I have a Craftsman GDO that suddently developed the following problem. When closing the door with a remote the door will only travel a few inches and then stop (as if it struck an object) and reverse direction. I have to repeatedly press and repress the remote to coax the door all the way closed. When I shut the door with the wired button it will close all the way only if I keep the button depressed until closed. I have NO problem opening the door. I have adjusted the tracking force and distance switches and unplugged and replugged the unit to no avail. Thanks for your help. Ron Licata Weathersfield, CT

With help from the forum, I got 3 consistent load calculations and a bunch of quotes. I have settled on the American Standard contractor who was knowledgeable and had a fair price. Here is my final choice: AUD2C080B9V4 4A7A7048A1 4TXCD063 AHRI# 5942858 I am going to add a 5" media cabinet as recommended here. TFM245B0FR0. The contractor recommended getting the largest filter (24" wide) even though the furnace is 21" wide (said it improves air flow). My last question deals with the thermostats. I've read all the forum posts and am still a little confused. I've asked for a quote on the Honeywell Prestige IAQ 2.0 as recommended here. The contractor is recommending 803s, however. Should I insist on the Honeywell? The contractor made it sound like the 803 does the same thing but from reading here it seems like the 803 just overcools to de-humidify whereas the Honeywell slows the blower speed. Is that correct? Is it possible to have one Honeywell Prestige downstairs that controls both the downstairs and FROG (with a temp and humidity gauge installed in the FROG)? Let me know any final thoughts before I sign the contract. Thanks so much. MB

Would like to hear follow-up from those chosing either Andersen Renewal, Andersen 400 or Marvin Integrity on their projects, esp'ly interested in how your windows have handled wind and cold, plus your impressions of their overall appearance. We need to replace Vetter windows damaged in a 50mph+ hail storm in Aug.'07. We will switch brands--they've resized. We need to replace windows on 3 sides of our '97 built modern home which has several very large picture windows, casements w/ transoms, and finished oak woodwork. The only prob. windows now are 2 windows placed over the whirlpool tub on north wall & west walls. Renewals' interiors have a dif. appearance but the pitch about being built to last over 50 years sounds good. Andersen 400s are going into the model homes of our builder w/ exc. customer response in past 10 yrs. A contractor is evaluating Andersen 400s for sizing and is "close" on most; he is pricing the architectural series for windows set in the stucco front. The Andersen exteriors are darker than our existing but we are thinking the vinyl "permashield" inside wrap would elim. any future mold on the rim touching the glass. Renewals only have a thin veneer and the rep. could not tell us if that could ever mold. Marvin windows look closer to what we have, inside & outside and did fantastic in wind studies done by Cons. Rpts. last month but with the wood interior, will I be sanding and restaining due to moisture along the bottom rim where we have exper'd some mold on existing windows? We constantly run an air-exchange system and seldom have windows open. We hope to have a product that can handle the extreme weather, handle future hail since it's now occurring regularly, along with straight line winds & blizzards. Thanks for any feedback!

Most door jamb switches that I know of (I work in security installations) are only rated for small voltages, as found in security panels. Make sure they're rated correctly. What you're proposing sounds incredibly cumbersome, to say the least. Have you also considered what happens when you power up and power down most motion sensors? That usually signals them to lock themselves in the on position, so if the door is opened and closed a few times, it may cause the light to stay on. What's wrong with just relying on the motion sensor?