# B'oh! Garage door remote broken, only access to garage is through remote-opened door. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 17, 2010, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boh-garage-door-remote-broken-only-access-to-garage-is-through-remote-opened-door/536492 "2010-04-17T23:16:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![anson2995](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@anson2995](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anson2995)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boh-garage-door-remote-broken-only-access-to-garage-is-through-remote-opened-door/536492/21 "2010-04-19T00:53:48Z")
Y’all are assuming the OPs opener doesn’t have a manual release, but he never said that. He can’t get to the manual release if he’s outside the garage and the door is closed. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boh-garage-door-remote-broken-only-access-to-garage-is-through-remote-opened-door/536492/22 "2010-04-19T01:18:33Z")
Yes, but the whole point is that you need a way to get into the garage if the opener doesn’t work (due to, for example a broken transmitter, broken opener or power outage). ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boh-garage-door-remote-broken-only-access-to-garage-is-through-remote-opened-door/536492/23 "2010-04-19T01:42:49Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Aside from a backup remote, you might still want to install the manual emergency release, just in case of a power outage. When my father bought a garage door opener for his house years ago, the opener had this great big rechargeable battery which kicked into action if there was a loss of power to the unit. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boh-garage-door-remote-broken-only-access-to-garage-is-through-remote-opened-door/536492/24 "2010-04-19T01:51:30Z")
As already mentioned, gears do strip out (some are made of plastic). I’d install the manual release, backup battery or no. ---
**Author:** ![robcaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@robcaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robcaro)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boh-garage-door-remote-broken-only-access-to-garage-is-through-remote-opened-door/536492/25 "2010-04-19T19:47:33Z")
Why don’t you put a side door for easy entry if the main door won’t open again. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boh-garage-door-remote-broken-only-access-to-garage-is-through-remote-opened-door/536492/26 "2010-04-19T20:36:20Z")
> [@NinetyWt](#): > > As already mentioned, gears do strip out (some are made of plastic). I’d install the manual release, backup battery or no. And torsion springs break. I’ve had that happen to a garage door. In that instance, opening the door from either side, manual release or not, is difficult: [http://www.ehow.com/how\_5317195\_open-garage-door-broken-spring.html](http://www.ehow.com/how_5317195_open-garage-door-broken-spring.html) It’s best to have an extra exit to a garage. If you can afford it, I’d concur that you should put a door out to your patio. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boh-garage-door-remote-broken-only-access-to-garage-is-through-remote-opened-door/536492/27 "2010-04-19T20:47:46Z")
When those springs in the garage door break, they do so violently. I’ve been in the garage when this happened but fortunately not too close. You could easily get injured when it starts flying around wildly. I think now it’s customary (or even a matter of code) for a steel cable to be run through the middle of the spring so as to contain its motion when it does break. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boh-garage-door-remote-broken-only-access-to-garage-is-through-remote-opened-door/536492/28 "2010-04-19T20:57:20Z")
a torsion spring is mounted above the door around a bar. extension springs are mounted above the horizontal tracks and should have a safety cable running through them. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boh-garage-door-remote-broken-only-access-to-garage-is-through-remote-opened-door/536492/29 "2010-04-19T21:05:28Z")
OK, I was thinking of extension springs. (I just never knew what they were called.) ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boh-garage-door-remote-broken-only-access-to-garage-is-through-remote-opened-door/536492/30 "2010-04-19T21:32:25Z")
Either system, without the spring you are suddenly reminded that a two car garage door may weigh 200-300 pounds. The poor little motor on your opener ain’t gonna lift it. Neither are you, without a lot of effort. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boh-garage-door-remote-broken-only-access-to-garage-is-through-remote-opened-door/536492/31 "2010-04-20T13:46:07Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > What kind of person builds a garage like that? One of the previous owners of my house. There was once a side door into the garage, but it had been walled up by the time we bought the house. We had a new door installed, and I’m very glad we did. It’s so much better to be able to leave the garage door opener in the car where it belongs than it is to have to carry it out to the car every time. I have no idea why whoever it was decided to wall up the door. We don’t live in a high crime area. It’s nice to not have to worry about situations like the OP’s. We had that happen once before we had the side door installed, though the problem wasn’t with the garage door opener. We called a garage door repair company, and they were able to get into the garage. I didn’t watch them do it, so I don’t know how they did it. They were able to do it with no visible damage to the garage or doors, though. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boh-garage-door-remote-broken-only-access-to-garage-is-through-remote-opened-door/536492/32 "2010-04-20T13:52:25Z")
