Is Installing A Garage Door Opener Supposed To Be Fun?

If so, I think we purchased the wrong unit. We've had this automatic garage door opener for several years now. (Yes, I said several years.) Way back when hubby tried to install it for the first time, he found several pieces were missing. Long phone conversations ensued before the pieces were ordered.

Guess what? The pieces sent were still wrong for this unit. Over a couple of years (yes, I said a couple of years) he ordered, sent back, reordered and sent back pieces a couple more times. Each time he tried to get the unit installed, the project ended in frustration. Not a common occurrence for him since he's usually too stubborn to give up on anything.

I think his most recent attempt was this past summer. The unit still wasn't going together correctly which may have had something to do with the directions which consistently mislabled parts and showed diagrams which didn't match labeled parts. Hubby is also convinced the instruction booklet was translated from Chinese into English by someone who spoke only Portuguese.

Recently we decided it would be wise to enlist the services of our carpenter friend and Jill-of-all-trades, B, to help with the installation. She spent the day here last Thursday working with hubby on the project.

Here hubby is on the ladder trying to follow suggestions given by B who was on ground level trying to decipher directions in the (almost totally worthless) instruction booklet.

Just look at this mess of tools and instructions on the work table.

I had to make a supply run to town for a needed item and even then the workers ended up fabricating more than one part to get the #*&! unit to work.

After B left for the day, my help was required to hold two bolt heads immobile while hubby tightened them from the other side of the door. (Hey, what would he have done without me?)

I'm glad to say the installation was finally completed but it was more of a challenge than anybody here wanted to experience.

More than once during the project I pointed out that hubby and I are both capable of manually opening and shutting the garage door (we've been doing it for years!) but B and hubby insisted they were both smarter than the door opener and would triumph. And they did. Whew. Sure am glad we can cross that item off the list.