It finally pushed above zero at about noon today. Homeowners across the Chicagoland area have been facing frozen pipes, cars that won’t start, and garage doors that won’t open. The reason? It might be under-heated or under insulated garages.

When the temperature drops below zero outside, poorly insulated garages are hit hard by the elements, dropping in temperature to nearly match the outside.

Of course, homeowners with garages don’t have it nearly as bad as those with carports, but this begs the question-should you heat your garage? Heating your garage is a tough decision for homeowners, as the costs can stack up when you run a heater for an area that you may not be using.

Today, we are going to share with you a handy guide on whether or not to heat your attached or detached garage, allowing you to make the decision for yourself.

Why Heat Your Garage in the Winter?

If you use your garage for little more than storage and parking, heating your garage may seem inefficient, but there are some problems that can arise.

For instance, garage door openers may stop working due to contracting metal, hardened grease, or broken springs-all of which happen more often than not in winter months.

Secondly, heating your garage could help your car start more easily in the mornings. If one of the main reasons you have a garage is to protect your vehicle from the elements and cold weather, having a battery freeze up in your garage may not be on your list of 2015 desires.

Finally, if you use your garage for any secondary purpose-home office, laundry room, playroom, gym, pet housing, workspace, man cave, or even storage of your fridge/freezer-heating your garage is a must.

Related: Simple Steps to Winterize Your Garage

Arguments Against Heating Your Garage in Winter

The primary argument against heating a garage is the utility costs. If you are looking to estimate the costs of heating your garage, use the eHow BTU calculator and then the garage heater cost calculator. If the costs outweigh the benefits, don’t do it.

Insulation: A Necessity, Heated or Not

If you heat your garage and care about costs, insulation is a must. If you don’t heat your garage, but still want the benefits that come with a garage, insulation is also important. This is not to mention, that you are probably storing flammable materials like gas, oil, antifreeze, or coolant; running a car in the morning to warm it up, or working in the garage-a bothersome noise all year.

Insulation will help you to get the most of your heater, and will also prevent fumes from reaching living space (in an attached garage).

The other vital part of insulation, good for both summer and winter, is garage door insulation. Read our tips on insulating your garage door here.

Common Garage Heaters

If you choose to heat, there are some options that are better than others in terms of efficiency and effectiveness.

There are two types of natural gas heaters to consider for heating your garage: a forced-air garage heater that blows warm air like a conventional furnace, and a “low intensity” infrared tube heater that radiates heat. Family Handyman offers the following comparisons between forced air and infrared heaters, along with installation instructions.

Forced-Air Heater

Pros

• Less expensive initial cost (50 percent less than comparable infrared heater)

Cons

• Noisy
• Loses heat quickly if garage door is opened (longer recovery time)
• Heat rises and stratifies (the air is warmer at ceiling, cooler near floor), but you won’t notice it with a 7- or 8-ft. ceiling
• Air movement tends to blow airborne dust around (woodworkers will have to shut down unit before staining and finishing projects)

Low-Intensity Infrared Tube Heater

Pros

• Little noise
• No air movement (dust settles)
• Lower cost to operate
• More uniform heat distribution (no stratification)
• Quicker heat recovery if door is opened/closed (floor and objects retain heat)

Cons

• Higher initial cost (50 percent more than forced-air)
• Correct location of heater is critical (minimum 7 ft. from floor, 3 ft. from objects). Adequate headroom is also critical, because you can overheat if you’re working near the unit.

All in all, we at Blue Sky Builders, Inc. would like to remind you to stay warm this winter, and should you need a new garage now or in the future, to keep us in mind. Contact us to become one of the first we help in the coming construction season.

Here at Blue Sky Builders, Inc., we love the holiday season (who doesn’t?). Light shows, decorations, and more-this season brings the creative side of homeowners across the nation. Just as we love sharing our creative side designing and building garages in Chicago and the suburbs, we love seeing homeowners share their creative side through light shows and decorative schemes.

So, today, in honor of the holidays, we would like to share with you some our favorite light shows and holiday traditions from across the Chicagoland Area.

Our Favorite Chicagoland Christmas Traditions

Many of the best decorations and lights are merely a short drive away! See some of the best decorations near our hometown of Downers Grove!

Larsen Lights (Elburn)

Probably one of the most intense suburban light displays, the Larsen Light Show in Elburn features over a million LED lights, and takes over 3 months to set up. See the video below, synced to “Do You Want to Build a Snowman” from Frozen.

