Finally figured out the hidden screw trick on my old storm door

I spent like an hour last Sunday wrestling with my storm door closer in Phoenix because the arm wouldn't detach. Finally noticed this tiny little slot on the bracket that you're supposed to push a flathead into to release it. Made the whole adjustment take maybe 4 minutes after that. Anybody else deal with those hidden release points on home hardware that aren't in the manual?

3 comments

3 Comments

fionamurphy6d ago

Did they seriously think nobody would ever need to take that thing apart? I found out the hard way with a screen door once, ended up just bending the bracket instead.

colegarcia6d ago

Model 873-2 had 17 steps in their official teardown guide. Bet whoever wrote that never tried it with a stripped phillips head at 11pm. @fionamurphy you lucked out with the bracket thing. At least you didn't crack the plastic frame like I did.

jennybailey6d ago

The official teardown guide with 17 steps. Right. Like the person who wrote it was sitting at a clean desk with perfect lighting and a brand new screwdriver set. @colegarcia I feel your pain on the stripped phillips head. I once spent an hour trying to get one out of a TV mount bracket, finally just drilled the whole thing out. Ended up buying a new mount anyway.