| Copyright © 2008 Christopher R. Prickett. All rights reserved worldwide |
| Garage Door Safety |
If you were to put five home inspectors in a room (now THAT sounds like a party!), and ask them
to describe the best way to test an overhead garage door opener, chances are you’d get seven
different answers. The controversy revolves around what is recommended by the “powers that
be” and what actually works in real world applications.
Here’s the deal- In 1988 the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) found that over 30
children had been killed between 82’ and 88’ from being accidentally pinned under garage doors.
At that time, they urged locating opener buttons to be relocated out of the reach of small
children. This did little to lower the number of deaths and injuries, so about six months later they
issued another warning to replace any garage door opener that didn't have an automatic reverse
function, with that did. At this time they recommended that consumers test these devices every
30 days by placing a 2 inch thick wooden block on the floor in the path of the door's travel.
Children continued to get killed and injured so, in 1993 the CSPC required all newly installed
openers to have both “electric eye” sensors and an auto reverse feature.
These new requirements and recommendations evolved into a standardized test that involves
placing a 2x4 block (which measures 1 ½”x 3 ½”), on the ground, in the path of the door. The
door should reverse in 2 seconds. This is fine, but there’s no way tell how much pressure is
exerted on the block before it reverses. Is it enough pressure to kill a child? Remember- Your
garage door is the largest moving object in your house!
While the correct way to test a garage door may be up to debate, the tips listed below are not.
Here are my recommendations to minimize the risk of injury or death to your kids:
Oh, and if you are planning to have five home inspectors over, let me know…I’ll be out of town
that day!
to describe the best way to test an overhead garage door opener, chances are you’d get seven
different answers. The controversy revolves around what is recommended by the “powers that
be” and what actually works in real world applications.
Here’s the deal- In 1988 the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) found that over 30
children had been killed between 82’ and 88’ from being accidentally pinned under garage doors.
At that time, they urged locating opener buttons to be relocated out of the reach of small
children. This did little to lower the number of deaths and injuries, so about six months later they
issued another warning to replace any garage door opener that didn't have an automatic reverse
function, with that did. At this time they recommended that consumers test these devices every
30 days by placing a 2 inch thick wooden block on the floor in the path of the door's travel.
Children continued to get killed and injured so, in 1993 the CSPC required all newly installed
openers to have both “electric eye” sensors and an auto reverse feature.
These new requirements and recommendations evolved into a standardized test that involves
placing a 2x4 block (which measures 1 ½”x 3 ½”), on the ground, in the path of the door. The
door should reverse in 2 seconds. This is fine, but there’s no way tell how much pressure is
exerted on the block before it reverses. Is it enough pressure to kill a child? Remember- Your
garage door is the largest moving object in your house!
While the correct way to test a garage door may be up to debate, the tips listed below are not.
Here are my recommendations to minimize the risk of injury or death to your kids:
- NEVER let your kids play with the garage door opener or remote! It’s not a toy, and should
be treated with the same caution and respect as matches, crossing the street, and talking
to strangers.
- Your garage door opener should have been installed 5’ off of the garage floor. Keep it
there!
- If you have kids, be aware of their location before opening or closing the door. While most
accidents happen when closing it, entanglement and strangulation accidents have been
known to happen. Even if they don’t get trapped or strangled, there’s about a million
places where little fingers can get pinched or cut.
- Never “self-adjust” the opener tension or electric eyes. If you’re having a problem, call a
qualified garage door technician. The most common mistake I see is doors that have been
mistakenly adjusted with the down-force too high. This is usually done because the door
won’t stay down. Over adjusting is just masking a bigger problem.
- Familiarize yourself with the emergency release handle. It’s the red handle that hangs from
a cord and travels along the center track on the ceiling.
- Pulling the handle will disengage the door from the track. This is also good to know if your
power goes out.
Oh, and if you are planning to have five home inspectors over, let me know…I’ll be out of town
that day!