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| I'm putting my money where that mouth is. |
It’s 10:15 pm on Tuesday night and I’m only just now starting to calm down from an extended battle with my garage door. And in the big scheme of things, a garage door shouldn’t be crazy-making but my reserves of internal strength ain't what they used to be.
The garage door worked fine earlier when I’d been out running some errands. And it worked fine in the late afternoon when I rolled our trash to the alley. Then I saw someone’s Facebook post about putting out saucers with stones and water for thirsty bees fighting the Texas heat (they won't lap up water from a bowl, but they like to collect moisture from a solid surface) and that struck me as a nice thing to do for our hard-working pollinators.
So I got a plastic saucer (the kind that goes under clay gardening pots outside) then opened the garage door to go fetch some small rocks. Upon returning to the house with my delicious plate of stones, the garage door would only go down a foot or so before stalling then creeping back upward.
Repeat repeat repeat.
When that didn’t work, I detached the chain drive and tried to lower the door by hand. No success. I tried multiple times, but it was useless - and increasingly killing in the 100 degree heat. Great - my garage door would be open all night for the thieves to enjoy pillaging.
SOooo I started calling emergency garage door repair places and no one could/would help me until tomorrow (I don't think they understand that whole "emergency" thing) causing my panic level to continue rising. Finally, someone said they’d come out in an hour.
So rather than sit in my blistering hot garage guarding my stuff, I decided to put a security camera in there. Only I couldn’t find the damn cam and worked myself up further looking for it. Finally, I found it exactly where it shouldn't have been and plugged it in...but it wouldn’t connect to the Internet from the garage. So I moved a repeater/router to different locations around my house until a tenuous connection was made.
I then decided I should move the cars to give the repairman room to work. There was no problem with my car, but the battery in Kathy’s car was stone dead after not being driven in six months. So in the hot garage, I popped the hood and attached a trickle charger to the battery which, by tomorrow, will either have charged the battery or set the car and house on fire.
The repair guy finally arrived and he was a very nice fellow with a thick Jamaican accent making communication nearly impossible. He showed me places where the metal of the door had crumpled and cracked and said that he could do a temporary fix, but I’d need to replace the door soon.
But it turned out he COULDN’T fix the door. So he at least helped me close it and, remarkably, only charged me $29 for his services. He’s also sending me an estimate on a replacement door. Although mine was a low-end garage door, replacing it these days would be about $2600 although I can get a crappier one for about $1800. So much for the $1200 I'm saving by cutting my cable TV.
Hoping to find a better deal, I checked out the “Nextdoor Neighbor” website to see who people recommend. One vendor, in particular, seemed popular, so I went to their website and requested a free estimate on a new garage door. The models they offer come with a limited lifetime warranty, which seems ideal for a guy with an increasingly limited lifetime.
But there was something in the back of my mind…the company’s name sounded familiar. Was it possible that they’d installed the broken door some eons ago?
I knew what I had to do, though it wasn’t easy; one of Kathy’s many virtues was wonderful organization. So I went to her file drawers and started leafing through folders all neatly labeled in her precise handwriting. Nothing under “Outdoor Warranties” or “Misc Warranties" but “Home Improvement” was a winner! There was an aging receipt from the company, dated September 11, 1998, for the installation of the garage door, and it was stapled to a sales sheet showing that the garage door came with a limited lifetime warranty!
Of course, I assume that they’ll balk at honoring the warranty, but that will be a fight for another day. Specifically, Wednesday.
And if the company gives me a hard time, I hope their installers get stung by the bees who are gathered around their nice, new, surprisingly-expensive watering hole.
WEDNESDAY MORNING UPDATE
My garage door drama is in the process of wrapping up exactly the way you would expect: with me bleeding money.
My "limited lifetime" warranty isn't compensating me diddly-squat because it states that it's voided if any other company works on the door. Which the Jamaican guy did last night. D'oh!!! But what the heck. I mean, how much can it cost to replace a garage door?
$3300, it turns out. Oh, the door itself isn't quite that high, but it requires new rails and a new spring. And although my garage door opener works fine, it's 30 years old and might NOT work with the new door since the techs have no idea how to adjust such a dinosaur and, oh yeah, if my old opener damages the new garage door or spring then it voids the warranty.