For more information, including their most popular “Fur Elise,” hours, and more, check out the twasthenightbefore.com.

See more of their displays, including 2005, 2006, and 2007 on their video highlights page. Not in the mood for driving there? Check out their live feed!

Lehnertz Avenue (Aurora)

For over 60 years, residents of Aurora and the surrounding areas have headed to the east side for the lights of Lehnertz Avenue. With both the stories of the nativity and a Peanuts themed Christmas display, this is surely worth the slow drive through the neighborhood.

Check out the Lehnertz Avenue Christmas Display Facebook Page for updates and information, and watch the video below.

Holiday Magic at Brookfield Zoo

Chicagoland’s largest lights festival surrounds you in the cheer of over 1,000,000 twinkling LED lights, ice carving, light shows, Santa and Mrs. Claus. You’re sure to feel the magic of the holidays!

Magnificent Mile Lights Festival

Although already passed, the Magnificent Mile Lights Festival occurs in November and features the lighting of the trees and more.

Mooseheart Holiday Lights (North Aurora)

Mooseheart Child City & School in North Aurora will be holding its Holiday Lights display starting Friday, Nov. 28, through New Year’s Eve. The 80 displays, covering a 2-mile-long driving loop, will be lit from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. every night.

Special thanks to blogger Go West, Young Mom for sharing her article Great Christmas Lights in the Western Suburbs.

Looking to beautify your garage without lights? Check out our garage gallery for inspiration, and contact us to become one of the first we help in the coming construction season!

Where do you like to go for the holidays? Do you have any fun holiday traditions or destinations? Share your lights with us in the comments below!

As we close out another season building garages in the Chicagoland area, this year marks one slightly more special than the others. Announced earlier this year, we are celebrating our 35th Anniversary. Since 1979, we have proudly build garages for homeowners from Antioch to Oak Forest, with every city in between.

But to commemorate these 35 years, we would like to share with you 35 things that have happened in the Chicagoland area since 1979.

1. 1979-The Great Blizzard of 1979 dumped 18.8 inches of snow on Chicago in two days
2. 1979-Disco Demolition Night occurred on July 12, 1979 at Comiskey Park
3. 1980-Taste of Chicago was Born on July 4, 1980
4. 1980-Blues Brothers directed by John Landis and starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd released on June 20,1980.
5. 1981-Illinois-born Ronald Reagan sworn in as 40^th U.S. President on January 20, 1981
6. 1981-Naperville Commemorates 150^th Anniversary with Riverwalk
7. 1983–Ameritech Mobile Communications (which became Cingular and then AT&T) launched the first US cellular network in Chicago, Illinois
8. 1984-Six Flags purchases Great America from Marriott Corporation
9. 1986-Chicago Bears win Super Bowl XX
10. 1986-MLB All Star Game held at Comiskey Park
11. 1989-I-355 Commissioned from I-55 to I-290
12. 1990-MLB All Star Game held at Wrigley Field
13. 1991-Chicago Bulls begin three-peat, winning 61 games and sweeping Detroit in NBA finals
14. 1992-Wayne’s World, featuring Aurora, Illinois, was released on February 14, 1992
15. 1992-Chicago Bulls win NBA Championship
16. 1993-Chicago Bulls win NBA Championship
17. 1993-Aurora University Celebrates Centennial
18. 1994-Chicago Wolves Begin Play in the IHL
19. 1995-Navy Pier in Chicago, constructed in 1916 as a shipping terminal and then used for wartime navy and marine training and as a campus of the University of Illinois, is renovated and reopens with a giant Ferris Wheel, children’s museum, stage pavilion, and retail shops.
20. 1996-Chicago Bulls win NBA Championship
21. 1996-Area Code 630 Splits from 708
22. 1997-The Field Museum of Natural History, outbidding museums throughout the United States, pays $8.4 million for Sue, the most complete Tyrannosaurus Rex fossil yet discovered.
23. 1997-Chicago Bulls win NBA Championship
24. 1998-Chicago Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood strikes out 20 against Houston Astros
25. 1998-Chicago Bulls win NBA Championship
26. 2005-Chicago White Sox win their third World Series, first in 88 years.
27. 2005-Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum opens
28. 2006-Cloud Gate, more commonly known as The Bean, opens in Chicago’s Millennium Park
29. 2006-City of Naperville Celebrates 175^th Anniversary
30. 2008-Then Governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich, is arrested by federal officials for a number of alleged crimes including attempting to sell the United States Senate seat being vacated by President.
31. 2008-Carlos Zambrano throws no-hitter against Houston Astros
32. 2009-Illinois native Barack Obama sworn in as 44^th President of the United States
33. 2010-Chicago Blackhawks win first Stanley Cup since 1961
34. 2011-North Central College celebrates 150^th Anniversary
35. 2013-Chicago Blackhawks win Stanley Cup

These are just a few of the events that have shaped the area since we began. Learn more about our history at Blue Sky Builders, Inc., and see how you can be part of our growth in 2015 and beyond!

