Garage door that can’t be closed - is this an emergency repair

Discussion in 'Repairs & Maintenance' started by ostrich98, 23rd Aug, 2020.

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  1. ostrich98

    ostrich98 Well-Known Member

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    Hi guys, it’s me again stuck with the same issue of this 2 yo townhouse

    this morning as we drove our car out to do our weekly errands we realised our garage door got stuck and not closing.

    This house has bigger problems that what we imagine (and fortunately we are renting). We saw a few cracks on the ceiling of our garage and suspected these were the problems

    We contacted our PM emergency line and again was told “this is not an emergency repair because we could always park our car outside” and they will get someone to attend to our property during business hours. And we could always lock the internal door in our house that leads to the garage

    We have a few things we store in the garage which we feel not safe and they are too big to move into our house ie big shelves, ladders, tools etc

    again is this unreasonable to call this “emergency repair”?
     
  2. ostrich98

    ostrich98 Well-Known Member

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    Also this is in the context of a stage 4 restriction in Melb thanks
     
  3. thatbum

    thatbum Well-Known Member

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    I can't see how it would be an emergency repair, or why the restrictions would support such a finding. If anything wouldn't it make it less important?
     
  4. Shogun

    Shogun Well-Known Member

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  5. wylie

    wylie Moderator Staff Member

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    I would think it falls under "makes the residence unsafe or insecure".

    Can you manually close it, and then at least your open garage is not like a free for all, open slather opportunity for anyone walking past?
     
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  6. thatbum

    thatbum Well-Known Member

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    True, I guess that's the argument - I just think if there's still the internal door that's lockable, then its still going to fall short.
     
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  7. Scott No Mates

    Scott No Mates Well-Known Member

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    What's insecure? All of the stuff in the garage.

    Is the internal door a solid core door with a deadlock or just a passage set/privacy latch?

    If, the door can be pulled closed/lowered manually, then I wouldn't consider it Snow emergency, just urgent.
     
    Last edited: 23rd Aug, 2020
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  8. Joynz

    Joynz Well-Known Member

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    In the Melbourne stage 4 lockdown, ‘emergency’ has a couple of different meanings. Department of Health and Human Services Victoria | Rental hiring and real estate services stage 4 restrictions

    I think this isn’t an emergency repair in either sense.

    With the Melbourne 8pm to 5am curfew, and working from home and the 5km rule, your stuff will be safe for a night.

    You are lucky it’s considered a Covid-lockdown emergency and will be fixed tomorrow.

    Just bring the small tools inside and cover the other ones with a tarp or blanket. What tools do you have that are too big to bring inside?

    Have you looked at the motor to see if there is a message? Mine had a message after two years for a scheduled servicing.

    Have you tried the manual pull handle on the opener?
     
    Last edited: 23rd Aug, 2020
  9. Shogun

    Shogun Well-Known Member

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    My tennant recently complained about the garage door not working properly.
    He seemed somewhat embarrassed when he watched me WD40 the chain and hinges to get it working again.
     
  10. ostrich98

    ostrich98 Well-Known Member

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    Hi guys thanks for the reply

    I guess we just have the suck up and patiently wait until 13/9 when the stage 4 lockdown is over until someone can come and have a look

    no the garage door can’t be manually locked down - it would not be much of an issue for us if we could manually lift and pull the garage door. It was stuck because of the crack on the ceiling and the gear got stuck (see photos)

    The internal door does have a lock however it has a gap due to ceiling crack and the seal has broken down. We requested that to be fixed last time but didn’t get done due to lock down (again was told non urgent repair as it’s the door to our garage).

    What we worried about is the possibility of people accessing our backyard through then gain access through the glass door to house or to the shed that we keep our gardening stuff including a lawn mower. Again we can’t possibly move everything into our house. Our townhouse is at Mount Waverley and my husband’s car got broken into while parked at the visitor parking overnight 2 weeks ago.
     

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  11. Joynz

    Joynz Well-Known Member

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    Bu the REA has already said - according to your OP - that they will get someone in business hours this week - so they are treating it as an emergency under the COVID lockdown, but not to the extent they will pay double time to come out on a weekend!

    Does the garden shed not have a lock?

    If the cornice has fallen on the door opening gear, can you just lift it off?
     
    Last edited: 23rd Aug, 2020
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  12. Mark F

    Mark F Well-Known Member

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    Looks like a quality new build :eek:
     
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  13. Firefly99

    Firefly99 Well-Known Member

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    This sounds like something that should be fixed as soon as practical during business hours. Not something that needs to get fixed on a Sunday afternoon but I’d expect it fixed Monday or Tuesday.
     
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  14. ostrich98

    ostrich98 Well-Known Member

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    Tbh I’m not sure if this could be fixed in a day or 2 - we just went back and checked the ceiling. It has now collapsed onto the garage door that got stuck halfway. Probably due to water leak from wet weather that we had this weekend

    Sorry about the misinformation in my OP - I just checked with my husband who contacted the REA hotline and he said it was an automatic voicemail that says “someone will be in touch for non-urgent repairs”. Thank you so much again for all the replies. We just need to know what to expect for next week and to organise day off to stay at home
     
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  15. Stoffo

    Stoffo Well-Known Member

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    Unless it is some sort of roller/panel door I've never seen before......
    Pull the RED CORD and force the door down !
    As the ceiling is already stuffed it won't matter what else lets go !
    This will allow you to close the door so that it "looks" secure ;)
     
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  16. ostrich98

    ostrich98 Well-Known Member

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    we tried and didn’t work
    We didn’t want to force it down too hard as it is not my property - and now the ceiling has cracked open more and dropped on one side it may be unsafe no?
     
  17. Stoffo

    Stoffo Well-Known Member

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    Leave the car out the front (so you can still use it, and it won't get damaged).
    Pull the red cord and swing on that door like a sugar crazed monkey in Bali :D
    No one will be able to tell if the ceiling was rubbing or had collapsed, it makes little difference, the damage is substantial already and not your doing :p
     
    Last edited by a moderator: 24th Aug, 2020
  18. Buynow

    Buynow Well-Known Member

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    I have the family bike collection in the garage - over $10k worth. Thus, I would consider it an emergency repair.
     
  19. Scott No Mates

    Scott No Mates Well-Known Member

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    So would I ;)

    Agent would just be asking you to put them elsewhere.
     
  20. Joynz

    Joynz Well-Known Member

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    Hallway. You aren’t in the Melbourne lockdown.