The new opener adds over $800 to the whole shebang, but it comes with alleged bells and whistles like photoelectric sensors to prevent cutting toddlers in half ("It's the law"), and a built-in security camera that will connect with my cell phone so I can easily see if my garage has mysteriously become infested with toddlers.
By the way, the tech was a nice young fellow with no sense of humor whatsoever. A case in point:
ME: Wow, Chicago seems like a long way to go just to check on my garage door.
TECH: You don't have to go to Chicago, sir, that was just an example.
Before anyone busts a gusset (and don't even start me on the poor quality of modern gussets), I know that I'm overpaying and I could probably save considerable money if I shopped around, haggled, threatened legal action, or rolled the dice on mixing old and new parts.
But I just want this done. My ability to cope with this kind of aggravating crap is at an all-time low and sometimes money is cheaper than spending life essence. Moreover, there's a real value to just getting problems solved quickly so I can get back to the important business of day-drinking. (Kidding, mostly)
Ah, the joy of home ownership! I sympathize, Stilt! When I bought this house, some 12 years ago now, it was a repo, and the former owners decided to take every thing that wasn't welded or cemented in place, so they took the sprinkler timers, and...the garage door opener. And by that, I don't mean the handheld clicker, but the motor, the rail and all!
ReplyDeleteThe joy of home ownership!
Good luck with the garage door. I've been there and done that, but never got the tee shirt.
ReplyDeleteI feel your pain, Stilt. Almost as much fun as getting AT&T repair services on the line and settling in for an afternoon of bad hold music interspersed with exited recordings urging you to buy new services in addition to the one you have that already doesn't work.
ReplyDeletewhoops! "excited." Not "exited."
ReplyDeleteThe garage door wars...they are a thing!
ReplyDeleteBless your wife, a woman among women! She had the filing system I only dream of, and now I really have to get it done. See, she is still watching over you from heaven. I hope that's a comforting thought?
ReplyDeleteAnother day, another victory. Take it!
ReplyDeleteIt never ends Stilt. Eighteen years ago I paid $11000 to drill a well. Now I'm paying $13800 to replace all the copper in the house because the well water is acidic and ruined the copper. I always wonder whose lifetime is that warranty good for. My lifetime, products lifetime or the lifetime of the business that sold it.
ReplyDeleteSomething that has a lifetime warranty is guaranteed to work … until it doesn’t.
DeleteCould be worse. You could have closed the garage door ON the car. Don't ask me how I know about this. ;-)
ReplyDeleteright now any repair or replacement is gonna hurt in the wallet.
ReplyDeleteHope you get a good report from this garage door company.
Sometimes those warranties are 30-30-30.
30 open & closings or 30 days or 30 seconds. which ever comes first.
And my husband always wants to know why I save and file EVERYTHING! Good luck my man!
ReplyDeleteThere's something about having a carport; it's the joy of never having to mess with a garage door.
ReplyDelete"I wept that I had no garage door, and then I met a man with no feet!" Old Michigan Saying.
ReplyDeleteActually, I made that up Stilt, but I am an Olde Pfart from Michigan so CUT ME SOME SLACK, JACK!
Pax Vobiscum :)
Yes......the joys of owning a home......never ends ! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteWayne in Indiana
Not to second guess from several hundred miles away, but might there be a object(s) blocking the sensors at the bottom of your garage door, or perhaps the sensors are slightly out of alignment?
ReplyDeleteI speak from my own experince in attempting to close the garage door, only to see it stop and then return to the full open position, and finding there was something left between the door sensors or most recently the sensors had become misaligned.
And with the cheapest gallon of gas here priced at $4.89 per gallon, FJB.
Yes, as the Fish pointed out, the slightest misalignment of the sensors by, say, OPENING OR CLOSING THE DOORS! Or just walking past them! Or due to the change in seasons sunlight is hitting them! Or a spider has built a little web across the lens. Or...who the hell knows why they even function at ALL! Sometimes I thing that the old fashion lift-the-damn-thing-up-yourself is a more reliable method. Until the spring breaks, trapping you in (or out of) the garage until you can get help. What was that about a carport?
