Nowadays, it is hard to shop for any product without having a variety of styles to choose from. Browsing a car dealership can overwhelm you with options like speed capability, 4-wheel drive, color, make, model, etc. Bath towel shopping has you pondering between cotton and linen. Even purchasing jeans can be a monotonous decision – do you want dark or light, bootleg or skinny?
That being said, homeowners should not be surprised that garage door shopping also requires an extensive decision-making process. (more…)
Have you ever had an issue with your garage door, whether it be at home or your place of business? Our team of garage door technicians have put together this informative graphic to help people easily identify the type of garage door problem they may be having…
How often do you normally clean your house? Is it once a week, every two weeks? Perhaps you have one day a month that you dedicate to a thorough home detail? Now let us ask you this, how often do you include the garage in your home cleaning routine?
Most people we ask tell us that they spend hardly anytime at all cleaning their garages. We hear lots of – too hot in there! and freezing in my garage, way too cold to clean!
Climate control in garages can be difficult so we completely understand that sometimes it is too hot or too cold to spend a long period of time cleaning in your garage.
The good news is, we have some tips that will allow you to give your garage a good cleaning despite its frigid or humid temperature.
Not to state the obvious here but opening the garage doors is the first step to take when cooling out your garage. If you prefer to keep it closed for privacy or weather reasons, there are other ways to keep the air circulation flowing so that you can clean without suffering in a stuffy, hot room.
A couple of electric fans would do the trick. So could a portable air conditioning unit. We do not recommend installing a full air conditioning system into your garage unless you have checked with your local building permit rules. Many local governments require a permit for converting a garage into an air-conditioned occupied space.
Our strongest recommendation to help you keep your sanity while scrubbing the floors in a hot, sweaty garage is to invest in a ventilation system. These systems work as mounted fans on the walls or ceiling of your garage and they constantly circulate fresh air.
A chilly garage can also add to garage cleaning procrastination. Even thoroughly insulated garages often become too cold for comfort. The best solution that we recommend for warming up the room is to purchase either an electric or propane heater.
We strongly recommend that you install a smoke detector in the garage before running the heater in there. In addition, it is always a good idea to check the garage for cracks to ensure that the warm air from the heater does not seep out. You do not want to pay the heating bill for the entire neighborhood.
If your garage is attached to your house and you are confident that no air is being released through cracks in your garage, you could also keep the door to your house open in order to let the warm air from inside release and warm up your garage.
If you prefer to save your money and decide not to purchase a heater, then do it the old fashion way and just bundle up. Throw on a pair of leg warmers and a nice warm, winter jacket and get to work. This is your house remember. Nobody needs to know that you dusted your garage while wearing a knit stocking cap and a scarf.
With cars, bikes, strollers and sports gear constantly coming in and out – garages get filthy. So do yourself a tremendous favor and add the garage to your normal house cleaning agenda. Regularly sweep the floors, organize the junk that continues to pile up and use a damp rag to wipe down all of the dust and dirt that collects on the shelves.
Garage cleaning should not be done simply for appearance sake. There are health reasons to keep the space clean as well. Grease builds up, gas leaks from both your car and lawn mower plus your car omits other unhealthy toxins, these are all substances that you want to keep out of your garage. The best way to do this is through regular cleaning.
While it is convenient to have a garage, many homeowners discover that it leaves the home vulnerable to break ins. Fortunately, when following these seven tips, one can protect their garage from mischievous people and criminals.
- Hide remote: Some drivers will leave their remote in their car even when parking on the street. At the least, one should hide the remote in the glove box or somewhere else in the car. Ideally, one should bring the item home and away from the eyes of potential thieves. Sadly, many people do not follow this advice. When doing this, a criminal will simply grab the remote from out of the car of an unsuspecting driver.
- Emergency release: Most garage doors have an emergency release. With this, one can easily pry open the door and gain access. Fortunately, one can use some zip ties to secure their door and prevent any future problems. Although this is a low tech solution, one must remember that it is an effective way for a resident to protect his or her valuables.
