If you do not have a seperate access door you will have to try to open it from outside.It sounds as if the opening mechanism has come adrift from the handle inside the garage. It depends how old the garage locking mechanism is and what the door is made from.I presume it is an up and over door. Some of the older metal doors used to move two steel rods in sliders in the back of the garage door, they were held on with small nuts and bolts to the handle. If they have come adrift, try getting a thin, flat but strong metal plate (e.g. a try square) and push it between the edge of the door and the frame, move it up and down until you locate the rods and then with the tip of the (e.g.)try square push the rods sideways to retract them from their locked position - kind of scrape them back. It might take a bit of effort and time but it may well work. In the long run if you can't do it, the last resort would be to use a hacksaw blade to cut off the end of the locking rods so you can open the door. The rods would have to replaced afterwards of course . Suggest you have a look on the web to see what type of replacement parts may be available if you do need to take this drastic course.
Len, September 2008
