El Dorado Hills Garage Door Repair

Category: Blog

3 Reasons Smart Garage Doors are Genius

A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, the family garage door opener was a teenage kid that ran through the rain to open the door for his parents. When the automatic garage door was first introduced, it was a dream come true. Now we have smart garage door openers and the future has never looked so bright.

What can a smart garage door opener do for you? Plenty! Here are 3 reasons installing a smart garage door just might be the smartest home improvement idea ever.

1. You can open your door from anywhere.

One of the biggest advantages to a smart garage door opener is the ability to open it from anywhere. Think about all the times this could come in handy. Say you’re at work and you realize you forgot to close your garage door. You can view it remotely from your phone to see if it’s open and then close it. How about if you are expecting an important package delivery? Include instructions in your order to call you. Then you can remotely open the garage door so the delivery person can slip it inside. If you have out-of-town guests arrive when you are still at work, you can allow them inside, right from your phone.

2. A smart garage door increases security.

A smart garage door can alert you to suspicious activity. You can view your door from your phone and then lock it and alert authorities. Smart tech is great for protecting your home from burglars.

3. You just have less to worry about.

With a smart garage door opener, you no longer have to worry about losing your remote. It’s right there on your phone, safe and secure behind your passcode. You can call your phone or use GPS location if you should misplace it. You can even set your garage door to automatically close if you accidentally leave it open. How cool is that?

October 22, 2018
3 Risks to DIY Garage Door Repair

Sure, some garage door repairs fit into the DIY category if you’re fairly handy with tools and can Google it. But remember a garage door weighs hundreds of pounds. It raises and lowers with amazing ease because of the incredible tension in your torsion springs, a withheld force that also makes them extremely dangerous. Plus, a garage door costs thousands to replace.

If you don’t know what you are doing you can do some serious damage to the door and yourself. Tread carefully. If you’re in over your head, call in a professional garage door service. Let’s take a look at 3 major risks you’ll face doing garage door repairs yourself.

Serious Bodily Injury

Your garage door works as safely as it does because of its security features that are designed to protect homeowners from injury. If you tinker with the wrong part of the door, say the springs, and don’t know what you’re doing, it can be extremely risky. You could end up in the emergency room. The injuries can even be fatal. Any complicated repair, especially involving springs or cables, should always be left to a professional.

You Can Cause Expensive Damage to Your Door

Most people attempt their own DIY garage door repairs to save money. But you can just as easily do some expensive damage to your door. Even shoddy repairs can put unnecessary strain on your garage door or shorten its lifespan. You can expect to get at least 15 to 30 years of quality use out of a garage door. But that depends not only on the quality of the door, but how well you take care of it. If you don’t repair a door correctly, you might shorten its lifespan, even if you don’t realize it at the time.

You Could Damage Vehicles, House, or Other Possessions

As we mentioned, that garage door weighs hundreds of pounds. If it comes crashing down, you could seriously damage lawn equipment, bikes, or cars. And if you mess with the springs or put undue strain on them, they could snap, damaging vehicles, your home, or even people.

Face It — You’d Rather Be Doing Something Else

What’s your ideal Saturday? Be honest. Chances are, repairing your garage door is not at the top of your list. You could be watching the game, reading a book in a hammock, going for a hike or even go hang gliding. And one thing you can be sure about garage door repair: It will always be harder and more complicated than you expect. Things will go wrong. No job is as simple as it first appears. Save yourself the trouble and hire a professional. Weekends for relaxing, not garage door repair. Go live your best life and let us take care of the hard stuff.

The bottom line is if you aren’t sure about a repair, call a professional that can do it safely. It’s just not worth the expense or the safety risk.

October 15, 2018
How Autumn Leaves, Sunlight and Even Dirt Can Affect Garage Door Sensors
We don’t see a lot of foliage in Rancho Cordova, California, but we actually have a lot more than the rest of the country imagines. And while the splash of color is beautiful and that rustic smell of leaves is classic fall, leaves that fall to the ground become a nuisance pretty fast. In fact, they can actually interfere with your garage door sensors, preventing the door from closing. So if you find your door won’t close and keeps returning to the up position, look for piles of leaves around your sensors. Autumn may be running interference on your opener.

What’s Happening

Required by law since the early 90s, sensors are used to automatically detect if something is in the way. This is designed to protect children and pets from injury. It also will stop the door from operating if something is in the way such as a car, a lawn mower or bike.

