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Factors To Consider When Choosing a Garage Door Opener
When choosing the right garage door for your home, it is important to keep three things in mind when making your decision: quiet operation, power, and drive type.
Below we will outline a little more information about each of these garage door considerations.
1. Quiet Operation
Garages adjacent to bedrooms or living areas, a quiet garage door opener may be important. Look for garage door openers ones constructed with dependable, quiet operation in mind.
2. Power
Your garage door opener must be able to handle the height and weight of your new garage door. Most garage door openers have 1/2-HP (horsepower) motors capable of handling most residential garage doors.
3. Drive Type
Quiet operation depends mostly on the type of operating mechanism or drive that's used to open the garage door. Four types of drives are available: belt drives, direct drives, screw drives, and chain drives.
- Belt drives use a sturdy rubber-like belt (similar to a car's fan belt) to open and close garage doors.
3 Types of Garage Roofs To Choose From
Garages attached to homes often share the home's roof. When garages are detached from the home, the roofs come in a few major types that blend well with the home and with other buildings nearby. Aside from the aesthetic consideration, choose the type of garage roof based on how you will use it and what types of vehicles you want to get inside.
Gable
You know a gable roof from its distinctive triangle shape. These are very common on stand-alone garages. A gable roof is described by its pitch. If the slanted side of the roof rises 4 inches for every 1 foot it travels toward the center, then it is called a 4/12 pitch. Most garage roofs use shallow pitches of 3/12 or 4/12. These shallow pitches do not give a typical garage enough room overhead for a separate story, but they do offer storage space for many types of materials.
Here are two examples of Gable garages we have built in the Chicagoland area:
Hip
If you fold the triangular ends of a gable-roofed building toward the center of the building, you end up with a hip roof. These roofs are very popular on stand-alone garages because they diminish the roof line so it competes less with the house roof, or other roofs nearby. Typical pitches for hip roofs on garages are 3/12 through 6/12. Since you lose the gable end, the overhead storage space is cut down unless you use a 6/12 or greater pitch. Hip roofs are economical to construct because you can eliminate the gable-end wall extensions on each end of the building. Hip roofs are also more aerodynamic and are better suited to places with high winds.
Garage Door Panels: Add Style To Your Garage Door
Garages doors make up a significant portion of your home's exterior. Therefore, it is important that the style you choose complements the rest of your home's exterior. One way to add style or your own personal touch to a garage door are windows and window panels. How else can you add style to your garage door?
Panel design. There are four main standard panel designs to choose from that we will share below. Which will work best for your new garage door?
1. Flush Panels
Flush panels are flat, slightly textured panels. They can be used to complement the surrounding wall area without drawing too much attention to the door itself.
2. Long-Raised Panels
Long-raised panels give depth and distinction to the door, while adding to the home's overall appearance.
3. Short-Raised Panels
Ugliest Garage Contest
Is your garage ugly? Falling apart? Blue Sky Builders, Inc. is currently holding a contest to identify the ugliest garage in the Chicago region and nationwide!
To enter, upload a picture of your ugly garage and a summary of why your garage is the worst to our website here: Ugly Garage Contest. We will upload submitted photos to galleries on our Facebook and Pinterest page.
"The Ugliest Garage Contest is a fun way to share some old and broken down garages that need replacement," states Rick Newtoff, Blue Sky Builders, Inc. Owner. "As Blue Sky is active in social media, this contest will increase this engagement."
The winner will receive a 50" flatscreen television. Deadline to enter: June 30, 2014.
(Our Ugliest Garage Contest has ended but you can see still see some ugly garages on our social media.) To visit the Ugliest Garage Contest Facebook Gallery, click here. To visit the Ugliest Garage Contest and Blue Sky Builders, Inc. Pinterest page, click here.
