THE HOUSE DETECTIVE

SAFETY FIRST WITH GARAGE DOORS

Safety first with garage doors

Dear Readers, Last week we inadvertently dropped the incorrect answer from the Inspector column. Our apologies. Please enjoy Mr. Stone's advice on garage door safety.

DEAR BARRY: Our home is about 40 years old. Before buying it, we hired a home inspector and were pleased with his work at the time. But since then, one of his recommendations has left us with an expensive problem. He showed us that the garage door opener does not automatically reverse for child safety. When we asked if the repair would be costly, he said it was a matter of adjustment and that "any fool with a screwdriver could do it." We would have asked the sellers to have it repaired but decided not to bother them over an inexpensive adjustment. After closing escrow, we called a garage door man. He said the opener is very old and is not equipped to automatically reverse. He said the fixture is and unsafe and urged us to replace it. Our cost, fully installed, will be nearly $500. We feel totally stung and are wondering how our inspector could have made this kind of error? Claire

DEAR CLAIRE: Safety reverse for garage door openers is a vital lifesaving function that is routinely checked as part of a standard home inspection. Your inspector was right to test the device and to report it as defective and unsafe, but the nature of his recommendation was faulty and ill-advised. When a garage door opener fails to reverse during a home inspection, it is the inspector’s responsibility to report the problem and to advise further evaluation and repair by a qualified professional, not by “any fool with a screwdriver.”

The scope and purpose of a home inspection is to report visible defects and to recommend further evaluation and repairs by appropriate experts. When inspectors venture into the realm of prognosis, advancing prescriptions for adjustments and repairs, they stray beyond the defined scope of their profession and assume the risks of legal and financial liability. This is particularly true when a home inspector recommends that repairs be performed by unqualified individuals.

When the safety-reverse function of a garage door opener fails to operate, the problem may be lack of adjustment, as presumed by your inspector, or it may be something more serious and costly. To conclude that a faulty opener is merely out of adjustment is a presumptive leap of logic. It indicates a lack of adequate knowledge about the item being inspected and a probable lack of experience on the part of the home inspector. In some cases, a faulty garage door opener may simply need adjustment, but many old-model openers were never designed with child-safety features. These outdated fixtures should be replaced, and home inspectors should recommend garage door experts to determine when replacement is needed.

With any technical defect that might be discovered in the course of a home inspection, whether the problem involves a garage door opener or components of the plumbing, heating, electrical, or other building systems, repairs should never be referred to "any fool with a screwdriver." Qualified experts, not fools, are the only reliable persons to evaluate and repair of defects in your home.