Other Things that Can Obstruct Sensors

Lots of things can actually interfere with your sensors. Cobwebs are common. Sometimes sunlight is a problem. You can get around this by securing cardboard or wooden shades around the top of the sensor to protect it from sunlight. Sometimes the sensors just need cleaned.

Cleaning Your Garage Door Sensors is Easy

Cleaning your garage door safety sensors is a simple maintenance task to ensure your door operates safely and reliably. Here’s a quick step-by-step guide:
1. Disconnect the power to your garage door opener to prevent the garage door for moving.
2. Examine the sensor units. They’ll be near the ground on each side of the door. Look for any dirt, cobwebs, or debris that might obstruct their operation.
3. Use a soft, lint-free cloth or a cotton swab to clean the sensor lenses. Avoid using abrasive materials that could scratch the lenses.
4. Ensure the sensors are correctly aligned so that the invisible beam of light between them is uninterrupted. As said above, you may need to fashion a cover from leaves.
5. After cleaning and aligning the sensors, reconnect the power to your garage door opener. Test the garage door to ensure it operates smoothly and that the safety sensors are functioning correctly.
Regularly cleaning and maintaining your safety sensors ensures they function properly. A little soap and water might be the easiest garage door opener repair you’ve ever done.
October 8, 2018
Old Fashioned Garage Door Styles Being Revived: The New Found Popularity of Carriage Doors

Trends always have a way of going retro, and garages are no exception. Prince revived 1970s swag at the Montreux Juillet concert in 2013. Models sporting 1980s fashions grace the cover of Vogue. And now carriage doors are becoming popular again as new garage doors that were once commonplace at the turn of the last century.

Back to the Barnyard

The carriage garage door looks like a barn door. There’s a reason for this. Carriage doors were made for the first garages and were designed to mimic actual barns. Back when cars were known as “horseless carriages,” it was common to store cars in the barn next to the horse. The car was literally replaced the carriage, hence “carriage doors.”

Popular, Beautiful, Versatile

In fact, about 20% of all new garage doors are made in the style of carriage doors. The doors are very affordable and have a quaint rustic charm that is hard to resist. There are a variety of styles and options to choose from.

Plenty of Natural Light

In addition to their rustic beauty, these doors usually have many windows so the natural light is perfect. There’s just something classically old-fashioned about them. If you are considering garage door installation and would like to learn about carriage door options, give us a call. We’d be happy to help!

October 1, 2018
How Are You Spending Your Tax Return? New Garage Doors Have 120% ROI Value

Most people receive a pretty substantial refund on their tax returns. It’s tempting to spend this money on new electronics or a family vacation, and we’re not saying you don’t deserve to. But consider spending the money on something that’s actually an investment on your home, a home improvement that has great value but isn’t necessarily the cheapest.

A new garage door gives back a pretty impressive return on investment, especially in El Dorado Hills. In fact, a new garage door has a 98 percent return, though in California and El Dorado Hills, it has a 120 percent return, according to CNBC. That’s right. Spend your tax return on a new garage door and your home will actually be worth more than what you actually spend to do it.

Factors to Consider

Naturally, to get more on an investment in a new garage door, you need to get a model that’s actually an improvement on what you already have. And the investment can vary. But to make the most of your investment, consider installing a new door of quality material like wood or aluminum. You might also think about getting an insulated door with a higher R-Value. This can mean big savings on your energy bill if your garage is attached to the house.

How Long Have You Had Your Current Door?

A lot of what goes into this decision is how long you’ve had the current door. If you just replaced the door in the last few years, the ROI probably isn’t that high. If your door is more than 10 to 20 years old, however, that ROI is practically a California gold mine. There have been many improvements in safety and security in garage doors over the last decade. Having the latest model can significantly increase the resale value of your home.

Call Us Anytime. We Specialize in New Garage Door Installations in El Dorado Hills.

Even if you are just considering a new garage door, give us a call to discuss the possibilities. We’re happy to chat and there’s no pressure. We don’t want you rushing into anything. Still, wouldn’t it be nice to invest this year’s tax return on something that will actually increase your family’s net worth? Think about it.

September 24, 2018
Lack the Space for a New 2 Car Garage? Introducing the 1.5 Car Garage

Living in El Dorado Hills, California is beautiful — perfect weather and a great community. We’re truly blessed to live here and be part of the neighborhood. But one thing this place doesn’t have a lot of is space. Real estate is at a premium. When it comes to new garage door installations, one of the challenges we have is finding a garage situation that can meet the space requirements. Fortunately, there’s the 1.5 car garage — slightly larger than a single car garage but not as big as the 2 car garage. It gives you just enough space to comfortably park your car safely and securely, with a little extra for storage. Let’s take a look at this amazing option for garage door installation.

