Don't Get Locked Out Of Your Garage

Check out the photo below. Can you guess what's missing? Here's a hint: this garage doesn't have a service door, but it does have a automatic garage door opener installed.

If you said "pizazz" you would be correct, and you might also make a good home stager, but that's not what I'm talking about today. This door is missing an emergency release.

If the power went out, the GFCI outlet inside the garage tripped, or the garage door opener failed, the owner would be locked out of this garage. The fix for this is quite simple - install an emergency release kit.

These kits cost about $15, and they take about ten minutes to install, if you really take your sweet time. This is a very DIY project. The only tools you'll need are a drill, drill bits, and a wrench.

These emergency release kits are very simple devices - they connect to the pull-cord on the garage door opener, allowing you to disconnect your overhead door from the opener, as shown in the photos below.

When I inspect old houses in Minneapolis and Saint Paul and I find garages without a service door, I always tell my clients to install an emergency release kit. It could save a lot of hassle in the future.