Garage doors are an investment that requires light maintenance to ensure their longevity and safety. Maintenance can ensure your garage stays in good working order for its lifetime. In fact, you can even perform some of these maintenance tasks yourself. If you are not comfortable performing the tasks, have them performed by a trained service technician. Following is a garage door maintenance door checklist from Garage Door Care (perform in the corresponding order).

Monthly Visual Inspection

Stand inside the garage with the garage door closed. Look over the garage door springs, cables, rollers, pulleys and mounting hardware, such as hinges, for signs of wear or damage. Look for cable wear or fraying. Is the mounting hardware becoming loose? If something doesn’t look quite right – or doesn’t sound quite right – it could be the symptom of a more serious issue. Have the garage door system inspected by a trained service technician.

Monthly Door Balance Test

If your door is equipped with an automatic opener system: close the door and disconnect the automatic opener. Once you are able to lift the door manually: Lift the door. It should lift smoothly with little resistance and should remain fully open. If it is difficult to open or does not remain open, the door may be out of balance and should be serviced by a trained service technician.

Monthly Reversing Mechanism Test

(if your door is equipped with an automatic opener system) With the door fully open, lay a piece of wood such as a section of a 2 x 4 on the floor in the center of the garage door opening where the door would touch the floor. Push your garage door opener’s transmitter or wall button to close the door. When the door strikes the wood, the door should automatically reverse. If the door does not automatically reverse, the door should be serviced by a trained service technician.

Monthly Photo Eye Test

(if your door is equipped with an automatic opener system) With the door fully open, push your garage door opener’s transmitter or wall button to close the door. Wave a long object, such as a broomstick, in front of one of the door’s photo eyes so it “breaks the beam.” The door should reverse.

If it does not reverse and reopen, pull the broomstick out of the path of the closing door. Close the door. With the door in the closed position, clean the photo eyes with a soft, dry cloth. Gently adjust the photo eyes by hand if they appear to be out of alignment. Open the door and repeat the photo eye test. If the door does not reverse and reopen, the door should be serviced by a trained service technician.

Monthly Force Settting Test

(if your door is equipped with an automatic opener system) With the door fully open, push your garage door opener’s transmitter or wall button to close the door. As the door is closing, hold up the bottom of the door with your hands outstretched and stiff. If the door does not easily reverse and continues to close, pull your hands away immediately. The closing force is excessive and the door should be serviced by a trained service technician.

Semi-Annual Lubrication

Apply a small amount of spray lubricant to the door’s hinges, rollers, and tracks.

Learn more about garage door repair.

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With a variety of materials available to design and build garage doors, it’s important to weigh the pros and cons of each option. In order to choose the right garage door material consider the specific needs you have. Here is a brief summary of each material and suggestions on how to effectively compare them to meet your building needs.

Steel

Steel doors are often the most reasonably priced, demand the least amount of maintenance, and are available in almost any style or texture you can imagine. Steel can also be painted and designed to mimic wood. These reasons alone make steel the most popular choice when selecting garage door material.

So what are the disadvantages of this material? When shopping for a steel garage door, there are two things you must consider. First, steel is inherently a very poor insulator. So if your goal is to reduce noise and conserve energy, an insulated door may be a smarter choice. Second, the steel panels of garage doors vary in thickness. Low- cost doors usually equate to thin panels, 27- or 28-gauge steel. While these doors are inexpensive and suitable for many garages, the steel will not effectively hold up against impact-for example, from basketballs and baseballs. If this type of activity is prevalent in your driveway, this may be something to consider. If that is the case, garage doors are available in thicker steel. Midlevel doors offer 25- or 26-gauge steel (the lower the gauge number, the thicker the steel). Top quality doors use steel that is at least 24 gauge and commercial-grade doors use even thicker steel. Steel garage doors are also available in thicker steel on the outside and thinner on the inside.

Aluminum

Aluminum and steel doors share many similar characteristics. An added feature is that Aluminum also offers an optional faux wood texturing and long-lasting finishes. While Aluminum is actually lighter and less expensive than steel, it is twice as likely to dent and need repair.

