One of my weekend projects a few months ago was making it so I could open the garage door on my house with my iPhone. Here’s how I got it working. First, a quick demo of the final product. Once I got everything working, using this thing is pretty simply. I launch X10 Commander on my iPhone: Then I tap the “ON” button with my finger and after a small lag (1 second?), my garage door… “Who cares?” you ask… well, having my iPhone to control my garage means: So how does this all work?  Pay attention because it’s a somewhat long-winded chain of events that makes X10 Commander control my garage door (almost a Rube Goldberg machine!): 1. I have the X10 Commander iPhone App installed on my iPhone (link, $9.99): 2. It talks, over my home wi-fi network (a pair of D-Link DIR-655s setup as access points), to the X10 Commander “Server” software I have running on an always-on Windows XP PC upstairs in my home office: 3. The X10 Commander Server software talks to an USB to RF X10 interface (the X10 CM19A)dongle on the same Windows XP PC:

4. That dongle on my computer talks to an RF to X10 interface device (the X10 TM751) plugged into a nearby power outlet: 5. Now we move downstairs to the garage where I have an X10 controller for low-voltage devices (an X10 PUM01) plugged into another home power outlet:shower glass doors tulsa 6. And the terminals on the X10 low-voltage control device are spliced into the control wires for the garage door opener:4 door jeep for sale alberta 7. And the control wires are, obviously, connected to the garage door opener which opens my garage:2007 jeep wrangler unlimited 4 door soft top It’s all run pretty reliably for a couple of months now and never fails to impress.  1 hour fire rated fiberglass door

Surprisingly the most fragile piece has NOT been the Windows XP PC (would have been my first guess), but the  TM751 (step 4 above).  Because it’s connected to a childproofed power outlet and it’s at the entrance to my home office, if it’s ever brushed by a passing child, a the cuff of my pant, or a projectile toy, it easily loses contact.  custom entry doors northern virginiaBut even this hasn’t been a big deal — I can only remember one occasion where the whole thing hasn’t worked since I set it up.garage door makes a grinding noise Another tip: A lot of the X10 stuff can be found on eBay and elsewhere online at pretty low prices.  old windows for sale greenville sc thanks to their WOW!!

DO WE HAVE A DEAL FOR YOU!! style of website design and ecommerce tactics (not to mention that almost every page on their site starts a video with audio and then there are the bikini-clad women being spied on and… sigh, I should just stop. Heading home from a long day at work drops your stress level instantly -- at least until you have to face your noisy garage door again.  The screeching, banging, and groaning is a chaotic symphony that sets you right back on edge, but that’s just what garage doors do. Anyway, it’s a small price to pay to protect your car from the elements. Ordering the wrong type of lubricant could mean damaging your system. This is a surprisingly common attitude among homeowners with noisy garage doors.  They learn to live with the noise because they don’t think there is another choice.  Luckily for them, those moans and screams aren’t permanent.  In fact, they’re a warning that the garage door is desperately in need of lubrication.  Once that noisy garage door is properly lubed, the calm and quiet will return.

Of course, the noise a garage door makes is secondary to the problems that are actually making all that tuneless racket.  Several parts of your garage door require frequent lubricating -- after all, your garage door is one of the biggest moving parts on your home.  The springs, rollers, tracks and hinges all need some attention once every few months to keep the garage door functioning smoothly. Your lubrication process will vary depending on your door’s configuration, but generally, you want to tackle that big problem in this order:Start by cleaning the tracks with a rag to eliminate any build-up that might be interfering with your door’s gentle glide.  Don’t lubricate the tracks, but ensuring they’re clean is essential to your door’s functioning.Spray down the springs that lift your garage door day in and day out.   Again, you want to only lubricate them enough that they move better, without a lot of extra lubricant dripping out.Lubricate steel hinges at their pivot points, but don’t mess with the plastic ones.  

Plastic doesn’t need lubrication -- it can actually cause the hinges to break down over time.If your rollers have nylon wheels that make contact with the track, make sure to only lubricate the bearings without getting any lubricant on the nylon itself.  All-metal rollers don’t require as much precision, but make sure to wipe away any excess lubricant to prevent it from dripping on the garage floor or your car.If your key sticks or the lock is hard to open and close, give it a good shot of lubricant, too.  Make sure you get lubricant into the tumbler as well as on other moving parts. Once you have all your garage door parts properly lubricated, lift it and close it several times to even out the lubricant’s distribution.  If you still hear a lot of noise coming from your door, follow that sound to determine if you simply missed a moving part or if more substantial correction will be needed. There’s always some question as to what types of garage door lubricants are okay and what shouldn’t be used at all.