Monthly Archives: March 2014

Remote Garage Door – How Often Should You Get It Serviced?

Posted by Ramirez Custom Overhead Doors On March 30, 2014 at 6:04 pm | Comments Closed
Remote garage doors are very convenient to operate. You can open and close the door without getting out of your car. These doors not only save your time, but also protect you from bad weather because you don’t have to come out of the safety of your vehicle to operate them. However, the problem with remote garage doors is that they consist of an automatic assembly that is vulnerable to break down like any other mechanical equipment. You can avoid this problem by maintaining the door regularly. One of the most basic things to do is to get the door serviced as per a maintenance schedule.
Why does the garage door need to be serviced regularly?
Several problems could come up with remote garage doors. Sometimes, you notice that the movement of the door is not smooth. The door tends to get stuck while moving up and down. This problem is usually caused due to bad springs. Another common problem is noise. If the friction between mechanical elements of the door increases, you can hear a loud grinding kind of noise when the door opens or closes. In addition to these two problems, you also face problems with the door falling suddenly when you close it.
There could be several causes for these problems. From inefficient springs and problems with remote control box to worn out wheels and weak cables, automatic garage doors fall prey to numerous operational issues. The best way to avoid all these problems is to get them serviced regularly.
So, the question that arises now is, how frequently should you get your door serviced?
Frequency of servicing
Although the frequency of service depends on number of factors, all remote garage doors need to be serviced at least once a year. However, this frequency does not apply to all doors.
Doors that are of high quality and have robust mechanical parts can do with an annual service. However, doors that are of lower quality need to be serviced twice a year at least because the mechanical elements in them wear out quickly. Doors that are not used too frequently need servicing once a year but the ones that are used too frequently need more frequent servicing because of quicker wearing.
As a regular user of the door, you are the right person to decide about the time of service. Any efficient garage service technician will tell you that you should get the door serviced when you notice abnormality in its functioning. For instance, if you hear loud grinding noises or if the door wobbles while moving up and down, you know that it is time for service.
What does servicing involve?
Essentially, servicing a garage door involves inspecting all the mechanical elements in the assembly and repairing any part that is damaged. Gears, pulleys and other movable parts are greased. If certain parts are worn out beyond repair, they are replaced. In short, a garage door service makes the door function as efficiently as new.
With regular servicing and maintenance, you can prolong the life of the remote garage door.
Remote garage door is of great benefit because you don’t have to get out of the car to open and close it every time. But these doors are constantly exposed to the elements, so they need to be serviced regularly.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8155925

Fabric-Shield® Storm Panels Large Missile Product Comparison

Posted by Ramirez Custom Overhead Doors On March 27, 2014 at 11:39 pm | Comments Closed

What happens after the glass breaks? Steel panels have been used for years as hurricane protection. They protect against rapid internal pressurization and against glass breakage from small wind driven debris. But will they prevent window breakage from large debris? Testing has proven that they do not.

The purpose of this test is to compare window damage when Fabric Shield and corrugated steel panels are impacted by a large missile traveling at 50fps per SSTD 12-99, ASTM E1996, ASTM E1886 for large missile impact. All test data from these demonstrations are available upon request.

Tips For Choosing A “Green” Garage Door

Posted by Ramirez Custom Overhead Doors On March 24, 2014 at 9:53 pm | Comments Closed
Homeowners looking for ways to make their house “green” or eco-friendly shouldn’t overlook the hardest working door in the house.
As the largest moving part on a home, the garage door plays an important role in energy efficiency and sustainability – two important criteria in green building design. Green building is about reducing environmental impact. With an average life cycle of 15 to 20 years, investing in a durable garage door that can withstand the rigors of daily use is money well spent for your home and the environment. Long-lasting eco friendly products help reduce the impact of manufacturing and building on the environment, as well as distribution fuel costs and general waste. When shopping for a door that is built to last look for galvanized torsion springs, 3-layer galvanized steel construction, a baked-on paint finish that resists fading and peeling, and CFC-free insulation. Insulated steel and composite polymer “faux wood” doors are becoming popular alternatives to real wood doors for two reasons: they are more energy efficient, and the construction material is UV resistant and impervious to moisture, meaning it won’t rot, warp or crack. Therefore, the door won’t need to be refurbished or replaced as frequently as one constructed from natural materials.
Energy Efficiency
An insulated door on your garage can help reduce household energy consumption if you have an attached garage. Since attached garages typically share one or two common walls with the house, any hot or cold air that travels through a door will ultimately reach the adjacent living areas. An insulated garage door can help stabilize temperatures in the garage to reduce heat losses or gains from common house walls. Replacing an older door with a new, energy efficient model can reduce energy loss through the garage by up to 71%, and keep an unheated garage 10 -20 degrees warmer on a cold winter day, according to a study conducted by engineers at Clopay Building Products. Three-layer steel garage doors featuring environmentally safe, CFC-free, polyurethane insulation foam injected between two sheets of steel typically offer the highest R-values. R-value is a measurement of thermal efficiency of a door, or how well it insulates. The higher the R-value, the more energy efficient the door is.
Sustainability
In coastal areas or regions where high winds are common, the garage door is a critical element in protecting a home during a storm. Because of their size, garage doors are more susceptible to wind damage than other exterior openings – especially two-car garages. Unless you have a tested, reinforced door installed, high winds can force it out of the opening. The loss of a garage door can cause internal pressure to build up, resulting in a total blowout of the roof and supporting walls – similar to an explosion. Investigate local building requirements and make sure your door meets them.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3905758

