subject: Ordering Genie Garage Parts: Not Part of the Plan [print this page] Ordering Genie Garage Parts: Not Part of the Plan
One of the things my husband appreciates about me is my unexpected skills in the DIY home repair department. I learned a lot as the only child of a carpenter, helping with typical home repairs and maintenance, but at some point I grew disinterestedlikely when I hit high school. And often there was no need. In college, dorm maintenance was pretty minimal; when I rented my first apartment, the landlord was amazing and he was just a phone call away (hey, I was in my early twenties and had much better things to do than fix a leaky sink!)
But when I got married and bought my first house, memories of my dad and the pride he took in doing mundane things around the house or making minor repairs himself really struck a chord. There was something to the idea of caring for something that was yours and doing things yourself.
Plus, I had married a writer. He was kind and funny, but handy? Not so much.
I modeled the way my dad did thingskeeping track of maintenance projects in a notebooklike when to change the furnace filter or when to check fire alarms. I liked being the one to manage these little thingsit gave me a real sense of independence.
Then, while my husband was away for a week-long conference, our garage door broke. Like stopped working completely; as in I couldn't get the car in broke. Now what?
So, first I went online and looked for troubleshooting articles. I typed in "Genie garage Intellicode," since that's what we had. (How many new wives know this, I ask you?) There was a lot of information. I siphoned through the results for sites that sold Genie garage door parts (knowing I would need them later), and perused a few articles. I figured out there was something malfunctioning with the safety mechanism. Then I read on and found out that it was probably old and I probably just needed to replace it.
So I found the one I needed at a great site that had great prices and enough information about the product to convince me I was getting the right thing. I printed off an article that gave "how-to" instructions. I got the part in three days and installed it that afternoon, all before hubby even got home from his trip. And I was enormously proud of myself!
Plus, my husband was totally impressedhe wouldn't know Genie garage door parts from a hole in the ground!
