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A Guide to Garage Door Openers

Garage doors are no longer the regular roll-top ones, which have to be

pushed up by hand. These days, garage door openers are provided with

various accessories to make opening easier. No matter how heavy the garage

door, it can be fitted with the right kind of opener. These openers ensure

utmost safety and security for garages under any conditions. They are also

provided with several options and in various designs to suit the exact

requirements of the user. The best thing is, they can be installed within 3-5

hours. A professional can install a garage door opener in one hour!

Garage door openers are of two kinds depending on the use: residential and

commercial. In the commercial range of garage door openers, the main

models are: Trolley, Jackshift, Hoist and the Slide models. While Trolley

openers are used for standard lifting on sectional doors, Jackshift is used for

grilles, rolling doors and shutters. Hoist operators are similar to Jackshifts

but they are also suitable for heavy duty industrial doors. The slide door

openers are meant for single and bi-parting slide doors and also for fire

doors.

The main step in purchasing a garage door opener is to determine the actual

drive system. Garage door openers are of three kinds depending on the drive

system: belt driven, chain [more]

Reduce the Noise Coming From Your Garage Door!

Every time the garage door opens and closes, a loud rumble comes right through the walls of your home. Can’t stand it? Here’s some advice to help you reduce noise generated by the up and down movement of your garage door.

1. An insulated garage door can significantly reduce the intrusion of street noise into the home – especially important when there are bedroom or other living areas above or adjacent to the garage. If your door isn’t already insulated, the insulation can be installed by professional installers for a minimal charge, but it is not difficult to mount the insulation yourself and kits are available at your local home improvement retailer. It is important to consider having your springs recalculated because of additional weight to the door.

2. Have the steel rollers on your garage door changed to nylon. With nylon rollers, you will obtain almost silent running on the tracks and there is no need for lubrication.

3. Another point to look at is your electric operator. Any belt-driven model is best because the motor of this model is insulated from the metal case and will cut vibrations. The rubber belt is also quieter than the steel chain.

4. A noise isolator [more]

Evolving Door Styles for Garages

Some things do come back in style if you wait long enough. Think hip-hugger pants, shag carpeting and, yes, even wood garage doors. The wood garage doors of the 1970s are back in a big way. It’s one of many design trends that have come and gone.

The first revolution in garage door materials happened in the 1980s, when raised panel steel doors replaced wood ones. They continue to dominate the market today, mainly because they’re economical and low-maintenance. But for certain homes — especially custom homes or those with an Old World look — a big expanse of cold steel just won’t do. Frequently the garage door is a major part of the front of a home and people are finding that they can do something more interesting.

For this reason, wood has become the most popular option. But these aren’t the humble wood doors of two decades ago. For example, manufacturer of garage doors First United Door Technologies, offers wood overlay doors with a carriage-house style that has an old-fashioned craftsman look. Made of the finest cedar wood, they offer a much richer appearance and you can expect to pay four times or more what you would for steel doors.

Just [more]

Why Garage Door Insulation?

Whether you really need insulation in your garage door depends on your region so the benefits of an insulated garage door and how to select the right degree of insulation to best suit your needs will differ substantially.

The amount of insulation you need in your garage door depends on if your climate is typically cold, hot, or somewhere in-between. With the garage usually being the primary entrance to the home and with living space often above or beside it, it’s best to keep the temperature in the garage as comfortable as possible. This is especially true in very cold or very hot regions. You can choose garage doors with varying degrees of insulation to best suit your needs.

The effectiveness of the insulation is expressed as an R-value. The higher the R-value, the better the insulation in the door.

Another point to consider is that an insulated door is generally quieter and has a more attractive interior than a non-insulated door.

Lastly, pests and insects enjoy nesting in the back of uninsulated garage doors. An insulated door doesn’t give them a place to call their own.

June: Garage Door Safety Month

Garage Door Safety and children go hand in hand. Teach your children to be “D.O.O.R. Safe”.

“D.O.O.R. Safe” contains four brief messages to help parents teach young children the do’s and don’ts of garage doors. These messages are:

Doors are heavy: Never stand, run or play under or near any garage door, especially when the door is open or moving.

Openers are for adults: Never play with the button on the wall that opens and closes the garage door.