Welcome to the holiday season. While stores (and radio stations) may have been trying to convince you that the holiday season may have started the day after Halloween, here at Blue Sky Builders, Inc., we are the traditionalists who decorate our homes the day after Thanksgiving. With the kids writing their wish lists to Santa, we would like to ask you, “What’s on your home improvement wish list in 2015?”

Thanks to the annual “Cost vs. Value” Report, provided by Remodeling Magazine, we share with you a few of the things that you can add to your wish list that will improve the value.

Entry Door Replacement

One of the easiest things you can do that will recoup its value nearly completely for homebuyers is that of replacing your entry door.

Steel Entry Doors

Steel doors are durable and available with many different designs and colors. Homeowners could even elect to build sidelights or insets.

• National Average Cost: $1,162
• Cost Recouped: $1,122
• Value of Replacement: 96.6%

Further, the value of replacement in the East North Central Region (Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin is as follows:

• ENC Region Average Cost: $1,167
• Cost Recouped: $963
• Value of Replacement: 82.5%

Drilling down to the Chicago, Illinois Region, values rise for replacement:

• Chicago, IL Region Average Cost: $1,299
• Cost Recouped: $1,138
• Value of Replacement: 87.6%

Fiberglass Entry Door

Another durable option, also with many different designs available, fiberglass replacements recoup just a bit less cost than steel. Values are as follows:

• National Average Cost: $2,822
• Cost Recouped: $1,997
• Value of Replacement: 70.8%

Values in the East North Central Region are as follows:

• ENC Region Average Cost: $2,828
• Cost Recouped: $1,997
• Value of Replacement: 66.8%

Values in the Chicago, IL Region are as follows:

• Chicago, IL Region Average Cost: $2,981
• Cost Recouped: $2,142
• Value of Replacement: 71.8%

Garage Door Replacements

With the garage taking up a large portion of the front of the house, a garage door replacement is definitely considered a high-value addition in many ways. If your garage door is starting to show weather or dents, not only would a replacement garage door improve the monetary value, but the beauty of your home.

Midrange Garage Door Replacement

A midrange garage door replacement is defined as: New door is uninsulated, single-layer, embossed steel with two coats of baked-on paint, galvanized steel hinges, and nylon rollers; 10-year limited warranty.

• National Average Cost: $1,534
• Cost Recouped: $1,283
• Value of Replacement: 83.7%

Further, the value of replacement in the East North Central Region is as follows:

• ENC Region Average Cost: $1,553
• Cost Recouped: $1,285
• Value of Replacement: 83.0%

Drilling down to the Chicago, Illinois Region, values skyrocket for replacement:

• Chicago, IL Region Average Cost: $1,800
• Cost Recouped: $2,722
• Value of Replacement: 151.0%

Upscale Garage Door Replacement

New door is high tensile strength steel with two coats of factory-applied paint and foam insulated to minimum R-12 with thermal seals between pinch-resistant panels. Windows in top panel are ½-inch insulated glass. Hardware includes galvanized steel hinges and ball-bearing urethane rollers. Lifetime warranty.

• National Average Cost: $2,791
• Cost Recouped: $2,315
• Value of Replacement: 82.9%

Further, the value of replacement in the East North Central Region is as follows:

• ENC Region Average Cost: $2,822
• Cost Recouped: $2,140
• Value of Replacement: 76.0%

Drilling down to the Chicago, Illinois Region, values skyrocket for replacement:

• Chicago, IL Region Average Cost: $3,101
• Cost Recouped: $2684
• Value of Replacement: 86.5%

So, a garage door replacement is definitely a good investment to add to the list of home improvement projects next year.

Garage Addition

Another decent investment-even if just for additional storage and car maintenance-is the addition of a garage to your property.

