The further adventures of Geri Sullivan: Girl Homeowner
See that garage on the far right of the user icon? See that garage door on the right, partially-obscured by the shrub rose cacophony in the front yard? The door is closed in the picture, which is not its current state.
Oh, no. The door is currently half-open. Half-open and thoroughly stuck. The wire cable on the furthest side came off one pulley, freeing the other pulley to drop partially into the rail (where it never belongs) and become very firmly lodged against the top roller as the door rose. The whole thing appears totally bolluxed.
So instead of seeing the Coen Brothers' new movie, Inside Llewyn Davis and then spending the afternoon visiting with Mark & Priscilla Olsen, I'm stuck here at Toad Woods. Or, rather, the Cardis is stuck, which for most practical purposes means I am, too.
In the last 3 hours, I've
1) Poked at it (mostly visually, figuring out the problem)
2) Hammered at it.
3) Came inside to sit and think in the hope of avoiding doing something stupid and/or dangerous.
4) Searched online both for fix-it techniques and garage door companies.
5) Left voicemail and sent an email to Roebuck Door Company in Monson. Their website appears very credible and includes the information that they've been in business for 40 years.
6) Reality-checked my actions to date as well as my thoughts and plans with Ben
7) Borrowed a crowbar from the neighbors. I'm all but certain I own one, but if I do, it's not in any of the likely places.
8) Applied leverage with the crowbar in an attempt to move the stuck pulley.
9) Hammered at things some more.
10) Looked at things some more. Noticed the wire cable is off the pulley that's mounted near the door, which explains how the other pulley managed to fall into the rail in the first place.
10) Removed 3 of 4 bolt-headed screws holding the roller bracket with the thought of removing the roller and thus the jam. I don't know if the door would go up or down given the wire off the pulley problem, but it would remove at least one of the physical barriers that's preventing movement from happening.
As I was working on removing the 4th bolt (the socket and ratchet handle that came from Daddy's doesn't fit there nearly as well as it did with the other 3), my cell phone rang. It was the Roebuck Door Company calling back. No guarantees, but they think they can get out this afternoon. And they ever so softly and kindly suggested that I stop trying to free my car in the meanwhile. "Oh," I said. "You don't want the homeowner making it worse."
Ah, yup. Makes sense. I told them I'll resist poking at it further for as long as I can. Which is why I'm inside writing this post. I knew before I called them that I'd need door service/repairs even if I managed to it working today. That was before I noticed the wire-off-the-pulley problem.
I've left a message for Mark & Priscilla. I may still get there; they may be able to come here.
Further update coming when I have one. I suspect I'll end up getting new garage door openers, too. The ones I have are well over 20 years old and may even be original to the house, which would make them 40. I think it's time, especially if I like the company. So far, I do.
Oh, no. The door is currently half-open. Half-open and thoroughly stuck. The wire cable on the furthest side came off one pulley, freeing the other pulley to drop partially into the rail (where it never belongs) and become very firmly lodged against the top roller as the door rose. The whole thing appears totally bolluxed.
So instead of seeing the Coen Brothers' new movie, Inside Llewyn Davis and then spending the afternoon visiting with Mark & Priscilla Olsen, I'm stuck here at Toad Woods. Or, rather, the Cardis is stuck, which for most practical purposes means I am, too.
In the last 3 hours, I've
1) Poked at it (mostly visually, figuring out the problem)
2) Hammered at it.
3) Came inside to sit and think in the hope of avoiding doing something stupid and/or dangerous.
4) Searched online both for fix-it techniques and garage door companies.
5) Left voicemail and sent an email to Roebuck Door Company in Monson. Their website appears very credible and includes the information that they've been in business for 40 years.
6) Reality-checked my actions to date as well as my thoughts and plans with Ben
7) Borrowed a crowbar from the neighbors. I'm all but certain I own one, but if I do, it's not in any of the likely places.
8) Applied leverage with the crowbar in an attempt to move the stuck pulley.
9) Hammered at things some more.
10) Looked at things some more. Noticed the wire cable is off the pulley that's mounted near the door, which explains how the other pulley managed to fall into the rail in the first place.
10) Removed 3 of 4 bolt-headed screws holding the roller bracket with the thought of removing the roller and thus the jam. I don't know if the door would go up or down given the wire off the pulley problem, but it would remove at least one of the physical barriers that's preventing movement from happening.
As I was working on removing the 4th bolt (the socket and ratchet handle that came from Daddy's doesn't fit there nearly as well as it did with the other 3), my cell phone rang. It was the Roebuck Door Company calling back. No guarantees, but they think they can get out this afternoon. And they ever so softly and kindly suggested that I stop trying to free my car in the meanwhile. "Oh," I said. "You don't want the homeowner making it worse."
Ah, yup. Makes sense. I told them I'll resist poking at it further for as long as I can. Which is why I'm inside writing this post. I knew before I called them that I'd need door service/repairs even if I managed to it working today. That was before I noticed the wire-off-the-pulley problem.
I've left a message for Mark & Priscilla. I may still get there; they may be able to come here.
Further update coming when I have one. I suspect I'll end up getting new garage door openers, too. The ones I have are well over 20 years old and may even be original to the house, which would make them 40. I think it's time, especially if I like the company. So far, I do.