Garage Door Weblog

What Really Makes a Garage Door Green? Look at Its Whole Cycle

You can't read a single product news release anymore in this industry without hearing the manufacturers extol the product's green virtues. The door's insulation factor, a measure of its ability to trap in or keep out heat, is almost always listed. Manufacturers have put great importance on making doors as thermal-resistant as they can, knowing that consumers are interested most in saving on their energy costs.

It is true insulation value is an important factor in a door's "greenness," but it's not the only factor. To decide if a door product is truly green, you have to look at the door's entire life cycle, specifically two key factors: process of manufacturing and durability. Chris Keenan, writer for www.GreenBuildingProducts.com , shares the following in discussing the greenness of garage doors:

"Let’s use garage doors as an example. The idea of a garage door lies in the protection of your vehicle. Reducing the need to create more vehicles is a good idea. Consider the company that manufactures garage doors. Do they support sustainable practices in their daily business operations? What are the materials made of? Where do the materials come from? How much carbon and waste is generated getting them to the company? How much energy, water, and manpower are spent during the manufacturing? What about getting the product to you?”

"Now consider the durability, protection, maintenance, and longevity. If you need to repair a garage door, consider the energy, cost, and resources spent here, too. Far into the future, will your garage door still be in use, recycled, reutilized or sitting in a landfill? Many of us don’t think about all of these questions when we purchase a product. And we shouldn’t have to. These are conscious awareness issues that companies today need to address in their businesses."

Keenan raises several good points. What chemicals are manufacturers using to treat doors? How are they disposing of waste? What's the life expectancy of a garage door? Though it's tempting to sell a customer a door that will eventually need repaired or replaced, the most durable doors are really the most green. A door that lasts 25 years and needs little maintenance creates less need for materials, resources, and chemicals than a door that lasts only 7 to 10, which will require a replacement door much sooner.

Homeowners demanding a truly green door should be prepared for a higher initial price to compensate for the fact the doors will, first of all, last a long time, and second, require little maintenance. But that being the case, garage door dealers must be armed with the information necessary to sell their top-of-line, most-green doors. The challenge is to convince the consumer not to be short-sighted.

Source: http://www.professionaldoordealer.com/blogs/open-door/2011/11/what-really-makes-a-green-door-look-at-its-whole-life-cycle.aspx

Exterior Makeover: The Other Front Door... Your Garage Door !

Updating your curb appeal adds value and beautifies your home simultaneously. A house with curb appeal stands out from the other homes and is noticed because it provides us with simple visual pleasure every time we pass by.

 

Here are some ideas that you can use to enhance your home and create curb appeal with your garage doors.

 

In an era when two-car garages are becoming standard in new home construction and door sizes are increasing to accommodate SUV’s and RV’s, garage door design matters more than ever in distinguishing the look of a home.

 

They come in a variety of design styles, colors, decorative windows, insulation values, material and sizes. The garage door is the largest working part of a house and often its most prominent feature. So, when you are buying, you want to choose carefully. Garage door replacement is one of the better home improvement projects in terms of recouping value when a house sells (http://www.remodeling.hw.net/2010/costvsvalue/article/garagedoorreplacement.aspx

 

The right garage door can make or break many of those curb-appeal enhancements and considering the style of your home before purchasing a new garage door is important. If your house is Victorian, Farmhouse Country or Mid Century Modern, it will have an impact of what door style you should use.  Most styles, whether traditional or contemporary, feature a variety of panels, trim and other detailing.

 

Considering the size of a garage door, it might seem obvious that you should invest in one that’s insulated door is more durable. Always consult a garage door specialist (www.garaga.com). You only buy a garage door once in a lifetime, maybe two... isn’t it ? So choose a proven professional in the garage door industry. Quality work should be the norm, not the exception.

 

 

Industrial Overhead Door: Preventive Maintenance, It’s Pays !

The maintenance of your building's overhead doors must be taken seriously. Your employees' safety and the smooth running of your operations (receiving/shipping) depend on it. GARAGA, garage doors, Inc. (www.garaga.com ) recommends that you call an expert installer to look after the maintenance of your sectional garage doors.

 

Why do they break all the time?

A garage door system is an important component of a building. It is important to understand what might be happening if the system is not performing according to the user's expectations.