> [@Terry\_Kennedy](#): > > In general, newer building codes don’t apply to pre-existing work, **if** that work was acceptable to the previous code. > > The fact that it is plugged into a “permanent” extension cord would most likely be evidence that the installation was **not** in compliance with the National Electrical Code in force at the time of the installation. > > If the opener is less than 17 years old, it was required to have these safety devices. The combination of extension cord and no (apparent) outside emergency release makes me think this was not a professional install, so the requirements at the time it was installed may not have been met. > > [CPSC Flyer on Garage Door Openers](http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PUBS/523.html) Thanks for the reply & good info. I glossed over the extension cord. I was just thinking that the device had to meet relevant code at the time it left the factory, so therefore it was kosher when installed, and therefore still kosher now if undisturbed. Gotta check \*all \*the boxes, not just most of 'em. Which is exactly the difference between a pro and a weekend DIY warrior. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boh-garage-door-remote-broken-only-access-to-garage-is-through-remote-opened-door/536492/33 "2010-04-20T13:56:58Z")
These manual release things people keep talking about… what prevents thieves using them? ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boh-garage-door-remote-broken-only-access-to-garage-is-through-remote-opened-door/536492/34 "2010-04-20T14:05:18Z")
My old neighbor had person door cut into his garage door. It was not full sized, just a hatch of sorts, with hinges on one side and a latch on the other. His looked horrible, (repurposed hmismtahced hinges, loaded on the outside, and a rusty oversized latch with a combination lock hanging from it) but I reckon it could be done much less obtrusively. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boh-garage-door-remote-broken-only-access-to-garage-is-through-remote-opened-door/536492/35 "2010-04-20T14:06:20Z")
My old neighbor had person door cut into his garage door. It was not full sized, just a hatch of sorts, with hinges on one side and a latch on the other. His looked horrible, (repurposed mismatched hinges, loaded on the outside, and a rusty oversized latch with a combination lock hanging from it) but I reckon it could be done much less obtrusively. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boh-garage-door-remote-broken-only-access-to-garage-is-through-remote-opened-door/536492/36 "2010-04-20T14:07:10Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > These manual release things people keep talking about… what prevents thieves using them? The fact that you have to be inside the garage in order to pull the manual release. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boh-garage-door-remote-broken-only-access-to-garage-is-through-remote-opened-door/536492/37 "2010-04-20T14:22:14Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > These manual release things people keep talking about… what prevents thieves using them? [It’s keyed, just like a door.](http://www.naturalhandyman.com/iip/infgar/infgar61i.html) [QUOTE=Leaffan] The fact that you have to be inside the garage in order to pull the manual release. [/QUOTE] The inside releases wouldn’t help the OP. She needs the kind that are operated from the outside. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2010, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boh-garage-door-remote-broken-only-access-to-garage-is-through-remote-opened-door/536492/38 "2010-04-20T15:35:34Z")
I wonder how secure many people keep their garages anyway. I have an attached garage, but it also has an external door, which doesn’t even have a lock on it. That door opens on to the walkway leading from the fence gate to the back yard. I just lock the door into the house. If a thief got in, they could probably then kick in the door to the house without being seen from the street. I think the attitude is that there isn’t that much worth stealing in the average garage anyway, apart from vehicles, which have their own security systems. I should put up a better door from the garage into the house (it’s not deadbolted). Then again, if you have a patio door, those usually aren’t very secure either. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boh-garage-door-remote-broken-only-access-to-garage-is-through-remote-opened-door/536492.md?page=1)