yeah, it's wood.  Other than the firewood, it's the only wood around here that gets any regular abuse.  
;)

Best,

George
Title: Re: %$#@ Garage Door
Post by Annette on Feb 10th, 2008, 9:18pm

The differences between the American and the English words stump me so often here ! LOL !

I was scratching my head reading this thread as firstly I have never seen a wooden garage door before, and secondly I had no idea what a come-along is !

I had to google "come-along" to realise that its a hand winch, which in Australia is called a turfer !  :)

George, next time you will need to post some pics for us Down Under, who just dont quite speak the same English !  ;)


PS: Jonny, George says his woods get abused, regularly too !  :P


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