Adjust the safety and operation of your garage door periodically. Garage doors are so commonplace that most people don’t give them much thought. The problem is that they are very heavy objects with many moving parts attached to your home. An incorrectly adjusted garage door opener and sensor can cause damage to the garage door, motor, lift mechanism, your house or worse – a person or pet. A few minutes every six months or so will keep your garage door functioning properly. Adjust the garage door opener mechanism. On the garage door motor, there will be two knobs or dials to adjust the opener and the reverse sensor. Refer to the owner’s manual to determine which is which. The adjustment for the opener will determine how fast the motor raises and lowers the door and where it stops. Adjust the dial or knob until pressing the opener causes it to stop raising the door as it becomes about even with the top of the garage door opening. Adjusting it beyond that will cause it to raise and lower too fast and too far, placing extra strain on the motor.
Place a small piece of lumber or other hard object under the door while it is open. Press the control button to close the door. It should reverse immediately upon striking the obstruction. Adjust the reverse control until the door begins to reverse as soon as it comes into contact with the obstruction. Setting it too sensitive will cause a reversal too easily if a roller hits something or gets too tight. If it's not sensitive enough, the door won’t reverse, creating a potential hazard. Clean and adjust the photoelectric eye, which also reverses the garage door. Make sure the eye is aligned with the reflector at the opposite side, or else the door won’t close properly. Test it by placing something in front of the eye and testing the closer again. Things You Will Need Piece of lumber Tip Warning References GarageDoors101: Garage Door Opener Safety Photo Credits Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images Suggest a Correction How to test the balance of a garage door I performed an inspection about 2 weeks ago where I discovered the garage door did not reverse.
It was an older opener and there were no electric eyes part of the original installation. I reported the door as a defect because there was no reverse system in operation. About a week later, I received a call from the Buyers Agent asking me to clarify the door. I told him about and e-mailed him the section of the Wisconsin Standards of Practice that requires and Inspector shall observe and describe the condition of the following:RL 134.03.5.4 Garage door operators, including whether any garage door operator automatically reverses or stops when meeting reasonable resistance during closing. He asked how much it would cost to fix something like this and I told him I didn't know, but a whole new opener is only $150 at a big box store. I talked with this agent today and I asked him about this situation and he told me it turned into a real pain in the *ss. He then asked me if I inspected homes for what they are or what they should be. I told him that if there is a device that is safety related (eg.
GFCI that doesn't externally trip or garage doors that don't reverse) installed and not working it is a safety defect. He mentioned that there are other inspectors in this area that would not have noted this as a defect. How you you report this non-reversing or stopping garage door??? Wisconsin Home Inspector License 1955-106 4-Square Home Inspections, LLC � Where Knowledge will put your Mind at Ease � BBB A+ Accredited Business Like Us on Facebook Follow Us on Linked-In Re: Garage Door Safety... Phoenix Home Inspections Phoenix Home InspectorArizona Property Inspections The Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends that garage door operators manufactured or imported after January 1,1993, for sale in the United States be outfitted with an external entrapment protection system. This system can be an electric eye, a door edge sensor, or any other device that provides equivalent protection. This provides protection from damage and offers child safety.
If an electric eye is installed, it should be a height of 4 to 6 inches above the floor. This location can be a factor in preventing injury or worse to a small child. External entrapment protection system should include a reverse contact mechanism. Even if the door is older than 1993, the safety factor in such an appliance is still effective today. "not just an inspection, but an education" Democracy is two wolves and a lamb. Liberty is a well-armed lamb. I don't disagree that the word DEFECT is not a great word. I use it because that word is used in the Offer to Purchase contract and I wish to be consistent. the Wisconsin SOP states to either:Describes the condition of any item identified that, if not repaired, will have a significant adverse effect on the life expectancy of the identified item Lists any material adverse facts that a home inspector has knowlege of or has observed. What is a true defect? Just because something is broken doesn't necessarily mean it's a defect.
That guys an idiot.........must be related to the guy who called today..... "$450.00 wow, thats alot, I know another guy who does it for $350.00." and I told him "Well that may be true, but I tend to deal with people that actually do higher end houses".........(silence).....uh, oh, well thanks alot. I wanted to reach through the phone and choke him. I'm feeling better now though. "DEFECT" DEFINEDsignificant adverse effect on the value of the PropertyAs used in RL 134 (17) "Material adverse fact" means a condition or occurrence that is generally recognized by a competent home inspector as doing any of the following: (a) Significantly reducing the functionality or structural integrity of components or systems of the improvements to property being inspected. (b) Posing a significant health or safety risk to occupants of the improvements. Quoted from the Wisconsin offer to purchase (WB-11) "DEFECT" DEFINED: For the purposes of this contingency, a defect is defined as a structural, mechanical or other condition that would have a significant adverse effect on the value of the Property;
that would significantly impair the health or safety of future occupants of the Property; or that if not repaired, removed or replaced would significantly shorten or have a significant adverse effect on the expected normal life of the Property I use the following classifications in my reports:Acceptable--Functional with no obvious signs of defect. Not Present--Item not present or not found. Not Inspected--Item was unable to be inspected for safety reasons or due to lack of power, inaccessible, or disconnected at time of inspection. Maintenance Item--Item was functional at the time of inspection and/or requires normal maintenance. The Item should be addressed in the future as a part of normal home ownership. Defect--A condition that would have a significant adverse effect on the value of the Property; or that if not repaired, removed, or replaced would significantly shorten or have significant adverse effect on the expected normal life of the Property. My thought process was, if there was a child (or anyone else) that could get seriously injured by the garage door not reversing that would be significant safety issue.