ReplyDeleteAs with most things in life, garage doors that work properly are wonderful. When they don't, I feel your pain. Good luck dealing with the warranty folks. Glad the Jamaican guy treated you well, nice for a change. Sounds like Kathy was a pretty organized gal, good to have been able to find your paperwork. The bee's will thank you for the water!! Gas is getting close to 5 in central WI.
ReplyDeleteInterested to know what the limits on the "lifetime" warranty are.
ReplyDeleteNo doubt the "limited" part of the warranty is limited to when the garage door is working. "Not working? Oh, that's not covered by the warranty." We closed on our house 30 years ago last Friday and moved in 30 years ago this coming Monday. Most of my home ownership stories occurred on Saturday nights when getting a hold of a repairman mean "emergency rates." Good luck with this - we'll be interested to hear how it turns out.
ReplyDeleteYou might get lucky with the warranty. The drive belt on our garage door opener broke after 25 years of heat in the Central Vally of California. I emailed the manufacturer and they shipped a replacement at no charge. Fingers crossed for you. If not, maybe we get another entertaining story.
ReplyDeleteThis started sounding more and more like "There's a Hole in my Bucket". Good job with perseverence and determination!
ReplyDeleteNow I don't feel so bad about not having a garage. Of course it's summer and I'm not sweeping 2 feet of snow off of my vehicles.
ReplyDeleteI sympathize with what you are going through. Don't be surprised if after jumping through multiple hoops, which seem to be set higher with each passing year, you get some "limited" recourse for your "limited lifetime coverage". I normally get the, "Well it is broken, so it has exhausted it's useful lifetime. We don't cover that!" crap excuse, and then only get partial satisfaction after much argument.
ReplyDeleteI believe I would trade your garage door woes for the damage we just suffered in my area of the country. 4 1/2" diameter hail lasting over half and hour driven by over 90 mile an hour winds. Vehicles and homes are not a pretty sight. Two to three week wait for insurance adjusters who are swamped. And materials, that now thanks to the left's Destroy America agenda cost more than double what they did two years ago, are nearly non-existent. FJB X 100!
Best of luck in your endeavors.
American Cowboy-not Cocwboy
ReplyDeleteFat fingers after much post hail storm cleanup. More today and tomorrow I am sure. Plus helping the people next place down the road.
You have to let us know how long a lifetime warranty lasts? Good luck.
ReplyDeleteIf that company will not honor their warranty, you can always tell them that you are going to publish their company name as one company that refuses to honor their word. Let them know you have become an "influencer." Big Evil Grin here! One of the nicest things about having the ability to post online is the fact that someone else is going to read what you have to say and maybe, just maybe, let others know what was said. As long as you are completely upfront about the warranty and the circumstances, they cannot sue for libel.
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you for caring about the bees.
I salute your commitment to our pollinator community friends.
ReplyDeleteGood luck on your discovery of what "limited lifetime" means. Not holding my breath on that one.
But that's the thing with home ownership. It never fails that the moment we discover we've got an extra three or four grand to spend on something cool to do with the house, something expensive breaks. A few years ago it was the sewer line. Last year it was the water line. This year it's new blinds for my office as the pull strings for the existing ones are now all failing.
@Uchuck the Tuchuck, my last dealing with AT&T was regarding my failing "redundant" phone line. Weeks to fix, they told me. However, if I had called a different number to sign up for their spiffy new digital television service, they would have had someone out there before nightfall.
This why I've pretty much given up on fixing anything. Something simple always turns out to require 10 or 12 unforeseen preliminary steps. Beside the fact most things I try to fix end up destroyed.
ReplyDeleteRE: Your previous gardening post. When I moved into my current home I spent two years tearing out all the foofaraw landscaping and converted it to native wildflowers. It pretty much manages itself now and with ecological succession going on it looks different every year. The main problem is grubbing out the volunteer Siberian elms (a damned government weed).
That sounds like a thoroughly frustrating day, similar to but different from my day with FedEx yesterday - which I will avoid so as not to inconvenience your many friends here.
ReplyDeleteI suspect that once you have presented the garage door people with their "lifetime warranty" they will discover that the problem actually has something to do with either the track or the rollers and will be readily fixable.
Sorry - a brief break to visit with Lexie, my social worker.