Ouch!: Never touch any part of a moving garage door. Your fingers and hands can get hurt!

Remotes are for adults: Never play with the remote control in the car or on Mom and Dad’s keychain.

We encourage parents to teach their children that the garage door and garage door opener aren’t toys. Whether a child is at home or at the house of a friend or relative, it’s important they understand that they should never play near or underneath a garage door. It’s also important that they learn not to play with garage door opener remotes or button controls.

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With the cold weather, the following can you save you a lot of time and expense!

Keeping it Clean

Clean your garage door regularly with mild soap, such as car detergent, and a soft bristle brush. Avoid using abrasive cleaners and very strong liquid cleaners which could damage the paint or cause delaminating. If you have a steel garage door, you can revive its luster by applying a car wax as it will protect against acid rain and dust. It is best to avoid waxing in direct sunlight to achieve better results.

Weather Stripping

Clean the weather stripping with a good all-purpose cleaner. Lubricate it every 2 or 3 months with a SILICONE-based lubricant. Never use a petroleum-based lubricant on weather stripping as it will dry up and crack. Don’t forget the weather strip between your door panels. It is important to let your weather strip hang 1/2″ below the door base when you readjust your perimeter weather stripping. If the weather stripping is too tight, the door will not function properly. So if your weather stripping has lost its flexibility, it is best to replace it.

Maintaining the Hardware

Lubricate the rollers, tracks and hinges and all moving hardware parts with a little motor oil [more]

The All Purposeful Garage Door

Your garage door serves many purposes. It keeps your garage secure. It provides aesthetic appeal for your home. It also can be an energy efficiency product to help lower your energy bills.

You can get so much from a garage door that when it comes time to buy a replacement, you should shop smart. Make sure that the new one will be even better than the last. Do not settle for just any door. Shop around and be sure the model you get will serve all your purposes perfectly.

There are many considerations to make when choosing a new garage door. You should consider how you use the garage when making your choice. In some homes the garage is a playroom or a workshop in addition to keeping vehicles in out of the elements. How you use the garage will play into your final choice on a door.

You also need to make sure you get the right size of door. The wrong size of door will not serve any purpose. Take measurements carefully. Get help if you need it. Many retailers will offer help with taking measurements.

The appearance is also important. There are a range of styles, so you should try to [more]

Advancement in Energy Efficiency, Safety and Curb Appeal

The bitter cold of winter marks the time to rethink that garage door.

This is the season when homeowners usually make efforts to seal up the biggest opening in the home. It’s also a popular time for garage door replacement. It’s that time of year when weather has a distinct effect on the garage door business.

Steel isn’t a good insulator, so to compensate; manufacturers double up the panels and fill the space between them with polystyrene or polyurethane insulation. Polyurethane insulates better than polystyrene, but it tends to break down after a period of time, whereas polystyrene lasts forever.

Polystyrene is a flat, sheet-like material, similar to a Styrofoam cup. Polyurethane is pumped into a door as a liquid, then expands and fills the space between the metal sides of the door. There are some synthetic problems with polyurethane. It can dry erratically, leaving unprotected spots in the door. That problem is detectable when a homeowner sees granulated polyurethane draining from the door. A polyurethane-lined door, however, can often have a better R-value than the rest of the garage.

Polystyrene has a lower R-value, the insulation rating system, and also is less expensive. Single polyurethane doors are rated around R-15 and cost more.

Insulation [more]

Are Your Garage Doors, Fall Ready?

The kids head back to school. We watch as leaves change from green to hues of brown, gold, red and fiery orange in the crisp, cool autumn air. The busyness begins again and we find that many of us will scurry from activity to activity for months to come.

All this renewed activity results in extra work for every part of our homes..especially our garage doors. They go up and down as we leave for work, and come back again. We load the kids up for sports, and activities and are in and out of the garage all week.

Are your garage doors ready? Can they handle all the hustle and bustle that fall inevitably brings?

Your garage door opens up over the heads of yourself, your family, your cars, pets and stuff so they need to be in good working order. There are some common garage door problems that occur primarily in the fall and in early spring. When the seasons change, and the temperature starts to rise or fall it can bring with it garage door issues. These climate changes cause metal to contract and expand. When this happens, weak points in the metal on your garage door will begin to break.

1. [more]

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