The Best of All Worlds

Granted, nobody has a .5 car. Even the Smart Car probably counts for at least ¾ wide. But it is a garage that will accommodate a regular size car plus a little room for extras such as a motorcycle, a lawn mower or athletic equipment. Plus, it can accommodate a large vehicle easily if you drive a big SUV.

Most one car size garages are about 12 to 16 feet wide. A 1.5 car garage is about 16 and 20 feet. It’s a happy medium between a 2 car garage at 20 to 24 feet and a 3 car garage at 30 feet.

Small Footprint

Many neighborhoods in El Dorado Hills are just too risky for street parking, especially if you drive a nice car. And often you don’t have the acreage for a large garage.

Yet one car garages can be too limiting. You barely have enough room to get and out of the car. Kiss your dreams of keeping a lawnmower or motorcycle in your garage goodbye.

A 1.5 car garage is a happy medium. You have plenty of room to store a car and extra storage within a very limited space.

Have a Young Driver?

If you have a young driver, you know that landing an SUV in a single car garage is like nailing the Death Star on the first try. There’s very little room for error. A that extra .5 of space could save your bumper or car door.

Wrestling Kids

Even if your kids aren’t driving age, you know what a hassle it can be to wrestle them into the car, especially if car seats are involved. A 1.5 car garage provides just enough space to do it with ease.

Considering a New Garage?

So if you’re considering installing a new garage for the first time but don’t have a lot of space to work with, a 1.5 car garage gives you more options. And there are a number of new garage doors on the market to fit this size so you don’t have to custom build anything or reinvent the wheel.

September 17, 2018
Don’t Have Enough Headroom to Install an Automatic Garage Door Opener? 3 Quick Fixes

Installing a garage door opener in a non-traditional space? Keep in mind that not all garages provide adequate headroom for a garage door opener, especially older garage doors that might have been installed before garage door openers were more standard. But don’t give up hope. You can still install a garage door opener in nearly any space, no matter the headroom, as long as you are creative about the installation. Here are a few alternative approaches to garage door opener installation that accommodate limited overhead space for an opener.

How Much Room Do You Need?

Most standard automatic openers require at least 15 inches of overhead clearance. This includes about 12 inches for the door and torsion springs and three inches for the garage door opener.

What if you don’t have that much space? Don’t worry. You won’t have to rely on a teenager to open your garage door for the rest of your life. There are several tricks your installer can try to accommodate an opener in a tight space.

3 Solutions for Much Overhead Clearance

You could consider a frame down opening door. These are free and available at 3-inch increments so it’s easy lower or raise your garage door opening to meet the needed height.

Another option is a low headroom track. These are designed for your exact situation in mind. This allows an opener to be installed in as little as 9 inches of space. Pretty cool, huh?

If you still don’t have room for the opener or there’s a beam in the way of where an opener would normally go, jackshaft garage door openers are another option. These work just as well as the traditional opener, but open from the side of the garage rather than the top. Though it will limit some of your storage options on that side of the wall, the ceiling will have a much cleaner look.

September 10, 2018
It’s Wildfire Season! Is Your Family Prepared?

It’s wildfire season in El Dorado Hills. As the realities of climate change intensify, you can’t always assume your home is outside of the wildfire zone, even if you are in a city or suburban location or in any area that has never been hit by fires before. After what we saw in Santa Rosa, CA and Oregon last year, all bets are off. It’s best to be ready. Are you and your family prepared?

Download Apps for Alerts

Download the Storm Shield Weather Radio app, available for iPhone and Android. Get alerts for inclement weather, including Fire Weather Watch and Red Flag Warning.

Gather an Emergency Kit

Yes, everybody says they’ve been planning to get a kit together, but now it’s time to do it. Pack your kit with blankets, rain gear, plenty of water, and convenient backpack food such as Cliff Bars and nuts. In California, it’s a good idea to have an earthquake emergency kit ready anyway and this can double as a wildfire kit. The San Francisco Chronicle has some great tips on what to pack.

Preparing Your Property

Create a buffer zone around your house. This involves clearing out any dead trees and brush material, maintaining a decent space between the home and the forest.

“People must do their part and create a space around their homes where fire can be better controlled as it approaches,” Fire Chief Kelly Keenan tells Mountain Democrat.

Install a Fire Resistant Insulated Garage Door

It’s also a good idea to install a new fire resistant insulated garage door. Talk to your garage door service company about what’s available and what they’d recommend.

Do You Have Battery Backup?

