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Author Archives: 1st United Door Technologies

It’s cold out there: Is your garage door insulated?

An insulated garage door can create a stable, dry, warm atmosphere all year round as well as vastly increasing the security, soundproofing and sealing properties of the garage door opening from dust, vermin, leaves and rain.

It will also help to save you some money on your energy bills. This is why the demand for insulated garage doors is increasing year on year as so many garages are now used for many other purposes other than storing a vehicle.

Insulated garage doors offer various advantages over standard garage doors namely:

1.They allow the garage to be used for other uses – e.g. hobbies, gym, play room, office, damp proof secure storage etc. etc.

2.They keep adjoining rooms and bedrooms above the garage warmer.

3.They offer increased security due to thicker and stronger door construction.

4.Weather stripping prevents leaves and debris blowing into the garage.

5.Weather stripping stops heat loss and prevents cold air getting into the garage.

6.An insulated garage door will help save on your heating bills and help the environment.

7.Reduced condensation.

Garage Doors: Threshold to a Home

The garage is the shelter for your car. That is its main function. Hence, most people then think about their garage doors as strictly functional. They protect the contents of the garage. Now, more and more people care about how they look. The garage doors have to look good and welcoming. Garage doors after all make a huge personal statement about one’s taste and style.

The garage is considered the threshold of a home. First thing that we come faced up with when we enter a house is usually the garage door. Garage doors are becoming a major design element as they say. Most homeowners use the garage as the primary entrance to the house and are subject to much wear and tear. It is only fitting that the garages must be impressive and attractive, as it is durable and secured. The style and the condition of the garage door is influential on the appearance and impression that the house projects.

Today, several manufacturers have created different styles of garage doors with various exceptional features to choose from. The appearances of garage doors have improved dramatically over the past few years adding to the aesthetic value of your home. The erstwhile [more]

Break Into Your Garage from the Outside (…and how to prevent others from doing it.)

Can’t get into your own house?

Got a garage?

Just stick a long metal wire with a hook on the end through the door to grab the garage door latch and force it to lift the door open. You can get back into your garage in seconds with this trick. (See the video below for a demonstration.) If you’d like to prevent people from doing this to you, all you need to do is bind your opener’s quick door release lever with a zip tie. This will make your emergency latch a bit more difficult to open, but you won’t have to worry about any troublesome individuals breaking into your garage with this trick.

Friday Funny!

OMG! Garage Door Noise

No we’re not talking about the kind of noise that local garage band is making, we’re talking about that irritating and annoying noise caused by the opening and closing of your garage door.

So what’s the cause?

For starters, old garage door parts that have gone worn out for ages may be the cause for the annoying garage door noise. These worn out garage door parts may include hinges, garage door rollers or garage door springs. It’s also often caused because of poor care and garage door maintenance. Replacing the worn out parts plus timely garage door maintenance could greatly increase the unlikelihood for hearing the next garage door noise. Conducting regular and periodic garage door maintenance can prevent costly repair expenses and give longevity to your door.

Most of the garage door noises you hear are often cause by the door itself. Consequently, a quality garage door is more likely to be quiet and less annoying.

Different kinds of garage door openers also produce different volumes of noise. With a chain drive garage door opener, you can expect it to be the noisiest of all openers. Screw drive garage doors are better because they produce less noise. Surpassing that of a screw drive [more]

Garage Doors Can Make a Change

Updating your curb appeal adds value and beautifies your home simultaneously.

A house with curb appeal stands out from the other homes and is noticed because it provides us with simple visual pleasure every time we pass by.

Here are some ideas that you can use to enhance your home and create curb appeal with your garage doors.

In an era when two-car garages are becoming standard in new home construction and door sizes are increasing to accommodate SUV’s and RV’s, garage door design matters more than ever in distinguishing the look of a home.

They come in a variety of design styles, colors, decorative windows, insulation values, material and sizes. The garage door is the largest working part of a house and often its most prominent feature. So, when you are buying, you want to choose carefully. Garage door replacement is one of the better home improvement projects in terms of recouping value when a house sells.

The right garage door can make or break many of those curb-appeal enhancements and considering the style of your home before purchasing a new garage door is important. If your house is Victorian, Farmhouse Country or Mid Century Modern, it will have an impact of what [more]

Garage Door Security for the Holidays

This can be a hectic time of year, and if you’re planning to go away for the holidays, it’s all too easy to overlook crisis prevention.

While dashing around packing presents and suitcases, be conscious of any and all safety measures you should take before you start your travels. One of the more valuable tips for avoiding trouble while you’re away is about securing your garage door.

You must treat the door from your garage into your home as seriously as you do your front and back doors. It’s often the preferred door for a burglar to break in because after they get in your garage they can close the garage door and then break into your house from inside your garage without being seen by neighbors.

Having a second car parked in the driveway is always a good idea. Keeping the garage door opener in the vehicle while you’re gone is not. Be sure to remove the garage door opener and lock the door that connects the garage to the house before you leave.

Your garage door can and should be monitored by your security alarm just like your other doors are. With the holiday season coming up fast, keeping burglars out of [more]

Winterproofing Your Garage

Winterproofing is a cost-effective way to help keep the heat in our homes. It is installed around doors and windows, but is often overlooked in the garage, and this can have a major impact on heat loss in the home, especially during the winter months.

Garage doors should be weatherstripped, especially if the garage is under bedrooms or the main living space. Cold winds blowing in and around garage doors can cause discomfort, especially on the floors, by cooling the hot air furnace ducts running within the floor joists. (Of course, this won’t happen in a heated garage.)

Use garage-door weatherstripping around the perimeter of the door on the wood frame and convex rubber door stripping on the bottom of the door.

After weatherstripping the door, vent the garage, as moisture will need to get out by means of proper ventilation. A simple way is to install eight-by-eight wall vents at the top of a wall, six inches from the plate, and at the bottom of the wall, six inches from the plate. This allows moisture to evaporate and exit through the passive wall vents.

When vehicles are parked in a garage during the winter months with snow and ice melting off, there must [more]

Happy Thanksgiving!

Garage Door Openers Become Hi-Tech

As the American home has continued to evolve with the speed of new technology, so has the garage. In order to keep up with the everyday busy lives of homeowners and the need for these homeowners to spread out and utilize all the space within their homes, garages have become a new frontier for functioning space within the home.

The majority of homeowners use the garage as the main entrance way into their homes, making the garage door and its opener imperative to the security of the home, protecting the people and property behind it.

Before, garage doors only opened and closed to let your car in and out of the garage, and you had to be there to do it. But garage doors and openers have improved dramatically in the last decade to do more. If you’re interested in upgrading your home’s security and curb appeal, don’t forget to check out some of the newest high-tech features:

* Control from anywhere around the world: Garage door openers are high tech now, and the LiftMaster openers with MyQ Technology allow you to control your garage door – as well as other household items – from inside your house, while at the office or [more]