HN Explorer

Ask HN: How do I make sure my mom's garage door is closed?

8 points by xrd ↗ HN
My mom is in her 80s. She is still driving around and very active. Having moved far away from her, I worry that she will leave her garage door open and an intruder will see it and enter her house at night.

I was back home last weekend and went to a concert while she went out to see the meteor shower with a friend. I got home earlier than she did and she got back around 1 am. When I got up in the morning, the garage door was wide open, the lights were on, and anyone could have walked in the house unfettered. I don't think this happened often, but it did this weekend when I was there, and it was really worrying.

Does anyone have suggestions on how I can make sure her garage door is closed when I live 3000 miles away? I don't need to close it remotely, but having a solution that will notify me (or my brother) that the door is open would be really helpful. I can then ask her or the neighbors to help. Usually they are attentive, but in this case, everyone was in bed at 1 am (except, I'm assuming, the people that have prowled the neighborhood and broken into garages recently...)

Any suggestions?

24 comments

[ 2.9 ms ] story [ 67.1 ms ] thread
stevenoel
I can't vouch for this product as secure - but I got one as a gift and plugged it in to try it out. I installed it on a Guest VLAN so it doesn't have access to my whole home network.

https://www.myq.com/products/smart-garage-control

Iphone app to open/close the door remotely and you can see the status whenever you want.

epc
I have this on my garage, mostly because occasionally I’m an idiot.

One feature that OP can use is that you can set a schedule to automatically open or close the door at given times. So in my case I have it set to close at noon and ten p.m. if it’s already closed nothing happens. If it’s open there’s a warning alarm for 10-15 seconds from the garage door opener and then it closes.

dewey
It might not be the cheapest option, but I'd probably get a HomeKit sensor, if you are in the Apple ecosystem. Then you'd just get alerts on status changes, and you can add it as a second home in the Home app.

- HomeKit hub (Apple TV / HomePod). Even if you just keep it in a closet somewhere close.

- https://www.evehome.com/en/eve-door-window

gregjor
Over 50 years ago my grandparents had a switch on the door from the garage to their house that automatically closed the garage door when they went into the house. They could disable it if they wanted to leave the garage door open for some reason. Their garage door (like most automatic garage doors) had a sensor setup so it wouldn't close if something blocked it. Something simple like that would probably work.
mcdonje
Love this. Clever, practical, low-tech, no need for a network connection, no batteries. I wonder why that setup isn't already the norm.
gregjor
I'm pretty sure that any electrician or garage door installer could hook this up. Radio Shack probably sold this back in the day. These days if you don't have an IP address, camera, and an app people just throw up their hands and wait for the Tesla X-Door to get released.
gregjor
I should have mentioned that my grandmother (who was in her late 40s back then, so not physically or mentally unable to deal with garage doors) had this installed because she was afraid of mice and didn't want mice getting into the garage. I think she imagined mice running in from the bushes if she left that door open too long. She wasn't worried about human intruders 50 years ago in Huntington Beach. Today she would probably have to worry a lot more about that possibility.
PM_me_your_math
Use IP cameras to watch the garage door. A little Blink camera at the back of the garage will tell you if the door is open. There are IP devices that connect to garage door openers via two-wire and can be controlled via an app. The only thing about remote operation is that you're not present to ensure the door is clear of obstruction, and you're out of luck if the power/data goes down.
k310
Given the distance, I'd suggest a KISS approach. Just a timer that closes the door past normal bedtime. You just want to make sure it doesn't OPEN the door at that time. Should be an easy breadboard project. It could be tied into the garage door switch that gregjor mentioned.

Failure mode: if it closes when you want it open, just click the clicker to open the door, or have a keypad.

2rsf
That can be dangerous, what if grandma fainted on the doorstep?
k310
I guess that's why there are Apple Watches. I forget where I left things all day, and if I had control of my data, I would gladly "rewind the tape" (yeah, I'm THAT old) to save a lot of searching for my glasses, phone, ... ∞
beardyw
I am getting forgetful and I am still in my early 70s. Just going to do things which I already did at the moment, no safety issues. But I am aware this is a gentle trajectory. Your quest for a solution is kind, but be aware that things may start to slowly become more problematic. It's worth considering the longer term as well. My father in law is in his 90s. He can barely manage anything now.
pestatije
check your current garage door system...it might have a solution available already, like a timer for instance
helph67
If the garage door is activated by push button remote it's possible that a neighbour's system may be using the same channel. Such systems are often installed with the system default setting UNALTERED!
tornato7
I have a MyQ garage door and it works great. I have it set up to notify me if it's left open for more than a few minutes
runjake
I do this with a $5 ESP32 and a reed switch and some simple code — in my case, listening on HTTP and returning opened/closed depending on the state of the reed switch.

Just throwing this $7 option out there though I recommend just getting some pre-built thing in this case.

mattbgates
Hook the garage door up to a WiFi network that can receive transmissions and let you know when its opened or closed and allows you to automatically close it.
AA-BA-94-2A-56
Careful with this though, a garage door weighs a lot, and could easily crush a human.

I’d make sure you have line of site before hitting the close button.

mattbgates
Most garage doors come with sensors to prevent the door from closing completely nowadays as those are usually required safety features.
rawgabbit
I would purchase a couple of google Nest webcams. It has smart alerts to tell you if strangers faces are detected. The added bonus is you can talk with her via the device when her phone doesn’t work. It works via wifi so you need good wifi and an electric outlet to plug it into.
gcheong
Use a regular door/window sensor connected to a hub that can alert you with status changes combined with the hinge hack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlwwGyNbR5U

I also have a MyQ gateway that I can use to view the status of and operate the garage door remotely. The garage door itself has a timeout set which closes the door automatically after a set period (2 minutes in my case) if I forget to do so.