As for lifetime warranties . . . A couple of months ago we had a Generac whole house generator installed to ensure that I have electricity for my oxygen when our electricity goes down here in Southern Louisiana. (Yes, I always capitalize "Southern" with Louisiana as I consider it to be the name of a place.) In that time the generator has already kicked on four times, once for over 24 hours.
The generator comes with a five year warranty and a two year extension if installed by an authorized electrician. Then the calls started. For only another $450 I could extend the warranty to ten years. They just couldn't understand my laughter. When I explain that my warranty is much shorter they still don't understand why I would pass up such a deal. After all, the generator cost $8,500 installed.
It was good to see you posting again today, Stilt. I was pleasantly surprised to see two blog posts so close together. I truly enjoy your posts and the humor you exhibit, even in times of stress and aggravation. I also appreciate the intelligence of the members of your fan base. The level seems to be far above average. And, even more than that, I like your replies.
You might not see it yet but it seems to me that you are gradually recovering while keeping both Kathy's memory and presence intact. God bless you and Daughter J.
@Readers- I'll try to respond to individual comments when I can, but for now you can look at the original post for an update on this whole misadventure.
ReplyDeleteWhen I closed on my chateau four years ago, I learned the garage door wouldn't open. It was working fine on inspection. I felt pretty good because I had purchased a shiny new home warranty contract but learned very quickly it doesn't cover anything important (read: expensive). Broken springs are important and I was on my own. It came off the track once but my kind next door neighbor got it back and running so I'm just waiting for a total fail. Moral of the story: Do not buy home warranties as they are next to useless. After they wouldn't pay for my broken hot water heater, I demanded a refund and closure of my account. They did offer a measly one-third of what it cost me just to keep me on the hook.
ReplyDeleteBecause of life and dealing with mother (I'm currently checking with the doc about cat bites because mom can't understand how to help with flea collars) I've decided it's worth less aggravation to pay for anything whenever I can. More power to you on that one, it's worth it. I think I'm also going to get my meds upped for the happy factor, it seems to be wearing off quicker, lol.
ReplyDeleteWow, I should go into business. I put in a good garage door when we moved in a decade ago. I think it cost me $200, and that was top of the line. Even with getting lumber to build a new brace for the drive track under the ceiling, I think it took me one casual afternoon to put it in and set it up. It was easy. A couple grand to do the job? That's robbery.
ReplyDeleteOk, I may have misunderstood. You want a whole new door, not just the opener. So I looked at HomeDepot ... $418 for a small un-insulated one up to $2100 for a double width insulated one. And that's Clopay, a respected name in garage doors. Prices the same in Houston TX. Yes you can spend a lot more if you go fancy. It's a garage.
ReplyDeleteI've put a couple in myself. It isn't hard. And most can be repaired; they all use the same rollers in the same brackets in the same kind of track, the same springs and wires. So even if you have to replace a few rollers or a track, you're still spending a whole lot less than a new door. OTOH, if your old door is rotted apart, then you have no choice.
Credit to my youth's greatest source of wisdom growing up in the 50's--Mad Magazine.
ReplyDelete"LIFETIME GUARANTEE! (We guarantee you will live out your entire lifetime.)"
And as my Father always said, "No home is every fully PAID FOR--things will keep adding to the costs straight through--if not beyond--Judgment Day."
Actually, he never said that. I'm just paraphrasing the message without the shouted obscenities.
Oh, and I had meant to post my congratulations and Kelly Green envy over your yard--a fitting tribute to the loving hands and heart that created it.
Peace, Me Brother.
TVAG
ReplyDelete@Mike aka Proof, I found the same thing after I moved in to my house. I was tired of manually opening the garage door so I bought an opener from Sears and when I went to install it, I discovered that there were holes I could use, perfectly placed for the opener. There was even wire installed for the pushbutton by the regular door so I didn't need to run that. I paid a whole $139 (2005 price) for the opener, but a previous owner must have really loved the opener he had. I'm not that attached to my opener--if I move again I'll leave this one here.
ReplyDelete@TVAG, Not only is your home not ever fully paid for, you never actually OWN it. Stop paying your property taxes some time and see how long you "own" your home...
Don’t skimp!