Wood

The first garage doors relied heavily upon wood to complete their construction. Today, wood still continues to appeal to those seeking traditional styles and materials. Wood doors are available in a variety of styles and can even include windows. While wood is naturally a better insulator than steel, an insulated steel door does ultimately conserve more energy.

On the low-cost side of the spectrum, wood doors are available in painted, flat hardboard panels. On the other side, stain-grade wood doors cost more, but offer the warmth of natural wood that can make a big difference in the curb appeal of a house. Regardless of which side of the spectrum you may choose, all wood doors need to be maintained and refinished regularly.

Wood Composite

Composite doors are made with recycled wood fibers. They are a type of hybrid between steel and wood doors. These doors offer the strength of steel with the looks and texture of wood. They can be both painted or stained. Composite doors are more effective than solid wood in resisting rot and preventing splitting.

Fiberglass

Fiberglass garage doors represent a small segment of the market. It has a greater resistance to salt-water corrosion than any other material, thus making it a logical choice for most coastal locations. However, its poor insulation and tendency to fade from weather exposure excludes it as an option for most other regions.

The panels are encased in aluminum frames and can be painted. These panels provide a greater resistance to dents than thin steel.

You can read the full article here.

As we just examined, when choosing a material for your garage door there are several aspects that must be considered. It is important to consider each aspect to ensure the best material is being selected to meet your specific needs. We can help guide you through the selection process. If you have questions, contact us.

Garage renovations in towns that preserve the historical aesthetics of the area are challenging tasks for today’s garage builder. Such renovations involve a great deal of on-site management, lots of office time, a list of guidelines and processes that must be followed and implemented. Overall, the process can be very time consuming.

A recent project involved renovating a garage in the historical district of Oak Park, Illinois. Built in 1917, the garage modeled its older home, which had been built just 9 years before. The home owners worked with Blue Sky Builders, Inc., experts in custom garage construction, to get the job done. The major challenges they faced included the following:

• The new garage had to keep features of the old garage.
• Historical preservation had to be kept in mind during the construction at all times.
• Stucco, a difficult material, was a key feature that needed to be incorporated into the garage in order to match the house.
• Garage windows needed to be positioned away from the staircase being installed so that no one was too close to them when walking up and down the stairs (nothing could accidentally crash through windows).

One of the key things the project involved was working with the Oak Park Historical Preservation. In order to make sure construction of new homes, garages and garage renovations maintain the overall historical aesthetics present in Oak Park, the Oak Park Historical Preservation sets up specific guidelines to make sure that these projects are completed accordingly. The organization values the look and feel of the area, which is why they ask others to consider the importance of preserving the town when constructing.

Blue Sky Builders, Inc. worked hard with the Oak Park Historical Preservation, going over various guidelines and making sure the new garage matched the character of the previous garage. Rebuilding the garage required picking up all the important features of the old one, including the high quality stucco, the right trim, overhangs and pitch for the dormers and more. In addition to these features, the garage would be built higher than the previous one and include a full walk-up staircase, a unique feature for garages since many just have pull-down staircases.

When asked about the garage construction project, CEO Rick Newtoff explained, “We enjoy working on historical garage renovations, which, being lengthy and detail-oriented projects, many builders don’t typically take on. These types of projects challenge us to go above and beyond historical renovation and to consider every detail of the garage including its size, and in this case, the type of staircase and stucco material involved. We are really the only garage builder that can do this while saving the homeowner money, since we aren’t general contractors that look to ‘get in and get out’ of a project.”

Final specs of the garage are as follows: 32 by 24 ft hip garage with two 12ft hip dormers. The height of the garage is 19 ft and features a full floor with stairs.

Below you can view before and after pictures of the garage in Oak Park:

Before:

Let us know your thoughts on the renovation in the comment box and be sure to share this post with others!

