garage door opener hack to add a three second delay

the microcontroller is a pic16f84a, its attached to a remote reciever that has four channels. i wanted to get into the chip to add a three second delay< so that the reversing contactor would not engague too soon when another button is pushed. so im trying to learn C to program another chip and make the controller from scratch. this is my fist dive into this field. im working on this to get out of the air conditioning field that i have been in for 30 plus years, my body is worn out and i feel that if i can make this work it will change my life. im kinda stumbling in the dark, nad i hope that im heading in the right direction. starting with trhe arduino. it should be a simple program and the controlls are simple as well. basically a garage door opener with added safetys and a delay. any imput would be appreciated.
thank you for your post.
Jas