I wish I remembered the guys name. Sadly I don't, but kudos to you, Mr. Garage Repair Guy…read more
Here's the tl;dr version of my story: Capitol Garage Doors didn't even do the repairs on my garage door. The Mr. Garage Repair Guy just advised me what to say to the returning company that botched the first install and what to say to the insurance company to get them to cover it.
Here's the longer version. Mr. Garage Repair Guy came to my house, and immediately noticed that the set of light weight springs that were previously installed were not adequate to lift my heavy-duty garage door. Fact is, they were severely under-gunned, cutting the life expectancy of my springs by 85-90%.
He called American Home Shield (AHS), my home warranty company, reported the problem, and recommended that I not pay the co-pay to have my current, broken springs replaced.
After further investigation, he suggested that I have a "225" wire installed, because my garage doors was heavy but also because they were reminiscent of an older, 80's manufacturer named "Lodi," and back when he was servicing Lodi doors in the 80's, they required 225 springs. He then onced over the remaining health of my doors and suggested I have the cables replaced as well, because they were fraying on one side. Following even more detective work, he found a dilapidated label that solidified his earlier suspicions: Lodi doors, made in the 80s, 225 spring required.
Along with his suggestions of the 225 wire, he gave me a quick crash course on what I needed to say to the upcoming technician, and why anything but a 225 wire would not work. Mr. Garage Repair Guy explained everything in a manner that I could understand, and why these things were important.
When the new technician came, the pissing match began. The new technician, Ash, suggested that there was no mistake on their original install. The previous, light weight springs were probably installed because that was likely the weight of the springs before those. "My technicians always install the same weight of springs that they take off," he said. BUT, he also agreed that the spring that broke, was too weak to lift my door. He also conceded that the previous technician should not have installed the light weight springs.
Ash made some calls to his colleagues and confirmed that the 225 weight spring needed to be installed, but be dammed if his company would take ownership of the problem. "It was probably a defect in the spring. There's nothing we can do about that," was the guise that he continued to conceal fault.
Armed with the information that Mr. Garage Repair Guy gave me a few days earlier, I called AHS. Because they had record of Mr. Garage Repair Guy calling days before, they understood that the past job was faulty. I gave them the entire scenario, and they agreed that the company was at fault, and I should not have to pay for the mistake of the previous company. Fees waved.
Ash completed the install using the parts Mr. Garage Repair Guy had suggest I demand. And at the end of the day, Ash agreed it was the right call. Insurance covered everything. Cheers to you, Mr. Garage Repair Guy. If I see you at a bar, I'm going to buy you a drink, and possibly a hooker.