By Barry Stone,
Dear Barry,
We just purchased a 1988 home, and our home inspection report states that the child safety feature is operative on our garage-door opener. But this week, our 4-year-old ran through the doorway while the door was coming down, and to our surprise, the closer didn't stop. That's when we discovered that there is not an electric-eye safety device on the doorjambs. Isn't this safety feature required by code, and shouldn't its absence been reported by our home inspector? - Leslie
Dear Leslie,
It is a requirement that your garage door be self-reversing for child safety, but your home predates the mandatory addition of an electric eye. In most areas, this became a requirement around 1993. If your inspector disclosed the reverse function as operative, then it probably reverses when an object resists the downward motion of the door. Your home inspector probably tested the reverse function manually. To ensure that the door opener does reverse, try stopping the door with your hands. If it doesn't reverse, call your home inspector and ask for an operational demonstration of the fixture. You can also have a garage door company retrofit your current opener with an electric eye for added safety.
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