- Close the door: Some people, when going in and out of the garage, leave their door wide open. When this happens, a criminal can slip in and take a valuable item. Often, a smart thief will take something that will not be easily noticed. When doing this, one can sell the item on the Internet or through the newspaper without the property owner noticing. Remember, when away for more than a few minutes, one must close and lock their garage door. Unfortunately, plenty of criminals will stand by and wait for a homeowner to make this seemingly minor mistake.
- Cover windows: Some garage doors have windows. While this can be aesthetically pleasing, it showcases all the items to potential burglars. Ideally, the property owner should cover the window with a piece of newspaper or cardboard. Wen doing this, people will not have an opportunity to peep in the garage and make plans.
- Maintenance: Some homeowners neglect the maintenance of their garage. They do this since most people do not spend much time in there. Sadly, when foregoing routine and necessary repairs, one will leave their garage door vulnerable to break ins. To find the maintenance schedule, one should contact the person who installed the garage door. Without a doubt, with this step, one will protect their garage against opportunistic thieves who exploit damage and worn doors.
- Code: A lot of new garage doors have an outdoor key pad. With this, one can enter the area by using a code. Now, when choosing the password, one should think a little more deeply. Sadly, some people create a code of 0000 or their address. When doing this, smart criminals can gain access to the garage and house.
- Camera: With a video camera, one can scare off most mischievous individuals. In fact, when using this method, one can probably get away with a fake camera. Either way, when placing it directly above the garage door, one can warn most criminals to back away from the house.
When following these seven tips, one can protect their home and garage from thieves. Fortunately, none of these solutions requires a large cash investment. Not only that, to implement these tips, one will not need to spend much time.
Like many parts of a household, garage door systems are often taken for granted. They simply are not something homeowners spend much time thinking about. A button prompts the doors to open and close and that is usually the extent of anyone’s involvement with a garage door system.
Garage doors, however, have an extremely important function. They protect your home from break-ins, damaging weather and intrusive animals like squirrels, possums and raccoon’s.
If you depart from your garage twice a day, on average, you are opening and closing your garage doors 1,460 times a year. That is a staggering amount of button pushes and perhaps an incentive to take the time to learn about the intricacies of your garage door system. Â (more…)
After experiencing a power outage, it may be necessary to reconnect your garage door opener. Because the garage door requires electricity in order to open and close with ease, this is something that can be shut down due to an electric failure in the event of a storm or other common power outage cause. During a power outage, the garage door must be manually opened and closed in order to get in and out of this area of your home.
By using the emergency release cord, you are able to open the trolley and shut down the electric garage door opener. Once the power comes back on, you must reconnect the garage door opener in order to take full advantage of this helpful feature once again. Simply follow these helpful steps to reconnect your garage door after a power outage.
Reconnecting Your Garage Door
- If you are in need of getting out of your garage door during a power outage, you must first disconnect the garage door opener from the garage door.
- Once the power is restored to your home, close the garage door. The door must be completely closed in order to re-connect the garage door opener to it correctly.
- After the garage door is closed, firmly press the garage door opener button. If your garage door has two different buttons that are used to open and close the garage door, simply click on the one that would typically close the door.
- Once the close button is pressed, the garage door opener should start to reconnect on its own. Do not interrupt this process or it will need to be started over again. The chain on the garage door opener will move the trolley into its correct place until it connects efficiently with the arm that is found on the garage door.
- The garage door should now function properly and function properly with the click of a button after your experienced power outage.
- If your garage door opener does not have an automatic trolley that connects to the garage doors arms, you will need to complete this step manually. To complete this step, simply pull on the emergency release cord in the direction of the garage door and and manually reconnect the arm on the garage door to the trolley of the garage door opener.
Tips and More
Because a power outage may cause your garage to be very dark, the emergency release cord can typically be found because it is red in color for easier visibility. If you should experience a power outage, a closed garage door will open and similarly, an opened garage door will close. In addition, if the door is opening or closing when the power is interrupted, the garage door will stop at that point in its process. Should there be an obstructions to the garage door during an electrical failure, the garage door will reverse if it were previously closing and will stop if it was currently opening.
If your garage door is still not reconnected after you tried the tips above, type in your zip code in the footer below and find your local garage door repair company.