• The accessories that have been installed are not appropriate for the usage of the door system (actual number of operation cycles has been underestimated).
• The number of cycles of the torsion springs is not appropriate for the frequency of use (springs break more often).
• Inappropriate operation by users.

 

How to reduce maintenance costs?

If you select the components best suited to the conditions of operation of your doors and do regular maintenance before they break, you will significantly reduce your annual maintenance costs. In the Garaga web site, they show that the incremental cost of your initial investment would be about 10% to insure that you have the components best suited to your operating conditions. Will you have a quick “payback” on your additional investment? Look at the annual maintenance costs of your doors plus the indirect costs related to a malfunction (ex.: inoperative door at certain times) and you will come to the conclusion that the additional initial investment is well worth it.

 

To help you determine how often you should perform preventive maintenance on your doors, we have divided the sectional doors in 3 categories:

• Type A buildings which require maintenance every 3 months (more than 7,500 cycles per year).
  Examples: apartment building or condominiums, transit companies.
• Type B buildings which require maintenance every 6 months (between 3,000 and 7,500 cycles per year).
  Examples: auto repair shops, car dealerships, distribution centers.
• Type C buildings which require maintenance every 12 months (less than 3,000 cycles per year).
  Examples: municipal garages, fire stations, warehouses

 

What are the maintenance costs?

You can enter into an annual maintenance contract with your overhead garage door specialist. You can also pay for the work done on an hourly basis.

 

In all cases, it is preferable to set up a technical file for each of your sectional garage doors. By having all the technical data available on file, your garage door specialist will be able to respond promptly in case of unforeseen incidents.

 

 

Industrial Overhead Door: Making the Right Choice, Easy as 1, 2, 3 ... 4

At first, it may seem difficult to choose the optimum industrial or commercial sectional garage door. A good choice is one that really corresponds to the way the door will be used. Paying too much for a door may not be beneficial; paying too little may result in annoying and expensive repairs. Components that are not robust enough can become the source of high repair and maintenance costs.

 Step 1: Select a sectional door that will be suitable for your actual application

 

According to the application, as example fire / ambulance stations, warehouses, car / truck washes, manufacturing facilities, condo / apartment building, etc., use the appropriate sectional door (e.g.: 1 ¾’’ thick door, urethane injected, 26-gauge steel door).

 

Step 2: Choose the door system according to the degree of sturdiness you need

 

This depends mainly on the dimensions of the door, the material it's made of and the number of daily open/close cycles it will undergo.  The torsion spring acts as a counterweight to facilitate the opening of the door. A key factor in the durability of a door is its hardware. Choosing a spring depends mainly on the daily number of open/close cycles your door will undergo. Choice: between 10,000 cycles to 100,000 cycles. The higher, the better.

 

Step 3: Select your door opener and the other accessories you will need

 

The choice of the door opener depends on the weight of the door and the number of open/close cycles that it will undergo. There are two types of door openers: trolley type and jackshaft. There is also a lot of possibility in regards to accessories: remote control, loop detector, adjustable timer to close, etc. Must have: pneumatic and / or photocell reverse system

 

Step 4: Choose the type of windows you require.

 

Choose a sealed thermo glasses unit (instead of single pane). There are many choices of sealed windows: clear, reinforced, tempered, laminated, tinted. There are also polycarbonate or acrylic lites. Remember: if the insulation of the door is important for you, reduce the number of unit windows. Just one, the smaller, to see if there is someone outside of the building. Therefore, if natural light is important, choose windows fixed on aluminum full view sections.

 

 

The price differential between two choices can be minimal and far less than the cost of repeated maintenance calls. Make sure you're buying the sectional garage door system that will stand up to your requirements.

 

Anytime, speak with a professional garage door guy (www.garaga.com). He knows the overhead door product line like no one else. He has been trained using a consultative approach, ready to help you make the right choice. Whether you are looking for energy efficiency, style, color, or windows, he is committed to deliver total customer satisfaction.

 

Why Change or Acquire a New Garage Door

There are many reasons why you should change your garage door:

Tired of freezing?

Think to...

• A sectional garage door with polyurethane injection (best foam insulation)
• No thermal bridge (be aware with steel end caps)
• Efficient perimeter weather seal (ask for a double lip seal)
• Efficient seal between sections with thermal break

Tired of painting?

Think to...