ReplyDeleteGet the best door your can afford, rather than a budget model.
Now is the time to add security, insulation, durability and style.
Our lifestyles have made the garage door our “front” door rather than an auxiliary utility sort of thing.
If sizing is such that an end of shaft opener works, do it! Otherwise belt drive.
If your are clever with IoT (internet of things) you can get ones that report of they are up or down, or if they have been moved.
This is where you make your grand entrance so make it grand!
Setup a GoFundMe or whatever that one is that isn't political. I'd be honored to drop $50 your way for the laughs you've given me.
ReplyDeleteYou did get ripped on that $800 garage door opener. It shoulda been ~ $400 installed.
ReplyDeleteI do believe in insurance for certain things, but I'm not sure that I've ever heard anyone rave about how great their "home warranty" is. (Same goes for 3rd-party car warranties; you know, the kind I get 800 spam calls for every single day) What I do hear a lot about are how they don't seem to pay for the stuff you'd think they would or should.
ReplyDeleteSo pro tip: If you really think you need to have such a warranty, call some places and find out what they charge per month, and then instead open a savings account and every month put the same monthly amount there. In only a couple of years, odds are that you'll have more than enough money to fix almost anything that could possibly break in your home in addition to having a lot more money left over.
Hey man, at least you didn't do what I did. We were loading out for my wife's craft show, and I backed into the garage door and destroyed it...right in front of her.
ReplyDeleteI dragged it up so we could load, then dragged it down as far as it would go. We got a new door right away, the next day iirc, and he was kind enough to install the automatic opener that I'd bought from Sears Roebuck like a decade before and never gotten around to installing.
I'm thinking that I'm in full agreement with you. At this point if something goes, just replace it. It isn't worth the aggravation.
ReplyDelete@JustaJeepGuy
ReplyDeleteAmen, Me (other) Brother!
And the psychotic, meth-laced, von Munchhausen who is our local Tax Assessor every year decides this 62 year-old wickiup we've lived in for 27 years is not only made of gold, trimmed in platinum, and decorated with star sapphires, but every year magically adds more diamond paving to the drive and walkways.
I think we fixed the window screens. Once.
Sigh....
TVAG
@Readers- Well, I'm hopelessly behind on individual responses and I apologize for that. And for some reason I'm an absolute zombie today. So let me just jump back in at random and I'm sorry for those I've skipped over (but liked your posts)...
ReplyDelete@American Cowboy- You're a good neighbor helping with hail damage. It's amazing what one of those storms can do. Years ago, when David Letterman was a weatherman in Indianapolis, he predicted a storm "with hail the size of canned hams." He was joking then, but I think it could happen now.
@tired farmer- I'm pretty sure a lifetime warranty lasts until the day before you make a claim.
@Nancy Dickerson- There was a time when I could get a little casual enjoyment out of such a contest of wills, but that time has passed. At the moment, my negotiating strategy is "I'll pay you anything to fix the problem and leave me the heck alone."
@John the Econ- Yeah, the warranty's emphasis was on "limited" rather than lifetime. And home ownership really is an endless parade of expenses. Right now, my city has a program to give $5000 grants to homeowners making $20k in repairs. I qualify and I certainly have that many repairs that need doing, but I'm dragging my feet because I don't want to jumpstart new levels of hassle in my life. Still, $5,000 is worth thinking about. That's almost as much as I lose daily from my retirement portfolio!
@Velveeta Processed Cheese Food- There aren't many things I try to fix myself these days, though I do what I can. I live by the adage "sometimes money is cheaper" than doing it yourself. And I like the idea of native wildflowers in my landscape, though the things Kathy planted are for the most part low maintenance. For the past several years she's been trying to make things "senior friendly."
@Paul Donohue- The garage door company still felt the whole door...and rails...and spring...and opener needed to be replaced. But because of their limited lifetime warranty and my forlorn appearance they eventually knocked $150 off the total.
I admire your sense of humor when it comes to lifetime warranties. I must admit that at this point I don't see any "lifetime" warranties on products I'm buying as having much of a shelf life.
And since you mentioned it, "Stilton's Place" has a remarkable community of readers and commenters. Good folks and, as you point out, intelligent. Thank goodness this wonderful group (including you) is here for me!
