Tag Archives: garage door
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]
Garage Door Windows: Things To Consider
Garage doors, equipped with windows, not only allows for a structural design to be implemented into the garage door but also has the added flexibility of enhancing a garage.
Garage door windows allow for light to come into the garage, making a dark and gloomy space bright and cheerful. This in essence also brings the benefit of making the garage space a more workable and desirable area to use for everything from crafts to handyman type hobbies.
Since, for many houses, the garage is a large space that is viewed from the street, garage door windows can also accent the home. The windows on the garage door can really make a statement and many homeowners have realized this and when looking at garage door window replacement consider changing the windows.
When a consumer begins evaluating the decision to look at garage door window, there are some things to consider. The garage door window ia a way to spice up the garage door. When looking at garage door window consider a tinted glass for the windows. Many homes have garages that face the sun, by tinting the windows the heat in the garage will go down and help keep the part of the house that is [more]
Ever Evolving Door Styles
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. First United Door Technologies offers wood doors in a carriage-house style that has an old-fashioned craftsman look. Made of the finest wood, they offer a much richer appearance and you can expect to pay four times or more what you would for steel doors.
Just as wood is beginning to catch on, the next [more]
Don’t Overlook The Garage When Getting Your Home Ready To Sell
There’s a lot of talk about curb appeal being the driving force drawing buyers into your home. It makes sense. If the house looks a mess from the outside, what buyer would want to set foot inside?
Well, maybe your house isn’t quite a mess. You have taken the time to fix-up the landscape, power-washed the house, and even painted the mailbox. But did you overlook what can be the biggest eyesore — the garage? It’s the largest architectural element on the house. So it really, in this day and age, is impossible to dismiss the garage door as an important architectural element.
But the garage door is more than an architectural element. It can be a trigger point for buyers. They’re driving down the street in a tract-home neighborhood and suddenly they spot a custom wooden garage door. It’s striking and different and often gives them reason to stop and take a closer look, maybe even come inside.
If you have a house that has a nice garage door, it sets the stage for the fact that everything else in the house is going to have attention to detail and it really does differentiate homes that are on the same street. With [more]
Garages likely left open to ventilate, keep openers functioning
As it gets warmer, we tend to see people leaving their garage doors open about 12 inches. Does this really keep the house cooler? It seems like it would just let in more heat
There could be a couple of different reasons some people leave their garage doors slightly ajar.
Letting in some air to drain off some of the heat in the garage wouldn’t necessarily make the house itself hotter, but it could keep the garage cooler, especially if there were a breeze blowing from the right direction. And it’s possible some people might have some heat-sensitive junk stored in the garage or maybe something that doesn’t smell so great.
But probably the main reason: garage-door openers.
Hot air rises, right? It’s probably hot enough in your garage as it is, assuming it’s not air-conditioned. But up near the ceiling it’s a lot hotter. Many garage-door openers come equipped with a heat sensor that sort of pulls the plug on the opener when the mechanism gets too hot. That’s to prevent fires. So leaving your door up a few inches helps keep the garage a bit ventilated. Of course, you don’t want to leave it up high enough for a burglar to wiggle [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]
Carriage House Garage Doors Are Opening Up Homes to Beauty and Value
Garage doors just aren’t what they used to be. The garage door is a fundamental part of the blueprint, structural design and sanctuary of a home. The garage door is one of the most important visual features of a home, representing up to a third or even more of the front. They are now eye-catching, beautiful and — dare we say it? — even “cool.” In a marketplace where enhanced curb appeal, residential diversity, and neotraditional architecture are in demand by municipalities, we’re seeing an onslaught of more unique garage door styles, especially steel, three-section, carriage house-style garage doors.
Carriage house garage doors help us recall the charm of that turn-of-the-century swinging barn-door style, behind which hid a jaunty horse-drawn carriage. Today’s doors may look attractively retro, but they are also durable and they open overhead like any other modern sectional garage door.
Original carriage house doors were made of wood. Garage doors today are made from various materials including wood, composite and steel. Each type offers its own benefits, characteristics and costs.
Most builders and homeowners want affordable beauty with low maintenance. That means a moderately priced, steel, carriage house garage door. Because they are all steel, all the parts expand and [more]
12 Reasons You Need A New Garage Door & Opener
Here are a dozen reasons why you need a new garage door and garage door opener.
1. New garage doors can increase the value of your home.
An online survey says that 71% of homeowners who recently replaced their garage door believe it increased the value of their home. When nationwide real estate agents were shown “before” and “after” photos of houses upgraded with new, stylish garage doors, they increased the list price of the home anywhere from 1 to 4 percent. That means a $2,000+ investment in a garage door could increase the sale value of your home by as much as $7,000 if you’re selling a $175,000 home. Look at some dramatic “before and after” photos at GarageWowNow.com, and you’ll see the difference a new garage door can make.
2. New garage doors can put money back in your pocket.
The Federal Government’s Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008 extends tax credits for energy efficient home improvements. This includes qualifying insulated garage doors. That means that adding a new garage door in 2009 can save you money by helping to lower home energy consumption and costs AN D it will help pay for itself this year through the tax credit incentive, [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 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]