Following my recent triple heart bypass surgery I won't be able to open the up-and-over garage door for some months, even after the sternum has done its initial healing.
So I wondered whether there are after-market electric lifters/motors to do it for me. Shortly before the op on 4th March I did find some reference to such equipment, but I don't know anything about them.
The question I have is, how easy is it to fit an electric lifting device? I won't be able to do the job myself, but I'd like to know (to avoid being ripped off) what the whole affair is likely to cost.
I have to admit it never occurred to me that counted as not doing any heavy lifting when I had my heart valve replaced. Do the cardiac rehab exercises and you will surprised what you can do once the sternum has knitted. I think I was fitter then than ever. Good luck with the recovery.
No recent experience I'm afraid but I fitted a Liftmaster, must be 20 years ago now and it's never given any problems. I see they still do a very similar looking chain model. As others have said, whether manual or automatic, the secret is to keep the door and mechanism well lubricated to minimise the stresses. I wouldn't consider not having one now, it's so convenient.
On Friday 22 March 2013 17:22 MM wrote in uk.d-i-y:
And bloody well make sure you don't! Not even for one tiny thing...
My dad had a similar surgery - be assured that if you respect the healing process, all should be well at the end - he was fine after the requisite time had passed.
The door lifting process is a 3-stage affair: First, lift the door with the handle enough to get your hand on the bottom edge, then lift the door to a horizontal position, and finally push it firmly up for it to "latch" into the safety position. It is this last stage that is hardest, even when I'm fit and well. It is by "Garador" and was fitted when this estate was built in 2004.
Maybe when the doc gives me the okay to drive again in a few weeks I'll feel more confident. Right now, although recovery is generally going well (although my kidneys suffered a bit of a hit, hopefully recovering - due to see doc on Tuesday for first follow-up), but I have to be very careful not to push or pull with my arms (say the rehab nurses).
No, the door is fine and well-balanced with some kind of spring affair at the top swivel point. It's just a heavy door! A motor-driven one would be nice to have anyway, for when one comes out in the morning etc. Plus, I open the garage frequently not just to get the car out, but because I've got various tools and garden implements stored in there.
Your biggest issue just now is pyschological, stick to the docs plan and go to rehab when you can it makes a big difference, I went for a year until they kicked me out. Good luck
You can certainly buy electrically operated devices for opening garage doors. Both Screwfix and B&Q sell them, as do mail order firms. I'm thinking about buying one for SWMO's 70th birthday. My car lives outside.
When i moved into this place, the garage door (henderson) was missing all it's locking hardware, being held closed with a gate bolt into the floor on the outside instead,
I bought a second hand garage door opener off ebay for less than the bits needed to get the locking mechanism working again (you don't use the locking mechanism with an electric door, as the motor holds the door closed) think i paid 60 quid for my door opener, it is a Chamberlain Motorlift unit.
It's a cheapie chain driven model, and those are notorious for being noisey in operation, which mine is, but the noise is only for about 5 or 6 seconds each time it's operated, the belt driven models are said to be much quieter.
Pretty simple to fit, few measurements, then bolt the motor to the roof joists (4 L brackets screwed into the joists), followed by the track the chain/belt pulls the sliding carriage along, L brackets again, then attach the chain/belt to the motor.
Connect the sliding carriage to the door.... if it's the standard up and over type then you'll need a cantilever arm, which gives you something new to bang your head on when you enter the garage with the door open, that's a few nuts and bolts through the door to bolt it on, it's about 3 foot long, and has a sliding pivoting lever to allow for the odd movement as an up and over door opens and closes.
Connect mains to the motor unit, then set up the travel... twiddling a screwdriver to adjust multi turn pots to set where the motor cuts off at the end of the opening or closing distance, Plus you usually need to set the cut out force, same type of adjustment, multi turn pot, this sets how much force the motor gives out before cutting out, needs to be just a little more than enough to operate the door, but stop (and usually reverse a little) if your car/dog/kid/wife is between the door and floor... or the car is parked outside the garage door and you try to open it from inside (done that a few times),
You can usually get add on beam break sensors, that's just another 3 or 4 wires... bell wire used, and a few screws to fix the sensors to each side of the frame... reverses the door when closing if something breaks the beam... like the cat playing Indiana Jones, diving under the closing door just in time... just remember the beam break sensors are there when the door refuses to close, as you may have put a bottle of oil on the floor by the entrance, and it's just breaking the beam.
And one last thing may be the interior operating switch, again bit of bell wire, simple (usually supplied) push switch mounted where you like... near side door if you have one, and connected to terminals on the back of the motor unit,
They usually have a light built in, to see as you get out the car without having to put the garage lights on, they also flash the light in certain ways to indicate a fault (overload tripped, beams interrupted etc), but make sure you get a rough service bulb, as the vibrations from the motor break the filament in a normal bulb in a few weeks.
The remotes should be already programmed, but it's usually just a few button presses to assign new remotes, or lock out old ones (like the one the Ex keeps thinking you haven't noticed)
Took me about half a day to fit mine, that was with no help from the ex.. as usual, There is another bit that can be fitted if wanted... the sliding carriage jobbie has a lever, pull it sharply and it will disengage the chain/belt drive, allowing the door to be opened manually, like in a power cut,
If you have only the garage door as entry into the garage, i.e. no side/rear pedestrian door, then you can fit a key lock in the garage door, which it's back end is attached to a thin wire rope that's snaked up the door to the carriage release lever, in the event of the motor not operating, you use the key in the lock, which allows it to be pulled out, then you tug on the wire rope, and hopefully it will disengage the sliding carriage drive and you can operate the door manually, but i never bothered with it as i have a side door.
On Saturday 23 March 2013 08:13 ss wrote in uk.d-i-y:
I'd agree with that point.
When I had my hernia fixed (well, both of them as the bloke discovered on the day), despite it being a keyhole job where he tacked mesh across the damaged area, so no big new wounds.
Theoretically the mesh + helical tacks provide instant repair, but not at full stength until the mesh becomes integrated with scar tissue. I followed the recovery directions to the letter, which were only in force for a month.
However that did not stop me from being a paranoid bastard - every time it twinged after lifting something, I was scared I was pulling tacks loose.
8 months later and I am finally starting to have confidence!
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