@Shelly- I never had much luck with home warranties, but HAVE done okay with one which pays for exterior plumbing problems in our water and sewage lines. It's cheap (about $120 a year) and I've needed to use it several times, more than paying for the policy.
@mamafrog- My therapist suggested that I ask my doctor about upping MY happy meds, though I haven't done so yet. I don't want to get on his radar as needing a lobotomy.
@Drew458- Had I known of your skill set, I would have asked you to submit a bid for the job!
@TVAG- I, too, was warped by Mad Magazine in my formative years. And gladly! Regarding the garden, it really is meaningful to me to see (and tend to) the living, blooming things that Kathy planted.
@JustaJeepGuy- I always hate the news stories where some (usually) old person has gotten behind on their property taxes by some trivial amount and the State comes in and sells the house and everything in it for $150. We need a national homestead law to make that impossible.
ReplyDelete@Rastapopoulos- I got a high end door, although nothing that makes a fashion statement. And I got all the bells and whistles so that I can explore new avenues of confusion when I just want to make the friggin' door go up and down.
@Jon- I appreciate the sentiment but fortunately I'm not hurting for money. Although my retirement account is down about $400k for the year, because it's been that kind of freaking year.
@Epictetus of Phrygia- I agree it was a preposterous sum for an opener. But just buying the damn thing allowed me to skip 100-degree trips to Lowes and Home Depot, hiring an installer and, in case of a problem, getting into a debate about who's fault it was and who will cover the repair. So the extra money wasn't wasted, it paid for simplification - which is something I desperately need right now.
@John the Econ- Great advice!
@4sleiborg- Ouch! There's no way to take out your own garage door without feeling like a bit of a dope. Not that I'm calling YOU one, I'm just saying we've all been there. And isn't it nice when someone (like your installer) just does you a good turn? Those "human" moments mean a lot to me.
@Paul Donohue- Right now, aggravation isn't just frustrating, it drains my life essence. Truly and not rhetorically. So again, "sometimes money is cheaper."
@TVAG- I suddenly desperately want to form a rock band called Meth-laced Von Munchausen.
Here's tips about overhead garage doors; from experience.
ReplyDeleteCOIL springs have a pretty well defined number of open & close cycles of life and then they might break. There are many types of springs; often color coded and the R/L wind direction is also key. With a heavy garage door and a broken spring it could be very hard lift to raise them manually as one is supposed to be able to do by pulling the cord and disengaging the trolley from the door. Perhaps even more dangerous is if you or someone else gets one up manually OK and on the the flatter position on the rail.. then when one tries to let it down it can come down VERY HARD and could do some damage, break your foot, pull your back even hit and trap you if try to stop it
Winding the new coil spring is down right dangerous. If having a problem and you can.. park vehicles outside for the duration and call a pro. Must be VERY careful if DIY.
What else to do? Preventative: Keep the roller wheels lubricated occasionally and also lubricate coils spring to keep to keep from rusting because they twist up very tightly as they work. Cleaner keeps added loads off the entire system And if have two... replace both coil springs at same time if one breaks as the other will be going soon.
Stilton, this just seems way too expensive.
ReplyDeleteI have done my own garage doors 3 times in two homes, it is not rocket science and I am just a self taught handyman out of necessity.
There are excellent videos online that show how to install them. The trick is to get a cheap door from one of the big box stores that has very close to the same WEIGHT as the old door. In that case you can re-use all the hardware and springs.
If you have a younger person nearby that can assist, it is not hard or that dangerous if one takes care to wear gloves, eye protection and leave the springs for last. If you have the standard long springs, that is the easiest. If the coil on rod and reels at the end, that requires two one half inch steel rods about 18 to 24 inches long and care when tensioning.
Good luck whichever way you go.
@Rod & @Terrapod- You both vastly overestimate my DIY abilities, not to mention my lack of access to any younger person to help me. It may not be a hard job, but for me everything is hard now. Seriously, I'm not even sure I should be driving (and I try to avoid it). Brain fog and lack of physical coordination is pretty much standard since I'm no doubt marinating in stress hormones. So attempting to install my own garage door would be disastrous at best, suicidal at worst.
