Welcome to the 836th Metamorphosis Monday! When I first moved into the Dollhouse, there was a lot of neglected maintenance that needed to be done. One of the first things I dealt with was replacing the garage door opener. The previous owners had never used the garage to house their cars during the two years they lived in the home. Since they moved frequently due to their career, they opted to use the garage for storage. In this photo below taken by the home inspector before I purchased the home, you can see the old garage door opener. I would love to fully renovate this 86-year-old garage one day, but that will have to wait for now. A lot of the homes from this era don’t have garages at all, so I’m thankful that this one does, especially during the cold Ohio winters!
After the previous owners moved out, I could not locate the garage door openers. I asked one of the owners who was still in town if he knew where I could find those. It took him a few days but he was able to locate one of the openers. Before handing it to me, he pressed the button and expressed surprise when it worked and the garage door went up. I was thrilled that it worked since that meant I didn’t have to keep getting out of my car to unlock the door that leads into the garage, to open the garage from inside each time I arrived home. Unfortunately, the opener only worked a couple of times, then stopped. I tried replacing the battery but that didn’t help. (Note: I ordered an opener online on Amazon, but by the time it arrived I was onto a new idea.)
A couple of months after I purchased the home, the previous owner dropped a bag by the house that contained blueprints for a room addition that was added to the Dollhouse in 1951.
That room is now my studio/office so I was thrilled to have the blueprints for this wonderful addition.
I was so surprised when I pulled out the blueprints and found this down inside the bag—the second garage door opener. This is how it looked—where had it been stored all this time?
I don’t know if the second garage door opener would have worked since I never tried to use it. By that time I had decided to replace the old garage door opener unit itself since it was not in great shape. You can’t see it in this photo below from the inspection, but at some point, someone had put the wrong type of lightbulb into the left side of the unit and it had burned a hole right through the plastic cover on that side. I tried replacing the bulbs on both sides and they would not work. The other issue with this ancient opener was that it was so old, it wasn’t designed to work with the HomeLink feature that I have in my SUV. I love using HomeLink since it means I don’t have to fumble for the opener each time I return home. So, between the broken garage door openers, the burned-out plastic cover on the ceiling unit, the lights in the ceiling unit that wouldn’t work, and no HomeLink, I decided it was time to upgrade the unit/opener itself.
Shopping and buying a garage door opener in Atlanta is so very different from buying one in Dayton, Ohio. In Atlanta, companies will come to your home, show you the various state-of-the-art models that they have available, and explain how they all work so you can choose the one that meets your needs. After calling several (3) garage door opener companies, none were willing to do that. They told me they didn’t give in-home estimates. They wanted me to just let them install whatever they normally install. Mostly they wanted to sell me a new garage door, which I didn’t need. Man, I was missing Atlanta right then!
A few more weeks went by during which time I did a bunch of online research trying to figure out who was making the best garage openers these days. I liked the reviews and information I was finding online about LiftMaster openers, so I started calling around to see who carried those. Eventually, a guy came out from Overhead Door to install an opener that he said was similar to the one I have at home from Overhead Door in Atlanta, but it was missing several features that my current opener in Georgia has that I love. He referred me to a “guy” who he said could get what I wanted. I called the company/guy he recommended but didn’t get an answer, so I left a message. A week went by and I still hadn’t heard back. Just when I was about to give up and start looking for another company, he returned my call. He had been on vacation. It turned out that he’s a fireman for my community and does the garage door opener thing as a side job. By this point, I was really getting discouraged! Since he sold LiftMaster, was willing to come out and give me an estimate, and had come recommended, I decided to give him a chance.
During the appointment he showed me three different LiftMaster units, explaining all their features. I went with the mid-range unit because it had everything I wanted, plus even more features than my Overhead Door unit back in Georgia. The most expensive Liftmaster Opener he showed me had a camera in case a person uses home-delivery services (like Amazon, Walmart, etc…) for inside-garage deliveries. I never do that, so I didn’t go with the LiftMaster with the built-in camera.
