Can’t Open Garage Door. Emergency Release Not Working. Help Needed.

[BombShelter]

Please take photos! It's fascinating how vindictive some people can be. I'd destroy the side door before the roll up door.

I used to rent a one stall city garage for $125/mth 10 years ago, that guy was getting a deal.

 

[kbuhagiar]

It's fascinating how vindictive some people can be. I'd destroy the side door before the roll up door.

Not sure if fascinating is the term I would use...sounds like a world-class *******, and I would be hunting him down for reimbursement for time and materials, not to mention the electric bill.

Ungrateful *****.

 

[rharman]

Your doors have hinges on the outside?

The man-door on my garage has hinges on the outside. It's an outswing door.
Security hinges though - pins are not removable (except by cutting).

 

[DGersic]

It’s like the GJ version of an escape room. Dozens of people trying to figure out how to get in to a locked garage without destruction.

Personally, I’d have cut the entry door out by now.

Can you peel off the siding on one wall and cut your way in through the wall? Then you just have to patch the hole and hang the siding back up to hide the patch.

 

[kngelv]

Should be able to fit through the key release cable hole.

This is a great idea. I am heading over there in an hour or so and will bring a drill just in case. I will post an update with how this turns out.

James

 

[nadogail]

Please take photos! It's fascinating how vindictive some people can be. I'd destroy the side door before the roll up door.

I used to rent a one stall city garage for $125/mth 10 years ago, that guy was getting a deal.

Side Doors are both easier and cheaper to replace than big Garage Doors.

 

[Jeff95TA]

Any update?

 

[RPH]

Any update?

He’s inside the garage now. Doesn’t have signal so we may never hear from the twilight garage.

 

[kngelv]

Sorry for the delay. I got it open but then was down the rabbit hole at work and went out of town for a few days. So the pictures show the pretty much everything. I could not see anything on the back side of the side door because either the window was the block glass type or something was blocking the view through the regular glass. The bolts I cut off did indeed hold eyebolts with a steel rod as shown on the floor. The door still would not open. I ended up taking off the vent on the back wall that my uncle must have used for a grinding station. I could then see that the door was still closed by a deadbolt. I ended up using a small pry bar to give me a large enough gap to shove a huge pry bar between the door and the frame. I just levered it and the door popped open. It is a steel door btw. It turns out the keyed door release cable was attached to a garage door hinge with an S hook instead of the track release. I also found out that the DB who had used the garage had cleared the codes. I reset it and now the door works. I am going to put a keyed lock on the access door and a keypad for the garage door on the outside. Thanks for the suggestions and comments.

James


p

 

[racecougar]

You're alive! We were worried you were trapped in there.

 

[RPH]

Sorry for the delay. I got it open but then was down the rabbit hole at work and went out of town for a few days. So the pictures show the pretty much everything. I could not see anything on the back side of the side door because either the window was the block glass type or something was blocking the view through the regular glass. The bolts I cut off did indeed hold eyebolts with a steel rod as shown on the floor. The door still would not open. I ended up taking off the vent on the back wall that my uncle must have used for a grinding station. I could then see that the door was still closed by a deadbolt. I ended up using a small pry bar to give me a large enough gap to shove a huge pry bar between the door and the frame. I just levered it and the door popped open. It is a steel door btw. It turns out the keyed door release cable was attached to a garage door hinge with an S hook instead of the track release. I also found out that the DB who had used the garage had cleared the codes. I reset it and now the door works. I am going to put a keyed lock on the access door and a keypad for the garage door on the outside. Thanks for the suggestions and comments.

James


p

Tell us about the twilight zone? Did you get probed?

 

[WillyBoy]

I love it when the OP comes back to provide some closure. Thanks for letting us know the situation.

 

[nadogail]

Some people are ungrateful A Holes, perhaps that Landscaper's picture is in the Dictionary Definition of Ungrateful A-hole.