• Baked enamel finishing (at least 3 coats)
• Avoid dark color if the garage door is oriented to the south (sun exposure)
• If you repaint your garage door, start with a primer, plus 2 finish paints

Tired of look at it ?

Think to...

• Most of manufacturers have Online Design Centers. Download a picture of your home and try it!
• Harmonize your exterior colors, especially if you have a double garage door
• There’s more than just “Classic” raised panels
• New home? Think to 2 single doors instead of a double
• Add decorative windows
• Add garage door surrounds or trims

Need a long-lasting operation?

Think to...

• 1 ¾-in. (45 mm) thick door is 40% as rigid than a 1 3/8-in. (35 mm)
• Light-duty commercial hardware (14-gauge steel tracks)
• Anchoring plates welded to the rails

Tired of hearing it?

Think to...

• Belt-drive garage door opener (instead of a chain drive)
• Nylon rollers (with 11 ball bearings)
• Rubber mounting isolator (motor fixed on steel bars)
• Trolley bar in one piece (instead of 3 pieces)

 

Do not forget to ask to a professional of garage door industry (http://www.garaga.com/information/steps-change-door/step-2-installer-choice/) to do the installation. Even if you choose the best sectional garage door of the market, if the installation is not done correctly, you’ll be disappointed... and tired of shopping again !

 

Industrial Overhead Doors Are Not All The Same !

Over the past weeks, GARAGA, garage  doors, Inc. (www.garaga.com) has been developing a sales tool that will help building owners and contractors.  With this one pager, Garaga wants to educate commercial & industrial contractors and architects to look further than the R-value when selecting an overhead door.  It really hopes to make them understand that all overhead doors are not the same.

"Not only will this tool help you demonstrate the features and benefits of our doors, but it will help our garage door specialists prove our point.  That is why we included some little LAB icons to invite contractors to watch 4 videos at www.garaga.com/lab  explaining the tests conducted to benchmark our garage doors against other brand.  With the support of GARAGA Labs, contractors and architects will see for themselves the details that make Garaga’s doors outstanding in terms of performance", Kathy Doyon, Marketing Coordinator says.

You can also get it on Garaga’s website at http://www.garaga.com/ca/professionals/builders/

June: it is garage door safety month

The International Door Association (IDA) and the Door & Access Systems Manufacturers Association (DASMA) have designated June as Garage Door Safety Month.

The IDA and its affiliated dealers will be working to increase awareness of the possible hazards of garage doors and automatic opener systems, and the need for periodic inspection and maintenance to keep them safe. Give your garage door a safety checks (wwhttp://www.garaga.com/ca/garage-doors-maintenance.aspx) to insure it’s in proper working order by using these ten garage door safety and security tips.

 

1. Make sure garage door opener control button is out of the reach of small children.

2. Do not let children play with garage door remote controls.

3. Consult the owner’s manual and learn how to use the garage door’s emergency release feature.

4. Visually inspect the garage door each month. Look at springs, cables, rollers and pulleys for signs of wear. Do not attempt to remove, adjust or repair these parts or anything attached to them. A trained door repairman must make adjustments to these parts, which are under high tension.

5. Test the garage door opener’s reversing mechanism monthly by placing a 2 x 4 board or a roll of paper towels in the door’s path. If the door does not reverse after contacting the object, call a qualified garage door professional for repair. If the opener has not been replaced since 1993, seriously consider a new one with auto-reverse as a standard feature.

6. Never place fingers between door sections and explain the dangers to children. If you have small children, consider a door with panels that can’t pinch.

7. Do not leave the garage door partially open. When activated again, it may travel downward and come in contact with an object in its path. This also impacts your home’s security as well.

8. While on vacation, unplug the garage door opener unit or use a wall vacation lock console security switch, which renders remotes unusable and is an optional accessory to most openers.

9. If the opener does not have rolling-code technology, which changes the access codes each time the opener is used to prevent code grabbing, be sure to change the manufacturer’s standard access codes on the opener and remote control, or consider investing in a newer model with more safety and security features that are now standard.

10. A new trend in home invasion is gaining access to the home by stealing the opener or car. Never leave the remote control in the car or with a parking attendant. Consider using a key chain remote and always lock the entry to the inside of your home – especially if your opener is programmed to your vehicle. It is a small inconvenience for safety and security.

