House Problems

"BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather" (bugeyedacura)
06/07/2017 at 16:38 • Filed to: None

My wife and I bought a brand new Condo/townhouse last year and the garage door has never been right. It will randomly catch and go back up, and sometimes we’re hitting the button 10 times to get the door down. We’ve had the installing company out 5 times now to try to fix it. Because it’s an intermittent problem, all we ever get are band aids. Add to this that the company does a terrible job scheduling and that they’ve lost our appointment a couple times. Ultimately being in a sales/service position I try to be patient but I’ve just had enough. I bought new construction so that we didn’t have these kinds of issues. Any advice on how I can force this company’s hand and get them to fix the door right?

DISCUSSION (31)

crowmolly > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather
06/07/2017 at 16:41

Local place or national door chain?

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather
06/07/2017 at 16:43

Make some bad PR for them is all you can do. Some companies don’t even give a shit about that.

Arrivederci > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather
06/07/2017 at 16:44

Since it’s brand new, I’d start to rattle the builder’s chain a little bit. Get them to shake down the installing company a bit, since they probably have dealt with them a fair bit and the installing company will want to keep their business.

For Sweden > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather
06/07/2017 at 16:44

Small claims court

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell.
06/07/2017 at 16:46

Which is sometimes hard to understand, it can truly be a death sentence to a business, especially one with <5 reviews, your 1-star review will really affect their rating. I typically steer clear of a business if I see low ratings like that.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs
06/07/2017 at 16:48

Being that this is a new build the company probably gets regular contracts with homebuilders. Homebuilders dont give a fuck about suppliers online reviews if theyre already on the books.

haveacarortwoorthree2 > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather
06/07/2017 at 16:48

Write a demand letter to the builder and garage door company. Is there a property manager? I’d cc them as well.

benjrblant > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather
06/07/2017 at 16:49

As new construction, the contractor/builder/architect is legally liable for 10 years past the date of completion. As For Sweden pointed out, small claims court might be the only way to get this fixed if the contractor cannot correct it-however, you might be in it for more money in fees than what a new door/tracks would cost.

TheRevanchist > For Sweden
06/07/2017 at 16:53

Kinja'd!!!

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > crowmolly
06/07/2017 at 16:54

Local place from what I’ve seen on their website.

razorbeamteam > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather
06/07/2017 at 16:55

Two words to live by: demand satisfaction

Haha, I’ve used that once with an idiot cable company where I was at my wits end “sir! I demand to be satisfied!”

I’m sure they were cracking up after I hung up

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > haveacarortwoorthree2
06/07/2017 at 16:55

We have an HOA, but not a property manager that I’m aware of. Or is that the HOA?

Rico > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather
06/07/2017 at 16:57

I think the HOA should be the ones going after the company, not you.

My X-type is too a real Jaguar > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather
06/07/2017 at 16:58

I had that problem in my case it was faulty electronic eyes. Have these been replaced?

Textured Soy Protein > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather
06/07/2017 at 17:03

Is there any kind of home warranty since you bought it from the builder?

haveacarortwoorthree2 > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather
06/07/2017 at 17:06

I wasn’t sure how big the development was. We have an HOA, and the HOA hired a property manager (actually a team) because our development is so large. If it’s just an HOA, I suspect you aren’t going to get much help since the board is composed of other residents. Might be better to approach the HOA separately to see if it can provide any assistance — I suspect the answer is going to be that the HOA is not responsible for your garage since it isn’t a common area, but someone might be able to help with the builder. Note that depending on how new the development is, the HOA may still be builder-controlled as well.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather
06/07/2017 at 17:06

I guess if they can’t/won’t fix it I would hire a reputable company to fix or replace the door. Then I would send them the bill with a cover letter written by a lawyer telling them how there is a lean on their business until they pay up. In reality this should be a $1,000 or so fix right?

crowmolly > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather
06/07/2017 at 17:06

Did you hire them directly or was it part of your home purchase as a whole?

If it’s the latter, I’d take it up the chain with your HOA (which I saw in another post) or your builder.

PatBateman > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather
06/07/2017 at 17:09

Since it’s brand new, I’d formally request that the builder come out to replace it. Not repair, REPLACE.

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > crowmolly
06/07/2017 at 17:15

It was part of the package

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > My X-type is too a real Jaguar
06/07/2017 at 17:15

They’ve been reset. But not replaced.

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > Textured Soy Protein
06/07/2017 at 17:16

That’s what we’re under now. I haven’t paid for any of this.

Future next gen S2000 owner > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather
06/07/2017 at 17:24

My garage door was having a similar issue. It would kinda pop on the way up and not go down on an intermittent basis.

If you want them to fix it, draft a letter stating if the garage door isn’t correctly fixed on the next appointment you will get a lawyer involved.

If you want to fix it, drill out the pin hole on the arm or the garage door. My issue was the alignment was off just enough to cause friction and bind the pin holding the door to the arm(the arm attached to the chain with the rope. Drill it 1/16" or 1/8" over and the problem will mostly likely go away.

When I bought my house, it was adjusted by the previous owners, issue came back and I paid a company to come adjust it. Ten minutes and a drill solved what paid professionals were too incompetent to figure out.

E92M3 > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather
06/07/2017 at 17:28

Have you watched it to see if it’s catching on something, or if the safety sensors are faulty. You can watch the lights on the sensors to see if they go out. It should be pretty easy to figure out. Check the wiring to make sure its not loose. Make sure it’s not shorting out. I had an issue with mine. The wires on the sensors were too long and would touch each other when the door was going down (due to vibration of the rails). They just bend the wires in a U shape, and screw them down. So it’s easy for them to move some during the last turn of the screw when tightening them down. Due to being so intermittenent, I bet its a wiring issue. If it was an alignment problem, it would happen almost all the time.

TahoeSTi > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather
06/07/2017 at 17:34

Last time I had this issue it was the a simple adjustment so the door knew when to stop....I’d just try to fix it myself if i was you or at least to all the trouble shooting so you can ask for the correct fix.

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > TahoeSTi
06/07/2017 at 18:14

That was one of the things they fixed during their multiple visits