Help - Locked out of garage

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20141 posts

Uber Geek

#2016504 15-May-2018 20:36

What sort of latch is on the window? If you can force the sash evenly, you may just be able to bend the latch off. But I am sure someone will have one of those openers. You can usually buy replacements and they are very pricey, as some people stock pile them to sell when this sort of thing happens..

Goosey

2829 posts

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#2016509 15-May-2018 20:51

+1 for brick;

1) call a glazier, book in the time

2) proceed to smash or wait for glazier to use the cleaner way....

3) crawl in

Bung

6477 posts

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#2016515 15-May-2018 21:04

kiwijunglist: Door won't lift even with power disengaged.

Power is immaterial. How hard did you try to lift the door? It does take more effort than when the drum is disengaged from the motor. A properly secured door will be bolted to the drum just above the side tracks.

Edit If the window surround isn't easy to remove see if the roof is screwed on. You'd probably only have to remove 3 or 4 screws to lift the edge of a sheet of iron enough to poke the remote with a stick.

Fred99

13684 posts

Uber Geek

#2016541 15-May-2018 21:46

Bung:
kiwijunglist: Door won't lift even with power disengaged.

Power is immaterial. How hard did you try to lift the door? It does take more effort than when the drum is disengaged from the motor. A properly secured door will be bolted to the drum just above the side tracks.

Edit If the window surround isn't easy to remove see if the roof is screwed on. You'd probably only have to remove 3 or 4 screws to lift the edge of a sheet of iron enough to poke the remote with a stick.

Don't try and force a roller door open without the manual release pulled. It will probably end in grief, at best with the gears stripped inside the auto opener.

Fred99

13684 posts

Uber Geek

#2016542 15-May-2018 21:53

Without being too pessimistic, just a few tips:

I think that looks like a old remote that actually had 12 dip switches and each had three positions. As the remote is locked in the garage, I think the option of hacking it should probably be forgotten.

Can the interior of the garage be viewed through the window?

Is there a push button switch for the door on a wall? Could the outside wall be drilled through - or some other method used so that the cable for the push button can be grabbed and the two conductors shorted so that the door opens? (No - not the mains power cable to the opener - LOL).

Can the outside wall on the side of the door where the opener is fitted be drilled through, then a wire with a hook bent in the end be pushed through to grab the manual release on the auto opener? These are often a pull lever - not fitted with a cable - so it may not be easy.

Would it be possible to slip a sabre saw metal cutting blade between the front edge of the track and the jamb, cut through the fasteners holding the track to the jamb on one side, then force the door open enough to either sneak in, or reach the manual release? Then afterwards, it shouldn't be too hard to replace a few fasteners.

I don't think it's possible to offer better suggestions than that without more information. The brick might be the easiest answer, There was another thread on a similar subject yesterday. If you've got an auto opener on a garage with no other access, you need to fit a key/cable manual release. A UPS or battery backup system etc is NOT a good solution, as besides the possibility of the remote getting stuck in the garage, the auto unit itself could fail.

Batman

Mad Scientist
29760 posts

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#2016543 15-May-2018 22:03

Linux:
Batman:

What would MacGyver do?

Brick

John

Well, then, brick it is!

gzt

17104 posts

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#2016544 15-May-2018 22:08

Photo of the window fastening system required.

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insane

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#2016547 15-May-2018 22:51

Duct tape the window and try drill a small hole in it. If it cracks you're no worse off. If you're lucky you could slide a dowell through the hole and attempt to press the remotes button.

Keep the brick handy as I'm sure it'll get frustrating after a few failed attempts :)

Bung

6477 posts

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#2016549 15-May-2018 23:16

Fred99:
Don't try and force a roller door open without the manual release pulled. It will probably end in grief, at best with the gears stripped inside the auto opener.

I did make it clear that the intent was to find out if the curtain could be lifted above the drum without actually tring to force the drum to move.

The trouble with instructing from a distance is you can describe the hammer but not the subtlety of using it.

yann

135 posts

Master Geek

#2016553 15-May-2018 23:31

kiwijunglist: If someone has this remote they could take Photo of the inside of the remote or tell me what the frequency was.

My parents seem to have a similar looking unit, though I think it is the same as the one you linked to earlier on. Their one is a AHI TRV-300 Tilt-A-Matic.

Inside there are 8 ON/OFF or 0/1 switches and their frequency is 303 MHz. Their one has a Red Button and the sticker looks different, but the shape is the same.

Yann :)

tdgeek

29740 posts

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#2016593 16-May-2018 06:22

Glazier, hop in, glazier. Far simpler and quicker than the more creative solutions.

scuwp

3885 posts

Uber Geek

#2016603 16-May-2018 07:26

Ring the fire brigade and tell them there is a child trapped inside, it will be open quick smart ;-)

But seriously, I join the chorus of people saying forget the door and gain entry through the window. Either smash and repair or just get a glazier out to remove and re-install. Depending on the joinery some glass is remarkably easy to remove.

Lazy is such an ugly word, I prefer to call it selective participation

MikeAqua

7773 posts

Uber Geek

#2016609 16-May-2018 07:56

Better to remove the glass intact if you are going to crawl through the window.

Mike

kiwijunglist

2981 posts

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#2016614 16-May-2018 08:02

yann:
kiwijunglist: If someone has this remote they could take Photo of the inside of the remote or tell me what the frequency was.

My parents seem to have a similar looking unit, though I think it is the same as the one you linked to earlier on. Their one is a AHI TRV-300 Tilt-A-Matic.

Inside there are 8 ON/OFF or 0/1 switches and their frequency is 303 MHz. Their one has a Red Button and the sticker looks different, but the shape is the same.

Yann :)

That's excellent do they live in Wellington would they rent it for a few hours. I can buy the same remote from nz for about $80, however have seen on ebay Australia for a lot less.

Are you fairly confident with those specs you quoted, are they from memory or from the link i posted.

Thanks.

HTPC / Home automation (home assistant) enthusiast.

kiwijunglist

2981 posts

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#2016615 16-May-2018 08:02

yann:
kiwijunglist: If someone has this remote they could take Photo of the inside of the remote or tell me what the frequency was.

My parents seem to have a similar looking unit, though I think it is the same as the one you linked to earlier on. Their one is a AHI TRV-300 Tilt-A-Matic.

Inside there are 8 ON/OFF or 0/1 switches and their frequency is 303 MHz. Their one has a Red Button and the sticker looks different, but the shape is the same.

Yann :)

HTPC / Home automation (home assistant) enthusiast.

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