Got a 20 year old garage door opener replaced yesterday by a good company. Installer calls me and says he is leaving the openers inside. He put on an outside pad to open the door. At first I said no and then OK. I did not go to check his work.

This morning I go over and the garage door is wide open and the light is on. Openers are there and the outside pad box is partially open. I try to shut the door. It will not close. It comes down about five inches and goes back up. Light will not shut off at the button on the inside door. Thankfully the inside door to the house is locked. I am shocked. I pulled the red release cord and the door would not release.

I call the company and they will let me know when they can send someone. I have a bad neighbor. He does destructive things to the building occasionally like kicking in the screens on the gazebo outback. Another neighbor knows this and has not reported him. Same ethnicity.

So bad neighbor has his truck in front of the building. He has a driveway and space in front of his house. My tenant is away for the week, the opera singer. Downstairs is empty. I am sure the bad neighbor knows that no one is home.

Many years ago on my personal home I needed a new garage door opener. They suggested the outside key pad. I said no need. They convinced me it was worth it for the small additional monies. Now, probably 20+ years later I cannot imagine how we got along without it. Kind of like the microwave or heated car seats - if you've never had them you don't miss them but once you've got it, you'll never go without again.

Those exterior remote key pads have a default code unless re-programed by owner. Someone walking by can key in the code to open up the door....

OK, here's what I did. I checked by looking at the two sensors and they appear to be aligned. No spider webs or debris or leaves in the way. One is lighted and one not and I think that's the way it's supposed to be. I hauled again on the release cord and it would not release the door. Door shuts about four inches and snaps back up. Worked fine with old unit

Called install company and they could not send anyone right away, maybe later. Called handyman, regular electrician and no one answering.

Grabbed a small ladder and went back. I looked at the attachment to the chain and rail and just hauled on the red cord. I put my full weight and moved the thing a little bit so I pulled toward the door and slid that thing until the door started to drop. But the door kept trying to go back up so I had to hold onto the red handle and reach over to the door and pull down on it. Then it moved and went all the way down. Whew!

So now anyone can just lift the door to get in so I tried to use the bar lock on the garage door but somebody put a screw into the bar so I could not use it. I got a really long steel rod and put it into the slot on the rail and duct taped it to the lock bar. No one is lifting that door tonight.

Ok so I also pulled the plug on the motor unit. The code here is that they have to have a dedicated plug. I used a long plant hanger and it came right out of the plug. I was afraid if I left the power on someone might have a universal opener and try to get it open again. I also took the battery out of the touchpad. Nobody is getting in that garage tonight.

Not sure what the neighbors ethnicity has to do with any of this. Not sure why it was even mentioned.

Miss Alley, what type of springs does the door have extension or torsion? Even though only 1 sensor actually sends the beam of light both sensors should have a red light showing (some models use green lights instead of red).

Steve, the springs are the kind that run up the side of the garage inside on both sides. I have a different garage with one in the center over the door. I suspect you would call these extension. I will ask about the limit switches when the tech comes tomorrow.

As Steve said.

I would just let the tech diagnose it himself.

You need to be there tomorrow and observe and make sure that he double checks everything and you try everything yourself before he leaves.

Strange.

I was a licensed home inspector and had to test doors.

A couple notes....

1) when you pull the red cord, it sometimes requires LIGHT pressure to get the door moving, but then it should go down all the way....sometimes you have to support it a bit or it will slam down

2) there are two adjustments on the opener...one is “up force” and one “ down force” . If the down force is set too sensitive it will cause the issue u describe where door goes down a few inches then reverses. However, given that you couldn’t easily pull it down manually, I suspect something is binding...the tech will have to diagnose.

I think it is weird that you just had a new opener installed the day before -- by a guy that you admit was inexperienced and didn't seem to have much patience -- and your first thought is that someone BROKE IN? And/or that your neighbors are conspiring against you?

My first thought would be a bad install. Period. You just had it installed and it malfunctioned immediately. That's pretty normal for shoddy install work, of course. Why do you immediately make the leap that your property is being attacked?

That's some strong paranoia...

- John...

The tech came out. He was an older fellow. Tried the door and it came down about four inches and kicked back as it did yesterday. He said that means that one of the two sensors was misaligned. He went right over to the sensor and re aligned it. The door worked fine after that. He told me to pull the release to the left not straight down and I tried that and it did release but it moved right back to engagement. Tech did nothing about that. So he tried it and it worked and then walked over to the door and moved it down. So I will have to have someone help me if the door needs to be disengaged again. I pull down and someone pulls the door down. I will try it a few times and if I can't manage it I will make them come back.

Now, the tech agreed that the only way the door would have been open in the morning with the lights on is if someone tried the keypad until the door opened and went in and moved the sensor to make the door not function. He said that new doors have changing combinations of codes so no one can accidentally have the same code. So someone actually did play with the keypad and open the door.

Ally, it doesn't sound like you know what "cancel culture" means at all. Someone not agreeing with you and/or even ignoring some of what you say is not "cancel culture."

"Cancel culture" is telling other people to boycott or otherwise not use companies that you don't like because they offended you.

Cancel culture would be telling everyone not to go to Starbucks because they changed their cups to not mention Christmas, for example. Or telling people to boycott all Apple products because they won't break into people's cell phones. Or telling people to cancel their HBO subscriptions because they don't like Bill Maher.

THOSE are all good examples of "cancel culture."

- John...

Laura, disappointed in another insult, but not surprised.

It must be a sad life, calling others with different opinions racists.

My mom grew up in the 40s in massive poverty, and was frequently harassed and assaulted by peers her age, as she grew up in an African American area as a white child. Oddly enough, I never saw her or my father ever display any form of racism in my whole life. I never saw my grandparents act in a way that would be racist as well.

Yet, because I think differently than you, your quick default is to label me. Not sure I understand the rationale, but it's clear you need this crutch to lean on in conversations with people that don't think or have values in line with your own.

Who's the ignorant and intolerant one?