 

[Milton Shaw]

Nobody else has said anything about this, but is one or both of the door springs has broken then the door will not lift up without a lot of effort. Openers will not move it and one person could not lift it. I have a hydraulic lift that has a 1/4 inch platform that can lift up to 500 pounds up to working height. Something like that could go under the door and pick the door up. Hope you can get in without tearing both doors up and hurting yourself.

 

[Wrench97]

Nobody else has said anything about this, but is one or both of the door springs has broken then the door will not lift up without a lot of effort. Openers will not move it and one person could not lift it. I have a hydraulic lift that has a 1/4 inch platform that can lift up to 500 pounds up to working height. Something like that could go under the door and pick the door up. Hope you can get in without tearing both doors up and hurting yourself.

see post #49 he got in the garage in Oct /23.

 

[PCustoms]

see post #23 he got in the garage in Oct /23.

Post #23

If you can’t pull the quick release, he may have put a zip tie so it can’t be opened . stops people fishing when there is the rope hanging down , could you get a borescope camera over the top of the door to see what is going on

Post #49 looks better

 

[lund]

Post #23



Post #49 looks better

Long ago solved.

But yikes what a jerk to get a cushy deal and then take vengeance when the cushy deal goes away rather than be grateful for the time he had it. I REALLY hate people taking advantage of elderly and infirm. I would have a hard time controlling myself from taking more serious vengeance on the jerk.

 

[kbuhagiar]

Long ago solved.

But yikes what a jerk to get a cushy deal and then take vengeance when the cushy deal goes away rather than be grateful for the time he had it. I REALLY hate people taking advantage of elderly and infirm. I would have a hard time controlling myself from taking more serious vengeance on the jerk.

As I stated in post #42...couldn't agree more.

 

[Uncle murph]

My cousin had a neighbor using her garage for storage for his landscape business. He had been charging her $35.00 a week to cut her lawn even with this free storage for the past five years since my uncle and aunt passed away. He claimed doing her snow for no charge was sufficient. Last year he did the snow three times. I recenty found out about it and told him he also had to do her lawn weekly too. She is a little off and I have been trying to help her. After 5 months of this arrangement he found another client to take advantage of so he moved his stuff out and “coincidentally” now she can’t open the door. It has a Liftmaster chain drive opener thats about 15 years old. The remote no longer works even with a fresh battery. I suspect he did something like a code change or something out of spite but he denies this. I tried the emergency release key cable at the upper part of the door and nothing happens. I’m a pretty strong guy and not sure how much more I can pull it without breaking it.
It has a side access door but my uncle had driven rods behind it into the cement so it cannot open from the outside. There is no remote keypad either. I’m hoping someone has a creative solution to try. As it stands busting down the side door looks like my only option. Thoughts or ideas are more than welcome. Thank you.

James

I ran into this once at a friend’s garage, I removed some siding and cut a hole in the wall large enough to crawl through and release the door.Fixed it afterwards,no problem.

 

[Shiftless]

I ran into this once at a friend’s garage, I removed some siding and cut a hole in the wall large enough to crawl through and release the door.Fixed it afterwards,no problem.

A relative used to live in rural Northern CA on a few acres up near the Oregon border. It became common for burglars to use a chainsaw to cut through the siding of a building to gain entry. The sound of chainsaws was so common that nobody became suspicious. Unless the owner had motion detectors in addition to door and window alarms, the intrusion wouldn’t set off a burglar alarm.

 

[lund]

Not sure if fascinating is the term I would use...sounds like a world-class *******, and I would be hunting him down for reimbursement for time and materials, not to mention the electric bill.

Ungrateful *****.

Yes. I think I would be considering far more to make the guy's life much worse for a long, long time. I hate people like this who prey on the elderly and infirm. In my view in doing such abuse, they have forfeited their right to have a peaceful existence. Also, whatever you do to them likely creates loss of time and energy for them to find their next victims.

Many of us have elderly relatives who get taken advantage of. I recommend strongly watching for warning signs and being proactive in guarding. It is much easier to fix this kind of stuff early before it escalates. The garage issue is even getting off light relative to what can happen.