garage door
Garage Doors
Home Improvement
homebuilding
Remodeling
Uncategorized
weather

Blog Archive: July 2011

The Garage Door and the Broken Spring

If you think you have a garage door broken spring you should know for certain because generally when a garage door broken spring happens you may have to open you garage door manually.

Hopefully you know where the manual override is located so you can open you garage door manually.

If your garage door broken spring happens you may also have other problems with your garage door. This is a good time to call your garage door service company and schedule an inspection of your garage doors and also have them repair the broken spring. They may have to replace both springs. Just because one garage door spring breaks it doesn’t necessarily mean the other one is bad but since they have both been on there for the same length of time it is probable that the other spring has fatigue and may break soon. You don’t need to take that chance. Just have both garage door springs replaced or however many garage doors you have and then only pay for one service call.

A garage door itself can last for a long time. If it is metal it can be repainted if it begins to look tired. A wood garage door may [more]

Up and down. Down and up. Day in. Day out. Double time on weekends.

Your garage door, typically the largest and heaviest moving object in your home, works without any complaints and is at your command with the press of a button. Give it some attention.

Regular garage door maintenance should be done once a year. Getting a professional who looks at all the bearings and springs and just makes sure its operating properly is the thing to do. Usually this amounts to minor adjustment on the torsion shaft bearings. Then the homeowner can lubricate the bearings about every three months since it’s so dry here.

Homeowners should always listen to their garage doors. Once the door is operating properly, it should move up and down quietly and efficiently. There should be no added noise. Any unusual noise probably means something is wrong.

Besides making it easy to get in and out of your home, automatic garage doors are a safety investment. If you have to get out of your car to open the garage, you’re exposing yourself to anybody who is outside. If you drive in, you simply close the door behind you. All garage door openers today are random rotators which means it rotates to a new code each time. So every time you press [more]

A Great Fix-Up Starts with your Garage Door

What’s the one home fix-up project that takes only a couple of hours and yields the biggest bang for the buck of any exterior home renovation?

Here’s a clue: This project adds style, energy efficiency and security to your home and the preparation is easy and mess free – all you need is an Internet connection and a telephone. For most people, the answer does not immediately come to mind: it’s a stylish new garage door.

Think about it. If your house has an attached garage, the garage door may comprise more than one-third of your home’s front facade. If that home is more than five years old, your garage door probably is a solid colored, raised-panel door that looks like every other garage door in the neighborhood.

A new door, quickly and correctly installed by a local professional, will differentiate your home and add style, value and curb appeal. The hottest new style in garage doors is the carriage house design. It’s available in steel, wood or composite materials and in many price ranges.

A garage door is an important home improvement project. It is typically the first thing people notice when they pull into your driveway or pass your house. Doors also [more]

Garage Doors & Raccoons

When seen in profile, a raccoon looks like a question mark laid on its side.

But then, everything about raccoons is in the realm of the questionable. What, for instance, do they think they are?

They have a fox’s snout, a monkey’s paws, a cat’s tail. They have appetites as ravenous and as indiscriminate as a dog’s. Their eyes have the pleading quality of a dog’s, too, and can be just as heart melting, if they’re in the mood. They are as cute as all get out, but have needle teeth that when bared give you the heebie-jeebies. They’re as brazen as beggars and as shy as thieves, and they believe themselves to be invisible, even in the daytime, when they do not so much as stroll to where they’re going as insinuate themselves there. (Animals cause humans to react in many ways -with fear, wonder, often love -but raccoons are one of the few that inspire suspicion. I see them slink by with that humpy gait and all I think is, “Okay, what the hell are you up to?”) They exist somewhere on the boundary between civilization and wilderness, and live easily in either.

And, they are pretty smart. There’s the story [more]

Is your garage door chipping and flaking?

When you begin to notice the paint on your garage door is chipping and flaking apart, it is time for a new paint job. If left untreated, a garage door exposed to the elements can take on rain water and become warped from the hot sun. When the wood is compromised, it deteriorates. Soon the entire door structure weakens and replacement will become necessary. Though it is a fair amount of work, repainting your garage door can save you a lot of money down the road. Plus a new paint job brightens up your garage and adds to the overall value of your home.

The first step is to wash off the dust and paint chips. Some people prefer a power washer for this part because it is quicker and very efficient. Other people prefer using a hose to keep water penetration down to a minimum. The door will need some surface preparation. There are many types of exterior cleaners available that will help remove the stains and mildew. At the very least, a 1:4 solution of bleach and water should be used. Use a wire brush to remove the chipping paint. This is probably the most labor intensive part of [more]

Easier Way to Access Your Garage

Garage door keypads are used as an easier way to access the opening and closing of your garage door. It’s easily mounted, usually near the door, to be there whenever you will need it. But don’t worry, not everyone will be able to use it. Only those that know 4 digit security code can enter garage. Garage door keypad can be changed anytime as you want. Some garage door keypads have room for more security codes, so everyone in your household can have his own unique security code.

The best garage door keypads even have a function that will allow you to set a temporary security code that can be used only for certain numbers of time or for certain period time. You can use this temporary code for your repairman or any other one who need to enter your garage while you are not at home.

If you want to add garage door keypad to your opener or your old keypad doesn’t work anymore and you need replacement, you should think about getting an universal garage door keypad. Universal garage door keypads were made to work with most of mayor garage door opener brands. But not all universal keypads will work [more]

That Annoying Garage Door Noise!

Why is my garage door so noisy? It’s so annoying!

Your garage door is made up of an intricate system of pulleys, cables, gears, and springs, so there are many parts that can cause the door to make noise. Some of these are easily fixed, and some require the services of a trained garage door technician.

First, you need to identify the type of opener you own: screw drive, chain drive, or belt drive. Chain drive doors are noisy. Period. This doesn’t make them a bad choice. Chain drive doors are relatively inexpensive, long-lasting, and reliable in extreme climates. Regular lubrication will lessen the noise, but it’s not going to go away. Screw drive doors are less noisy early but become as noisy as chain drive doors over time. A belt drive door is quiet when it’s working properly.

If the door is not balanced, it can become noisy, or it can even stop operating. You can check the balance of the door by pulling the red emergency release cord and operating the door manually. Raise the door manually about halfway, and then release it. If it is properly balanced, it will have little movement. If it is unbalanced, it will begin to [more]

Garage Door Safety Measures

How often do you think about your garage door other than to push the remote button to open or close it as you come home or head out?

Automatic garage doors are designed to be as simple for you to use as pushing a single button and the door opens or shuts. With keyless entry systems, your children can come home from school to a locked house and quickly get in the house by entering the code, rather than having to worry about taking care of a key all day long. You have the convenience of pressing the button, waiting a moment while the door opens and driving your car into the garage to unload your groceries.

You may not realize that there are safety measures built into garage doors. However, if your doors are not properly adjusted, they may not work properly and could possibly cause damage or injury. If the door were to suddenly close without the button being pressed, you can imagine the problems that it could create.

Even though we often take garage doors for granted, we should teach our children to be careful around them and never let small children play with the remote opening devices. It is [more]

Friday Funny: Garage Doors Can Talk!