ReplyDeleteSo fiscally speaking, I just got the "new fish in the prison shower" treatment. But my garage door works fine and I can move on to other things to worry about.
@Stilton
ReplyDeleteSo again, "sometimes money is cheaper."
Yup, that's a fact.
And if you're satisfied with the price you paid, you got a decent deal.
That's what I told my kids about buying a car. Also told them they'll always have a coworker or neighbor who'll say he got his for several thousand cheaper. Don't worry 'cause the coworker/neighbor is likely, uh, misremembering.
I'm a long time handyman mechanic, but there are projects I will not attempt. Transmissions, Brakes,...and garage doors. Our new to us home was 16 years old when we bought it, and the garage door was slowly self-destructing. When I spotted a house down the street getting one re-done, I asked the crew for an estimate. Yeah, it was steep, as they're 90 miles away and no one else closer. I bit the bullet and did it. Got a bit lucky in that the old rails were good, and the opener was in good shape to continue using.
ReplyDeleteIf you value your time like I do mine, you did the right thing even if the wallet stings a bit. To have it done, behind you, and move on to more important things is worth a lot.
Stilt!
ReplyDeleteYou're most welcome to the full rights (including the Scandinavian!) to "Meth-Laced von Munchausen" for your rock band, or just the name plate on the door of your rubber room in the Freud Factory.
Just send me a copy of your first side, especially if you'll do a Death-Metal-Techno-Rock 'a Billy cover of "FJB And The Donkey He Rode In On."
That one always brings a nostalgic tear....
TVAG
I would go with the Jamaican fellow who responded to your emergency.
ReplyDeleteMy dad once got a 'lifetime' subscription to a regional magazine.After a few years,another company bought out the company that produced the magazine,and sent him a cancellation notice to his 'lifetime' subscription.He called and asked,'What do you know that I don't'? He showed them,he outlived the new version of the magazine by a couple of decades.
ReplyDeleteSeems a little high for a garage door replacement...I had mine done for just under $800. The guy drove up from Brownsville with a new door assembly, removed the old, installed the new, and hauled off the old one in less than 4 hours.
ReplyDeleteTina
ReplyDeleteDon't listen to the people telling you to do it yourself. I watched it. He had a truck that he put under the old door to catch the door when he released it. It was 1 piece of wood and heavy, which he recycled. He had to install the machine part to beams. Then he put in the rails. Then he loaded the new door in pieces, then the push buttons. Then it had to be painted to match by a painter.
Insulation sounds good consideng that you are in Texas.
All the stored items had to be moved outside before, and moved back, after the installation.
Can we all ask Kathy from above to help with organizing papers, and guidance on planting environmentally suitable self- sustaining plants?
Well Stilt, too bad for us who love to read about your life AK, (After Kathy), and who agree with you to minimize this little G-D irritant ASAP.
ReplyDeleteSome commenters seem to enjoy pointing out how foolish you were and smart they are in obtaining the lowest cost garage door and opener. It's akin to "gee, I am smarter than you!"
Not what you need now.
Your security, safety, serenity and memories of Kathy are more important than the best G-D (garage door) deal.
@Anonymous- I don't think anyone was claiming they're smarter than me (although they probably are) but rather were just looking out for my finances. But as you observed, the finances are secondary to stress reduction right now. All of the comments from everyone were and are appreciated - very definitely including yours!
ReplyDeleteAs a mid-septuagenerian, I was agonizing about a potential but somewhat frivolous upcoming expense with my wise, 80 year old neighbor. I found his response almost life-changing: “there comes a point in life,” he said “when you have to accept you have more money than time.” I spent the money without a second thought. Assuming you have the finances, pay someone who knows what they’re doing and save yourself the time, energy and potential risk.
ReplyDelete@Anonymous- That neighbor is indeed a wise man and I'm going to remember that phrase!
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ReplyDeleteWhat do you do when you're pretty sure you have more time than money? My parents were both around 92 when they died and one of my uncles died last February at 99-1/2. Other uncles and aunts (on both sides of my family) lived well into their 90s. I went through life making some less-than-wise choices, not expecting I'd have the hereditary longevity I may possibly have. I know--I'll blame Putin! Yeah, that's it! (See the Babylon Bee video...)