 

Although you should provide monthly safety checks http://www.garaga.com/ca/safety-security.aspx and maintenance to your garage door system, an annual visit from a trained door systems technician can keep your door operating safely and smoothly for a long time.

How to choose and match exterior colours on your home, including the garage door

The challenge in choosing exterior colour is to find the right balance between standing out and fitting in.

 

Often the biggest colour decisions have been made by the time you get to choosing exterior paint colours: the brick, the stone elements, and your roof. To help you see these materials as colours, match each of them to a paint chip. This is a quick and effective aid to developing your home's exterior palette. Add a paint chip for the roof and you are ready to go.

 

Next, choose your main trim colour, and when you do, be extremely wary of white. There is very little White in nature so stark white can look artificial and inelegant. Be sure that any whites you use are what designers call “toned” whites. These look off–white or warm grey as paint chips but will still look very white against brick and stone. They're softer and more pleasing to the eye.

 

Make the laws of colour perception work for you when assigning colours to the architectural features of your home. Light things grab our attention and they also tend to look big (which is why some of us favour black workout clothing). Take stock of your facade and assign the brightest trim colour to its most attractive trim features, such as decorative mouldings, window sashes, brackets, and columns.

 

If you want to calm your façade then the rule of thumb is to reduce contrast. Tone down your trim with natural–looking neutrals in a deeper range of colours, both the colour of stone. Make the details you want to be less visible recede with a warm off–black. These shadow colours help create harmony in your palette.

 

Sometimes, toning down unattractive features won't be enough. To make utility doors, down–pipes and truly unsightly things disappear, you need outright camouflage. Use the colour that you matched to your main building material (brick, siding), as the colour for all ugly things.

 

Dramatic or eye–catching accent colours should always be used sparingly. The front door – the welcome to your home – should be prominent, so this is where you can break loose. Classic reds, dark burgundies, are magnificent, but also consider Autumn Fern, a khaki green that complements the rusty colour of red brick.  If you prefer a monochromatic palette, add drama by choosing a really dark door colour, both of which look handsome in a gloss finish.

 

Generally, there are three rules for garage doors: always avoid bright colours. Always avoid high contrast with the dominant colour in your palette. Never match them to your front door. If you think you want to use a stand–out colour on your front door, camouflage your garage door so it doesn't compete.

 

For shutters, you need to choose between blending them in and making them pop. To blend, use your shadow neutral. For pop, match your shutters to your door colour. This will draw more attention to your home so be sure your façade is up to it.

 

White windows can be a curse. They are too bright to work well with brick or stone. If you are stuck with a brick house and white windows, then choose a toned white a little deeper than the white of your window frames and save your deeper shadow colour for areas non–adjacent to the windows.

 

Invest in the highest–quality exterior paint you can afford. Painting the exterior is expensive, or time–consuming – usually, both. Look for an exterior paint that's backed by the strongest warranty you can find, which is backed by a lifetime warranty against cracking, peeling and flaking.

Top ten reasons why you should have a good insulated garage door

If you heat your garage or you dream to transform it in heating it, an insulated garage with a well-insulated garage door (45 mm - 1 ¾ in. thick, polyurethane injected, RSI 2.8 / R-16 insulation factor) does two things: it keeps out not only the cold air but also the sound. By simply parking your cars outside for a few days and turning on some temporary heat, the space can be used for all kinds of purposes. According to Garaga (www.garaga.com ), a Canadian garage door manufacturer, the garage has taken on several different roles and he would like to share with you the top ten uses.

1 – Workshop: of course, this would be the number one use, especially for men. Even in the summer, a good insulated garage door equipped with efficient perimeter weather-strips, helps to keep noises noise in (ex: use of circular saw).

2 – Renovation works: you usually work on the interior retrofit projects during the months just before spring and outdoor projects during the warmer part of the year. It is a lot easier to take standing in a warm garage than outside in the driveway in February.

3 – Mouldings and trims: for you, having a place to cut trim for the house is a must. This means that you constantly need to cut a piece of wood or else. No matter how accurate a mitre saw, they still create a great deal of sawdust. The garage is once again a haven for a job like this. The dust is contained to one specific location.

4 – Art studio: your family binges on artistic project all the time, often just before Christmas. The garage can be private and quiet or it can be a large enough space for a group project.