The wildfires a couple of years ago inspired some interesting legislation: All new garage doors and garage door openers installed after 2019 must have battery backup. The move was designed to ensure homeowners have access to their garage doors during a natural disaster. It was inspired by a California congressman whose neighbors had trouble evacuating their homes because of a power outage during the emergency.

But whether or not your garage door opener is new, battery backup is still a good idea. Even outside of an urgent emergency, battery backup ensures you conveniently have access to your garage door opener, even in a standard power outage like after a thunderstorm. The good news is you can purchase battery backup kits to be installed in any existing garage door opener. It’s a good idea for convenience as well as the safety of your family.

In an Emergency

If you have time, shut off all gas to your home. Unplug your garage door opener. Wet down the roof and any plants around your home. Shut off and cover any possible entryways to your home, including windows, vents, and doors.

September 3, 2018
The Pros and Cons to Raising the Roof for a Taller Garage

Want a taller garage? It’s possible and definitely has its advantages in terms of extra overhead storage or being able to store larger vehicles such as boats or semi-cabs if you’re a trucker. You could raise the roof, theoretically anyway. Is it worth the hassle and expense? We’ll let you be the judge.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to raising your garage roof. Tread carefully. This isn’t a job you can start over easily. Once you’ve begun, you’re committed, for better or worse.

Approaches to Raising the Roof

You could brace the inside of your garage and use hydraulic lifts to raise the roof. Be careful. Additional support may be needed if the roof is not very stable.

You might also try raising the actual garage itself, but this obviously has structural challenges. Consult a contractor for an estimate.

A final option is to start fresh with a brand-new roof. This sounds expensive, but actually may be the simplest approach. It’s easier to add to the walls and rebuild the top than to try lifting a heavy roof or the entire garage off the ground.

Are You Sure You Want to Do This?

We probably don’t need to tell you this is a massive job. And it’s going to be expensive, whether you hire a contractor or are a professional carpenter and can DIY the whole job. Are the benefits worth it?

Still, it doesn’t hurt to ask. Call a couple contractors and get some quotes. Sure, they might laugh in your face, but at least you’ll know the possibilities based on solid numbers.

Benefits to a Taller Garage

Yes, size does matter, at least when it comes to the height of your garage. You could use the extra space for storage or store larger vehicles. With overhead rafters, you could solve all your storage needs and still park your vehicles inside.

Scan Pinterest for inspiration on ideas of how to use the extra space. Whether you decide to go through with it or not, this can be a lot of fun. And who knows? Maybe you’ll find other ideas to improve your storage space that don’t cost thousands of dollars.

Have You Considered New Garage Door Installation?

If space is the issue, you might be able to achieve more by installing a new garage door. We might be able to retrofit a larger door opening on the size of garage you already own. That way you’ll be able to store the boat or a larger SUV. Give us a call to see what the possibilities are. We offer complete garage door service to the El Dorado Hills area.

August 27, 2018
Installing a New Garage Door on a Basement Storage Area

It always seems like there’s never enough storage space. If you’re lucky enough to own a garage, you probably use it to park your vehicles. But where are you going to put your lawn mower, garden equipment, that brand-new set of golf clubs? No, you don’t need to rent a storage unit. And you don’t need to store everything in a basement and lug those precious clubs up and down the staircase every time you hit the country club.

If you’ve got a basement area, why not turn it into an alternate garage complete with a newly installed garage door? Sure, it’s going to take some work, but the added living convenience is well worth it. And that’s to say nothing about the reappraisal value it can add to the value of your home. It’s a garage fix-it DIY renovation project that practically pays for itself.

Research Building Codes and Local Contractor Options

You’ll have to first check the local building codes and probably hire a professional contractor, unless your name happens to be Bob Vila. You should also look into your wall insulation, plumbing and electrical and see what challenges that presents.

What Size Door Do You Want?

But when it comes to garage door installation, you really aren’t limited by dimensions. You could get one as small as 4 x 6, just enough to fit a lawn mower, snowmobile or mountain bike easily. It just depends on what you intend to use the extra garage for and the space constraints of the area you’re looking to convert. If your ambitious and have enough space, you might even be able to fit a recreational vehicle or even a car.

Privacy Issues

It’s your living space, and pants can be such a drag. We’d recommend using tinted, satin or clouded windows for privacy. This way you get plenty natural light without mooning the neighbors, a win-win for everyone involved.

Want to talk with an expert contractor on a garage door installation? Give us a call or fill our contact form. We offer complete garage door service, including new installation, to the El Dorado Hills area.

August 20, 2018