Midrange Garage Addition

Adding a new garage will help to protect property not covered as part of a home improvement project. With hailstorms hitting the region, the savings on insurance claims are an important consideration when looking at a new garage.

• National Average Cost: $49,911
• Cost Recouped: $34,598
• Value of Replacement: 69.3%

The value of addition in the East North Central Region is as follows:

• ENC Region Average Cost: $50,211
• Cost Recouped: $30,491
• Value of Replacement: 61.0%

Drilling down to the Chicago, Illinois Region, values rise for a garage addition:

• Chicago, IL Region Average Cost: $56,661
• Cost Recouped: $38,142
• Value of Replacement: 67.3%

Upscale Garage Addition

If you’re looking for additional storage and a more durable garage, the upscale addition includes an epoxy floor, cabinetry, and completely sealed perimeters.

• National Average Cost: $82,311
• Cost Recouped: $48,065
• Value of Replacement: 58.4%

The value of addition in the East North Central Region is as follows:

• ENC Region Average Cost: $82,900
• Cost Recouped: $42,986
• Value of Replacement: 52.0%

Drilling down to the Chicago, Illinois Region, values rise for a garage addition:

• Chicago, IL Region Average Cost: $94,803
• Cost Recouped: $49,605
• Value of Replacement: 52.3%

Other High Value Home Improvement Projects for Your Wish List

Still not enough for you? A few of the other leading additions, projects, or replacements are as follows (Chicago Region only):

• Midrange Window Replacement (Vinyl): 82.7%
• Midrange Window Replacement (Wood): 83.5%
• Midrange Deck Addition (Composite): 103.7%
• Midrange Bathroom Remodel: 103.2%
• Midrange Minor Kitchen Remodel: 102.9%
• Backup Power Generator: 95.5%
• Attic Bedroom Remodel: 98.2%

So, we must ask, what’s on your wish list? For the full cost vs. value report, please head to the Remodeling Magazine website.

If you’re looking to add value through new windows, new doors, a new garage, or a new garage door; contact us to be one of our first spring projects.

Did you know that in addition to being your source for custom-built garages for over 35 years, we also provide installation of entry doors with different panel styles, colors, and designs available? Did you also know that your front door can say a lot about a person?

It’s true. Much like a necktie, the front door is the focal point of the home, and offers a powerful statement about the home’s owner. Throughout the spectrum of colors, each promotes a different trait to visitors or neighbors. So what does each color mean?

Red

The ultimate power color in Western Cultures, red, could mean many things to different societies. In feng shui, a red door says “welcome” and invites good energy. In early America, red doors signified a friendly household where a weary traveler might stop for the night. Today, Red is a bold choice for those who are not afraid of standing out on the block.

White

A crisp white door is for those who are (or would like to be) organized, neat and clean. Owners are also likely traditionalists, preferring the classic and timeless to the extreme.

Black

Black is a color of power, position and exclusivity. If your entry door is black, you are likely a person of some position, and you want the world to know it. A black front door projects strength, sophistication, power, and authority, indicating to all who enter or even passersby that the home is a serious place inhabited by a person of substance.

Green

If your door is green, you care about your home and your community and you have more traditional values. Psychologically speaking, green connotes health, safety, tranquility, and harmony, all highly desirable attributes for the home environment.

Blue

Shown to be the most popular color in many studies, a blue front door signals that the homeowner views his or her home as a place of refuge — calm, serene, and relaxing, the perfect retreat from an often harsh and demanding world.

Brown

Whether painted or stained, a brown front door looks natural and organic, but it can send mixed messages in terms of color psychology. On the one hand, brown conveys warmth, stability, and reliability, positive attributes all, but certain darker shades of brown signal a desire for privacy, even isolation.

Other Colors

If you are really gutsy, or have the house color to complement these, some of these colors could fit your personality.

• Yellow: You are logical, yet creative. You tend to look at life with a positive attitude. You may even be a morning person
• Turquoise: You crave emotional balance in your life, while pursuing big hopes and dreams. Although a bit idealistic, you believe anything is possible.
• Orange: You are a social butterfly. You love to entertain and thrive on accomplishing new challenges.
• Purple: A much different choice, those with purple entry doors are comfortable taking risks and dreaming big.

The entry door is the guide to the owner. If your front door is dilapidated, what does that say about you? Our qualified team is ready to help you install your next entry door. So when you’re ready, Contact us for an estimate and beautify your home for the holidays.