Tag Archives: wood garage door
Adore Your Garage Door
Whether you’re planning to build a new home or are doing a remodel, it’s unlikely you think much about your garage door. Still, it’s the largest moving part in your home and the broadest piece of curb appeal on display. Today’s best garage doors are detailed to blend into the aesthetics of the home’s design. Their architectural frame occupies a major portion of the front landscape and has a major impact on the street perception of the home.
Garage doors can have character too. In many homes, the garage doors often incorporate carriage house motifs that greatly enhance the architectural character of the home and the neighborhood. The latest garage doors offer increased style and function that can enhance the aesthetics of any home. And they are safer to use than ever before.
Decorative options are helping homeowners differentiate their doors adding a dynamic architectural accentuation to their home with a selection of glass inserts and new styles of hardware. Homeowners and builders alike are expressing increased interest in carriage-style garage doors, designed to fool the eye and mimic old-style sliding or swing-up doors. These are drawing the most attention due to their distinctive architectural styling and for traditionally styled homes this is [more]
Is It Time for a New Garage Door?
You’ve repaired and replaced, repaired and replaced, but your old garage door still isn’t working right. There comes a time when pouring all that time and money into a faulty door just doesn’t make good fiscal sense anymore. In some parts of the country, garage doors are continuously pounded by harsh weather conditions including snow, sleet, ice, and hot sunshine. Here are some ways that homeowners can know when it’s finally time to get a new garage door.
Dents: A dented garage door is not necessarily a safety hazard, but it is certainly an eyesore! Even if your yard is immaculately kept and the rest of your house looks terrific, the sight of a dent or dents in the garage door will wipe out any positive impression when people drive up to your property: and this could result in a loss of value to your home too if you’re considering selling.
Rust: Rust is not only unsightly, but it is also a sign that your garage door will soon be experiencing operational problems if it isn’t already. Rust is a symptom of corrosion in a door’s metal parts, and these parts may break or fall apart unexpectedly resulting in inconvenience or even [more]
Cleaning and Preventative Maintenance
Make your garage door last longer and operate efficiently
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. It is important to let your weather-strip hang 1/2″ below the door base [more]
Garage Door Replacement is among the Best Home Investments
Remodeling Magazine has released its 2016 Cost vs. Value report, which states that a garage door replacement is among the leading remodeling investments. The report, which evaluated 30 popular home remodeling projects in 100 markets across America, is based on how much real estate experts estimate those projects will increase a home’s value at resale.
Garage doors were among the top three best investments in both mid-range and upscale home remodeling projects. Among the 30 remodeling projects that real estate experts evaluated, garage door replacement was the number 1 remodeling project with the greatest return on value by far in the upscale project range. Among mid range remodeling projects, only adding attic insulation and replacing vinyl siding with manufactured stone veneer had greater recoup values than garage door replacement. The 2016 recoup value of garage door replacement was higher in both mid-range and upscale remodeling projects versus the 2015 values.
Homeowners and remodelers should consider the STEELHOUSE™ Carriage House Door by First united Door Technologies. With an immediate impact on the curb appeal of any home, the available designs of the STEELHOUSE™ Door brings the traditional look and design of the old style wood carriage door without the problems that were once associated [more]
Garage Doors: To Insulate or Not to Insulate
Deciding if you really need insulation in your garage door depends on where you live, so the benefits of an insulated garage door and how to select the right degree of insulation to best suit your needs will differ quite a bit.
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.
Read Your Garage Door Owner’s Manual!
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]
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]
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 Open Up Homes to Curb Appeal 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 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 contract at [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]