Keeping your garage safe is an important task. Clutter, chemicals, tools, and leaving your garage open/unlocked are sure to make your garage an unsafe environment. Though it may seem overwhelming, here are 7 simple tips to make your garage safer:

Keep it Clean: It is common practice to store everything in the garage that doesn’t fit in the house. As a result, garages often suffer from large amounts of clutter and disorganization. Ceiling storage units, for seasonal items, can help to eliminate clutter. On the other hand, hooks and nets are useful to keep everyday items in reach and off the floor.

Chemical Clutter: Garages often accumulate large hazardous chemical collections including pesticides, antifreeze, paint thinner, and automotive fluids. For safety purposes, put child-resistant caps on all hazardous chemicals. Also, chemicals should be clearly labeled and placed out of reach of children in a locked cabinet.

Workshop 101: You can utilize the wall space in your garage to store tools securely. This prevents accidents from tools tipping or falling over. Also, don’t forget to store ladders sideways as opposed to upright! Upright ladders tempt kids to climb them and also may tip over on vehicles or children.

Securing the Largest Door to the Home: The garage serves as an entryway into your home. Therefore, never leave the garage door open! As an added safety measure, install a deadbolt lock on the door between your house and the garage. The Chamberlain GarageTrends Survey found that 32 percent of homeowners never lock the door between the garage and home! In that case, it becomes increasingly important to treat your garage door opener like a key. Hide it out of sight or an intruder can just walk right in!

A Baby Monitor for the Garage Door: Make sure your garage door is always closed and have piece of mind with tools like the Garage Door Monitor from LiftMaster. The monitor flashes a red light when the garage door is open. The in-home monitor can be placed anywhere in your house.

Unlocking the Future: New products allow you to open your garage door with secure fingerprint technology. This eliminates the need for keys, remembering entry codes, or the possibility of your garage door opener remote control falling into the wrong hands. Keyless entries are wireless, waterproof, and are the most secure access control technology.

Seeing is Believing: Safety reverse systems are crucial to keeping your family safe in the garage. Test your safety reverse system monthly by placing a piece of wood under the center of the garage door. If it is operating properly, the door will reverse and go back up. If the door does not reverse and go back up get your safety reverse system checked out immediately!

We would like to thank LiftMaster® for this great article!

We invite you to view more garage safety tips here. Share these tips to make your garage safe using the social bookmarking tools below and leave your safety suggestions in the comment box below!

Take Advantage of Building a Custom Garage Before August Ends

It’s true – fall is right around the corner with winter not too far behind it! Don’t be left out in the cold! Now is the time to finally make that decision to build the new custom built garage that you have always wanted.

Before any garage is built, there is a lot of garage planning and preparation that must be done. All of the garage options have to be figured out and finalized such as:

• Deciding what type of garage you want to build,
• The size of the garage you need
• The location of your garage
• What color you want your garage to be
• Whether or not you need various features such as windows, multiple doors, etc.

Importance of the Building Permit

There is a lot to think about! Once all decisions have been made it will be time to submit for the required building permit with your town or village. The building permit process is, in many cases, the longest part of the entire garage project.

Depending on what village or town you are in, a building permit for a garage could take two to four weeks! In certain towns, a building permit process taking six weeks is not all that uncommon. In some cases we have seen it take even longer! This could put the entire project on hold if it is too close to winter and freezing temperatures. The new concrete slab for your garage cannot be poured under certain temperatures, which means that once the bad weather hits, your new garage will have to wait until next year.

Don’t Wait to Plan for your New Garage

It is best to plan ahead and start your new garage project early before it is too late. Give yourself some breathing room, get your new garage built well before the first snowfall and sub zero temperatures and treat yourself to a nice warm car that doesn’t have to be scraped off in the morning before work. You’ll be glad you did.

Please share this post with others who need to build a garage before it gets too cold! Let them know how important it is to plan for their new garage – especially when it comes to getting a building permit!

If you have questions about building a custom garage, or need help with planning, Blue Sky Builders, Inc. can assist you in this process and make sure you have a new garage up on time. Contact Blue Sky Builders, Inc. today.