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Checklist When Buying Garage Doors
by: Ezio Stirpe
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|t used to be a very simple decision, but with technological advances, your model selections, colour selections, and material construction vary. Ensure that the company you choose can offer you the varied designs and makes.
Model selection:-This really means the design available. Steel garage doors come in embossed, ribbed and flush (flat) designs. They come with a smooth finish, or a wood grained finish. Wood garage doors come in embossed designs, or flush designs. Any garage door can be purchased with optional windows. Both for practical reasons, (to let natural light into the garage or purely for esthetic reasons).
Colour selections:- Wood garage doors can be painted in any colour, and therefore there are no limitations to your decorating ideas. Steel garage doors come pre-finished with baked enamel finishes in white, brown, almond or sand tone. Aluminum insulated garage doors come in a full selection of baked finishes (10) colours. Construction: Wood, Steel, Steel Insulated or Aluminum Insulated are you basic choices.
Wood:- Ensure that the door you are buying is constructed of solid wood, no fingerjoints or laminates.
Steel:- Ensure that you inquire about the gauge of steel used, and whether the paint is baked on, or simply sprayed. Also check for manufacturers warranty.
Steel Insulated:- Insulated doors are purchased q To enhance the strength of the door to eliminate the ease in which they dent or r To provide an R factor to enhance heat retention. Basically, the thickness of the door and the type of insulating material will determine what you are purchasing. Styrofoam gives you approx.R4 for every inch of thickness, where polyurethane injected doors will give you approx. R 8.5 for every inch of thickness.
Aluminum Insulated Doors:- These garage doors are leading the industry in both colour selection and R ratings. They are polyurethane injected foam doors giving R 16.04 values and they offer a most complete colour selection.
Where should I buy my garage door?
When making your buying decision, many factors should figure in to your choice.
1. Ensure that the company you deal with is reputable. You can check this by having the company supply you references, or to supply you addresses where work has been completed.
2. A showroom location with fully functioning displays should be at your disposal. This will give you a clear look at both product selection, and variety. It will also give you a better
perception than a hand sample or photo.
3. The following items should be part of you garage door purchase
a) The removal and disposal of your old door
b) All new parts including all hardware
c) Torsion spring counter balancing
d) Matching exterior weatherstripping for the sides and top.
e) Installation of, or re-installation of your automatic garage door opener.
4. Free shop at home service is also something you should look for.
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GARAGE DOOR OPENERS
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Shut the door on sloppy slushy weather by installing a garage door opener. After all, who wants to get out of the car in freezing weather just to lift a heavy door? Day, after day, after day. If that’s not reason enough, consider safety. Homes, Without automatic openers are more than six times as likely to have garage door accidents than homes with openers.
As of January 1993, a federal law requires that automatic openers be equipped with infrared beam and/or sensing edge. All residential opener models come with one or the other. The harmless infrared beam projects across the garage door opening. If the beam is interrupted while the door is closing, the door automatically reverses. The instant reverse feature senses any contact with an object and automatically reverses. These safety features protect children and pets.
What to look for
Most garage door openers come with a built in light time delay, a light on the opener comes on when it is activated, and automatically shuts itself off in approximately 5 minutes. Some openers also have a manual light switch, which allows you to use the opener as a permanent light fixture if required. Additional accessories such as exterior entry systems and emergency key releases may cost more.
Horsepower:
Openers come with l/3-, or 1/2 horsepower (hp) motors. Garage door openers will open most garage doors up to 18 feet wide, and 7 feet high. However it is strongly suggested that 1/2 hp models be purchased, because the warranty and features easily outweigh the small cost differential.
Drive Type::
There are 3 basic types of drive systems available for garage door openers, chain drive, belt drive and screw drive. See your dealer for advice on which system best suits your needs.
Emergency Disconnect:
This allows you to disengage the garage door opener from outside the garage door in case of a power failure. This is necessary for garages with no access door.
NOTE: It is strongly recommended that you use a professional door company to supply and install your garage door opener. The opener must work in concert with a properly functioning garage door. To balance and adjust a garage door is dangerous for the non-expert, and is key to proper operation and longevity of the garage door opener.
VISIT J.ADAMS GARAGE DOORS WEB PAGE
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