After allllll that I went through trying to get a working garage door opener with the features I wanted, I must say that I LOVE this opener! It’s unbelievably quiet, works every single time, and pairs beautifully with the HomeLink in my SUV. The company I used was excellent. The installer, who is also the owner of the company I used, paired the unit to my HomeLink in my SUV. He stood there while I added the LiftMaster Q app to my phone, explained how to use the app (which is super easy), then swept the entire garage floor to make sure he didn’t drop any screws. So glad I didn’t settle for any of the other companies I talked with during this whole process!
This garage door opener has an awesome feature that my Overhead Door unit back in Georgia doesn’t have. Using the “My Q” app, I can open the garage door when needed, even when I’m back home in Georgia. I have a keypad installed by the garage door, but by using the app on my phone to open the door when I’m in Georgia, I don’t have to share the keypad code with a delivery person. That came in handy when I had the sectional for the basement delivered a few months back.
From Georgia, I was able to open the garage for the delivery so the 7 boxes containing the sofa weren’t left setting out in the rain all day until my son could move them into the garage that evening. My RING camera alerted me when Amazon arrived and I requested that they place the boxes inside the garage rather than on the front porch. The boxes would never have all fit on the porch anyway. They were happy to do that. I opened the garage door via the app and watched via my RING camera floodlight that’s mounted on the garage as they loaded all the boxes into the garage. Once they were done, I pressed the “Close” button on the app and could hear the garage door going down. The app indicated the door was now closed. It also came in handy when the tub refinishing guy had to come back to do some touch-up work on the master bathroom tub. I LOVE the app feature so much, I’m super tempted to replace the garage door opener I have in Georgia with the same LiftMaster unit. I am a LiftMaster fan now—it’s so much quieter than my Overhead Door unit!
Looking forward to all the wonderful Before and Afters linked for this week’s Met Monday! Pssst: Did you know Between Naps On The Porch is on Instagram? You’ll find me on Instagram here: Between Naps On The Porch. Like to know when a new blog post is up? Subscribe for email updates (it’s free) and your e-mail will never be shared. Subscribe for free post updates here: Subscribe.
Glad you finally got an opener installed and it works great for you – those features sound neat! But, isn’t amazing how hard it is to find someone to do work around the house ? Before we moved to the retirement community we lived in we found it so frustrating…sometimes our calls were never returned. Now we have a great maintenance service included with our residence. Just enter a work order online and someone comes and takes care of any issue. Our garbage disposal was making a funny sound, they came and said we needed a new one. I asked how long to order a new one and install…”no, figured you needed a new one, I have one on the cart and I will install it now”. What a joy! So enjoy following your experiences as you make the doll house your own!
I know, it really is! Atlanta can be bad about that too because it is so much work. So it seems like the contractors with the best reputation only want the really big jobs. So I sympathize with what you experienced, Ann.
That’s wonderful that you don’t have to worry about that anymore.
Thanks, Ann!
Susan, Susan…you are quite the package!! GOOD WORK & I’m sitting here in Virginia smiling about your good fortune (AND, RESEARCH!) in Ohio/Georgia!! WAY!! franki
lol Thanks! I just didn’t want to settle. I try to do stuff right the first time because it’s too expensive to have regrets!
Timely post for us. Would you share model for the Lift Master you chose?
Sure! I just checked the receipt and it says that it’s the LiftMaster, Model #84602.
Hi Susan
I wish we had a garage living here in Southern Maryland.
Truly miss it.
I have noticed that your rug matches what I bought for our living room.
Just love the colors and comfortable under foot.
Thanks, Terri! I love that rug, too! Such great colors and such great quality! It should last a long time since it’s made of wool.
Susan –
I LOVE the blueprints – the first thing I thought was – if I had the blueprints to my home (1853 Schoolhouse) – I would FRAME them! Especially since those are actual BLUEprints.
Such and exciting gift.