5 – Furniture refreshing: if you have ever done any refreshing you know about the smell that is given of from all those refreshing products. The garage is perfect for this especially in the dead of winter when it feels like the cold will never end and time moves so slowly.

6 – Heated storage facility: again, on numerous occasions you have used the space as a temporary storage for furniture that is either on its way in or out.

7 - Pet training: why not ? Pets are a part of our lifestyle and a most important part of your family. An accident in the house on the hardwood floor could cause a chaotic reaction…

8 – Party room: a two-car garage can be the perfect place for a party. You could have been to a couple over the years where the house did not suit a large crowd but the garage was the ideal spot.

9 – Kid’s playroom: the garage can be a place the kids can let their hair down. If your boys are small, they will love to play in a sand box or with their bicycle. If they are older and in the band phase, the garage is becoming a music room and keeps sounds in . 

10 – Finally a garage is a garage: if you never park your car in there, for sure you will appreciate being able to keep your snow blower,  your Quad or your snowmobile in a warm garage for easier starting during the winter months.

“As you see, garage is more than a place to park your car” Garaga says. Sometimes, it is a kind of an extension of your home for the cold months. That is the reason it becomes very important to choose the best insulated garage door with the best air tightness and thermal brake system.

What's New in Garage Door Openers ?

Your automatic garage door opener works just fine, you say. It’s opened and closed your door reliably for years. All you’ve needed to do is change the light bulb or the battery in the remote control once in a while. Replace it? What more could you want? What could be new in garage door openers? Plenty.

Safety First

If your opener was installed prior to 1993, you may be missing out on a great safety feature that is now required on all U.S. and Canadian openers manufactured since that time – photoelectric eyes or some other device that provides equivalent protection against entrapment.

Photoelectric eyes – mounted about six inches above the floor – cast an invisible beam across the door opening. If a door is closing and, for example, a child or pet were running underneath the door, they would “break” the beam, causing the door to automatically reverse 

Because your garage door is the heaviest and largest moving part of your home, a new opener with entrapment protection makes a great deal of sense, particularly if you have small children. (Note – It’s important, too, to teach children that the garage door system is not a plaything.)

 Your local professional door dealer (www.garaga.com) can help you choose the system that makes sense for your needs – and he or she is also fully trained to install and test the system for optimum performance and safe operation. 

Key to the Castle

Many folks don’t carry a house key anymore. Why? Many find it easier to enter their homes through the garage door, using a remote control or an external keypad. These devices have become the new “house keys” for many homeowners.

These keypads are especially popular with “latchkey kids” – kids who come home to an empty house. Millions of children come home every day and enter their homes using an exterior garage door keypad. In fact, one survey shows that 33 percent of parents whose homes have external keypads say that the keypad is the number one way for children to enter the homes.

“Latchkey kids are now keypad kids,” said Chris Long, editor of Door & Operator Industry, an industry magazine. “Keypad use has more than doubled in the past 10 years,” said Tom Wadsworth, editor of Door & Access Systems http://www.garagewownow.com , another magazine for the garage door industry. “Convenience is the driving factor behind this trend – no more worries about lost or stolen keys.”

The new fingerprint-activated keyless entry pads have created a whole new level of convenience. Now, you don’t even need to memorize an entry code. Convenience is literally at your fingertip.

You’ve Always Got the Power

Entrapment protection and keypads are great, you may say – but how do we open and close the garage door when a storm rolls through and knocks out the power? Today’s openers won’t keep you waiting outside in the rain, or force you to manually disengage the opener and lift the door by hand. A popular accessory sold with new openers is a battery back-up system that allows you to use your garage door opener 24/7, regardless of any loss of power to your home.

Speaking of power, chances are you have a surge protector in your home to safeguard your computer from voltage spikes. Surge protectors are also available to shield your garage door opener as well, keeping your door operating system running and protecting your investment.

If You Can Dream It ...

It’s probably available. Garage door opener accessories abound. Would you like your garage door opener to switch on lights in your home as you’re pulling up the driveway? Or alert you if you left the garage door open? It’s all now possible with new garage door accessories. You can even make a fashion statement with your garage door remote by customizing it to match your car’s interior. Call a garage door specialist: http://www.garaga.com/dealerlocator.aspx?type=R