Tag Archives: Garage Door Safety
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]
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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]
Garage Doors & Home Security
The garage is an easy entry for unwanted people in our homes making garage security essential to protect yourself and your belongings. They are a popular target for criminals to get into your home and for obvious reasons. Some of our most expensive belongings are placed in there besides your car including bikes, lawnmower and power tools.
There are a few tips that you can use to ensure the safety of your family and home. Make sure that you invest in a good garage door and door opener. Some new openers, like the Liftmaster brand, have automatic locking feature on some models that make it much more difficult for any stranger to open. On a side note, when you have a new garage door opener installed, make sure the combination is reset, as the factory set combination is a familiar one to criminals.
It is important to understand the different security features that garage doors have. Most people aren’t aware how easy it is to simply open up a garage door. If you don’t have a proper garage door lock in place, for example, you will find that most doors are very easy to open.
Always try and look for a good system [more]
Good Time for Maintenance of Your Garage Door
On a busy day your garage door may open and close 20 times, so routine maintenance is a must to keep it in good working order. After all, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Regular garage door cleaning and maintenance will guarantee a great look and longer life of your door.
Appearance
Clean your garage door regularly with mild soap (like dishwashing 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. If there’s exposed wood, be sure to paint it.
Exterior Weather-Stripping
Clean the weather stripping around the frame and bottom edge with a good all-purpose cleaner. Lubricate it every 2 or 3 months with a Silicone-based lubricant to keep the stripping pliable. 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 [more]
Don’t Wait Until Your Garage Door Doesn’t Work… Maintain It!
For those of you who have moved into a new home or have just installed a new garage door, be sure to take the time to thoroughly read the garage door owner’s manual. It may seem like a chore and take time, but one would be surprised at what they can find in most well written garage door manuals. The manual will contain safety and design information to help you insure that your garage door is safe to use and properly installed, and contain information on how to keep your garage door properly maintained.
For example, many garage door manuals will contain helpful tips for painting them. Most companies will tell you to pain BOTH the inside and outside of the garage door to keep everything even, and to never remove any parts of the garage door when painting. If you want to make sure that your garage door is completely covered in a fresh coat of paint, you need to call in a professional to dismantle it so that you can finish the paint job, and then have the garage door installed again. This usually does not happen, but again, do not try to dismantle any of the parts of [more]
A Blast from the Past
If you’ve ever seen the movie “Back to the Future,” you know why 1955 is significant. Writers used that particular year as part of the setting to illustrate small-town American life at the time. If we were able to hop in a time machine like Michael J. Fox and land in 1955 in small-town Connecticut, we’d discover the installation of an Overhead Door Corp. garage door opener at a lakeside home. When we decided we’d had enough of the 50s and wanted to come back to present day, believe it or not, that opener would still be working!
After recently purchasing a lakeside home built in 1955 in Columbia, Conn., homeowner Michael Matthews promptly began the renovation work that comes with buying and restoring an old home. That’s when he found a still working, 1955-era Overhead Door Model E Ultronic Door Opener in his garage.
“I love old machinery so when I saw this old opener I was just fascinated,” Matthews said. “The fact that it was still working was even better.”
Made of steel and weighing close to 50 pounds, the Model E Ultronic was an AC, chain-drive opener that, at the time, was state-of-the-art for its operational capabilities. It featured both [more]
June is Garage Door Safety Month
The International Door Association and the Door & Access Systems Manufacturers Association have designated June as Garage Door Safety Month.
Garage door manufacturers, like First United Door Technologies, and garage door dealers throughout the U.S. and other countries are working to increase awareness of the possible hazards of garage doors and automatic opener systems, and the need for periodic inspection and maintenance to keep them safe.
It’s important that the public is aware of garage door safety and that safety checks should be done to insure it’s in proper working order by using these ten garage door safety and security tips.
1. Make sure garage door opener control button is out of the reach of small children.
2. Do not let children play with garage door remote controls.
3. Consult the owner’s manual and learn how to use the garage door’s emergency release feature.
4. Visually inspect the garage door each month. Look at springs, cables, rollers and pulleys for signs of wear. Do not attempt to remove, adjust or repair these parts or anything attached to them. A trained door repairman must make adjustments to these parts, which are under high tension.
5. Test the garage door opener’s reversing mechanism monthly by placing a 2 x 4 board or a [more]
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 Door Awareness: Safety First
You need to be aware of the possible hazards of garage doors and automatic opener systems, and the need for periodic inspection and maintenance to keep them safe. Give your garage door a safety check to insure it’s in proper working order by using these ten garage door safety and security tips.
1. Make sure garage door opener control button is out of the reach of small children.
2. Do not let children play with garage door remote controls.
3. Consult the owner’s manual and learn how to use the garage door’s emergency release feature.
4. Visually inspect the garage door each month. Look at springs, cables, rollers and pulleys for signs of wear. Do not attempt to remove, adjust or repair these parts or anything attached to them. A trained door repairman must make adjustments to these parts, which are under high tension.
5. Test the garage door openers reversing mechanism monthly by placing a 2 x 4 board or a roll of paper towels in the door’s path. If the door does not reverse after contacting the object, call a qualified garage door professional for repair. If the opener has not been replaced since 1993, seriously consider a new one with auto-reverse as [more]