Thanks, Maggie! I wanted to do that so badly so I took them to a professional framery here in Georgia that I’ve used several times. I’ve had them frame a Hermes scarf before using Museum Glass which is expensive but worth it. I was hoping they would tell me that would be enough to protect it. They advised against framing the blueprints, saying that any light at all will fade them due to the the paper they are on and how they were made. They didn’t feel even Museum Glass would be enough to protect them. They told me they would check with the makers of Museum Glass to see what they recommend.
In the meantime, I emailed the manufacturer, too. The frame shop called me back and said that the Regional Representative for Museum Glass advised against framing them, saying Museum Glass could not keep them from fading. A few days later I got a reply to my email advising against framing them, as well. Apparently, nothing can fully protect blueprints from fading into oblivion. 🙁
The frame shop said that they could arrange to have a professional photographer take photos of the blueprints, then they could frame those for me. They recommended that the blueprints stay in a dark, temperature-controlled environment. I bought one of the cardboard tubes that posters often come in and tucked the rolled-up blueprints inside one of those.
I would love to have the original blueprints framed but it’s just not worth the risk of having them fade away to nothing.
Would love to see an update on your hair grow out to the beautiful gray
Thanks, Helène! It’s just been a little over 4 months so not too much change since hair growns 1/2 inch per month. It’s probably grown out about 2 inches longer since I last shared an update. I’ll will for sure do an update in another month or two. It’s slowly but surely getting there.
You are amazing in how you get things done! Imagine, you’re in Georgia taking deliveries in Ohio! Glad it was worth the wait and you’re happy. Also, where were the blueprints stored before they were given to you? They are in such good condition. I have the blueprints for our house but the year is only 1977 and on different paper. I think your Fireman guy would make a good contact for finding future workmen.
Thanks, Kathleen! The owners who lived here for 20 years passed the blueprints down to the couple from whomt I purchased the house. I’m not sure how or where they stored them the past two years, but one of the owners, (the guy) took them with him when they moved out.
Later, he texted me that he had something for me that he would drop by the house. He left a large shopping bag and inside I found the other garage door opener and the blueprints that were rolled up, laying in the bottom of the bag, completely unprotected. I am amazed they didn’t get crushed or bent, just sitting in the bottom of that huge shopping bag.
Anyway, I texted him to thank him for bringing those by and he said that he had planned to keep them and have them framed, but had changed his mind. He didn’t say why he changed his mind. I would never have done that…taken the blueprints away from the house. To me, they belong with the house, they are a part of its history. When/if I sell the house one day, I will leave them for the next owner. I have them protected now inside a cardboard tube so they can’t be crushed or damaged by light.
Yes, he gave me the name of someone to contact about having the garage floor covered the way I’ve done here in the Georgia house. I need to call them and get a quote for that.
Thanks so much for hosting this wonderful party!! I really appreciate the time and effort that goes into it along with visiting all the links!! I hope you are having a great week!!
Hugs,
Deb
Debbie-Dabble Blog
Thanks, Deb! Have a great week/weekend!
XXX
Susan,
Thanks for sharing information about your opener with me a few months back. I ending up getting a midrange Liftmaster as well, only I purchased the belt-driven unit since I have a bedroom over the garage. That one is supposedly a bit quieter. It looks identical to your unit.
Unfortunately, I didn’t realize the new opener did not have motion detection for the light as my old Liftmaster did. I thought they all had that feature. So I then purchased a new wall control that included motion detection, and my handyman installed it – a simple task I probably could have done myself if I had more confidence in my electrical skills.
I actually haven’t tried the app, as I wasn’t sure I would have a use for it, but I may do that at some point.
You’re so welcome! Glad you were able to add the motion detection. Mine has that and I really like it a lot. The installer placed it where it’s very close to the door that leads into the house, so the second I open that door, the light goes on, which is really helpful. I didn’t think I’d use the app but I do use it quite a bit. It’s nice to know that if I ever leave the house and later wonder if I put the garage door down, I can click on the app and it will show me if it’s down instantly. Love it for deliveries or letting someone in when I’m not there.
You’ve become tech central! Amazing what that one app can do.
lol I know! I don’t typically like adding a lot of apps to my phone but this one is def worth having!