What Garage Doors Can Do For You

When people are building a house, they spend tons of time choosing color schemes, appliances, lighting fixtures, flooring.... How much time do they spend thinking about garage doors? Odds are, not much time at all. Garage doors are just a necessity, things we need to close our cars up away from the elements. The truth is, garage doors are a lot more useful than you may realize. Here are some of the things garage doors can do for you:

 

1. Save energy. New garage doors are available in insulated options that can help save heating and cooling energy in your home. 

 

2. Protect from damaging winds. Wind-resistant, code-approved garage doors are now available in areas that are at high-risk for tornadoes and hurricanes. 

 

3. Work during power outages. Most garage doors have a back-up battery operating system so they will work even when your power is out.

 

4. Added security. Sometimes you don't notice that you didn't click that button hard enough to shut your garage doors. New options offer an in-house alert system that will tell you if one is open.

 

5. State-of-the-art keypads. New designs in exterior keypads include fingerprint recognition technology so you can open your doors with a scan of your finger.

 

Garage doors also add unique style and character to your home. Many designs are available and you can choose a style that matches your personality and improves the appearance of your home. Here are some tips to help you choose the best doors for your home:

 

Choose colors that compliment siding and trim. The first step in finding garage doors for your home is to think about color. Wood garage doors allow you to choose a wide range of paint colors or stains, but they require a bit more maintenance. Steel door options usually come prepainted, but they still offer an adequate selection of color, and most can be custom-designed if you have a specific color in mind.

 

Match to door and window styles. Pay attention to door and window details to fully unite your garage doors with the style of the home. Many garage doors have "top lights"-rows of windows along the tops of the doors. The style of these top lights should compliment the style of your windows. They are available with panes, arches, and a variety of popular and classic styles. Your garage doors can also compliment the style of your front entry doors.

 

Embrace historical style. If you have a historical period home, contemporary garage doors will look sadly out of place. Stick with the beautiful, historical architecture of your home, and choose carriage house or stable-style doors that represent the appropriate period. 

 

Garage doors provide both practical and aesthetic benefits to your home. Please contact us for further information regarding garage door design and installation.

Garage door opener repair - Don't wait until your door fails

A garage door opener is one of the many conveniences homeowners use daily, but neglect to regularly inspect or maintain. Failure can not only be a big inconvenience, but also a security threat and possibly cause costly damage. Homeowners should be on the lookout for any evidence that their door is or will soon be malfunctioning.

Often homeowners don’t pay attention to their door, they just press then open button and hop in their cars, or press the button to close and go into their home. This can lead to the homeowner not hearing or seeing potential problems. A malfunctioning door can give many symptoms, including noisy operation, choppy or jittery operation, hesitation and if the door only works intermittently. Neglecting the early signs of failure only sets you up for inconvenience and even a larger cost to repair.

If your garage door is malfunctioning, it is imperative to get it fixed immediately. A malfunctioning unit can cause damage to your door, surrounding structures and could potentially ruin the unit. Homeowners should consult a professional for garage door opener repair as they have the potential to cause great bodily harm. Being proactive with your opener can save you money by preventing damage and prolonging the life of the opener and the door.

Those homeowners, who have an old garage door opener, might find it better and more cost effective to have a new one installed. Technology has changed drastically in the past decades and newer models offer much quieter and smoother operation as well as can cut down on energy use.

If you would like more information on repairing your garage door or installing a new opener, please contact us.