About Sectional Doors

Posted by Ramirez Custom Overhead Doors On March 21, 2014 at 7:57 pm | Comments Closed

A Sectional Door is a simple, low maintenance product that is offered in a variety of sizes. They are available in many different materials, providing one of the most versatile of door types. Sectional Doors are available in several gauges of steel as well as aluminum and fiberglass, which facilitates their use with a variety of architectural motifs.

Where fenestration is required, the Sectional Door offers many options from small, oval vision lites to full glazed aluminum sections. Glass is available in thicknesses from DSB to 1/2″ (12.7 mm) thick. Insulated glass, wire glass, Plexiglas lites and vision panels can be specified. Glazing can either be clear or tinted.

Numerous insulation packages make Sectional Doors the ideal product for interior temperature control considerations. Polystyrene and Polyurethane insulation are available with R factors up to 16.4 tested (U= .06 tested). Insulation options include laminated matt, steel or fiberglass back panels, bonded steel foam construction and foam injected, double faced steel sections.

The Sectional Door can be chain operated, motor operated or manually operated. Special, high cycle springs will increase standard door life expectancy to 100,000 cycles of use. Special manufacturing criteria can be employed that will allow most Sectional Doors to withstand winds up to 43 pounds per square foot (2.06 Kpa). The sectional configuration allows the easy addition of special section cutouts, exhaust ports and louvers. Removable mullions make the Sectional Door the logical choice for large aircraft hangar applications.

Sectional doors can accommodate a wide range of applications including loading docks, service stations, fire stations, restaurants, and many others. They offer many glazing options and can be equipped with a pedestrian pass door in many cases.

My Garage Door Won’t Open, Now What?

Posted by Ramirez Custom Overhead Doors On March 18, 2014 at 5:36 pm | Comments Closed
Professional garage door repair companies hear this question frequently. It seems like it almost always happens to most people as they are about to leave for work, or when they arrive home from a long day. I suppose that being locked out of the garage would be the better of the two previous options. However if you are experiencing this problem, you do have options!
There are several things that you can check for that may be an immediate fix to the problem. First, you can confirm that the garage door opener is receiving power. If it is not, there are two simple things to check for.
Many garages have a GFCI plug system, and all the outlets in the garage are on the same circuit. Once you have located the GFCI plug, try pushing the reset button. If this doesn’t work, try checking your circuit breakers. Since many people run freezers, refrigerators, tools, and exercise equipment in the garage, you may have overloaded the breaker.
If neither of these two options corrects the problem, and you have confirmed that the garage door opener is not working, try disengaging the garage door opener from the garage door. This is accomplished by pulling on the emergency release rope that is attached to the trolley on the garage door opener rail.
After disengaging the opener, you should be able to open the door freely. If you determine that the opener is not the problem, your options become a little less appealing.
After ruling out the opener as the problem, you will need to move on to the garage door itself. Take a couple of minutes and try to determine if there seems to be anything loose or broken on the garage door. Look for rollers out of track, cables off of their pulleys, and broken springs.
If you are able to locate one of these problems, you must determine if your do it yourself skills will allow you to quickly make the necessary repairs. Before you make any repairs, make sure that you take the necessary time to determine the safety of making the repair yourself.
Cables and springs are under tremendous amounts of pressure, in order to counterbalance the weight of the door and can cause serious injury if you do not have the proper tools and expertise required to manipulate them.
If you determine that the repair is beyond your abilities, you should know that there are many service companies that are able to help you with your problem rather quickly. Most garage repairs can be completed in less than thirty minutes by an experienced repair technician with the proper tools and parts.
Now is the time to be especially careful. Most areas have a large selection of garage door repair service companies to choose from. Some of these will take advantage of your need for immediate service, if you do not take the time to check them out.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/4294676