Garage Safety: Important Facts and Tips
A garage door is one of the largest moving objects in your home, and is typically used every day. This type of usage and accessibility gives you good reason to keep it in proper working order and more importantly, ensure those using it are safe. Blue Sky Builders, Inc. is dedicated to providing sustainable and reliable products that last for many years. But we also see our customers' and their families' safety as a top priority. Therefore we would like to share the current facts surrounding improper garage safety and some practical tips for how to remain safe as we head into the spring season.
Here are the facts:
(http://www.coveryourgaragedoortracks.com/statistics)
- On average, 20,000 people each year have been treated in hospital emergency rooms due to garage door related injuries.
- These injuries can be minor or relatively serious, ranging from minor cuts to serious bone fractures and amputations.
- 79% of garage door injuries happen at a person's own home.
Free Garage Door Opener Upgrade
Blue Sky Builders, Inc., a Chicagoland garage builder, is now offering a free garage door opener upgrade for new garage contracts through June 30, 2014! And not just any door opener, the hugely popular LiftMaster Premium 8360 with MyQ Technology, as seen on the Super Bowl and other advertising!
Celebrating the Blue Sky Builders, Inc. 35th year anniversary, the free upgrade is available through June 30, 2014 with a new garage contract. The upgrade* includes the LiftMaster Premium 8360 with MyQ Technology with 2 remote controls, internet gateway, and battery backup system (*upgrade from the standard LiftMaster 3255 ½ HP opener).
Want to learn more about this opener? Check out the features of the LiftMaster Premium 8360 with MyQ Technology below.
Connectivity
- MyQ® technology enables you to securely monitor and control your garage door opener and houselights with your smartphone, tablet or computer.
Garage Floors: How to Restore from Winter Damage
Spring is here! Time to plant flowers, enjoy the fresh air, and rid your garage of those ugly salt stains! As you've watched the snow accumulate outside for the past few months, the salt and chemicals from the roads have been accumulating in your garage. Now the time has come to take inventory of any harmful salt stains that need to be removed and damaging cracks that need repair.
In order to effectively clean and repair your concrete, it is important to first understand what causes this winter damage. From there you can successfully stop the damage from progressing.
What Causes the Damage?
In order to de-ice the roads, road crews typically use various mixtures of liquid magnesium and calcium chloride (road salt). This mixture is applied with the purpose of not only melting the existing ice and snow but also with the intention to prevent future refreezing.
These deicers catch a ride on the bottom of your car and eventually end up on your garage floor. Once on the floor, they begin to seep into the pores of your concrete instead of just freezing on the surface. As the temperature in your garage drops, the liquid refreezes inside these pores. In doing so, it expands and slowly breaks it apart. This cycle occurs throughout the entire winter, leaving you with broken and cracking concrete-this is known as spalling.
Garage Types: How to Choose the Right One
While most people would agree that the interior of a home receives the most attention when it comes to decorating and improvements, there is no doubt that the exterior of a home is what makes the first impression. Seeing as the garage is the focal point of your exterior masterpiece, it is important that you choose the right type and style. If you are in the process of building a new garage, here are some questions to ask when choosing the right style for your home.
1. Does the Material Work for Your Climate?
In order to ensure the durability of your garage, you must take an honest assessment of the impact your climate will have on its structure, especially the door. Depending on your geographic location you will choose from metal, fiberglass, or wood/timber for your home.
- Wood: If you have a rustic exterior home or just simply love the sleek yet contemporary finish of wood panels, look to Cedar, Larch, or Hemlock for potential options. However, remember that wooden garage doors are the most expensive of the three types.
Top 4 Reasons To Get a New Garage This Year
March is the perfect time to start planning your new garage! With the weather warming up - hopefully - it is time to start making decisions about getting a new garage or upgrading an existing one.
Here are 5 reasons to get a new garage this year:
1. Your Garage Is In Disrepair
Arguably the biggest reason to get a new garage is that your current garage is in disrepair, whether it is outdated, in poor condition, or a safety hazard.
2. You Need More Space
So maybe your garage is in acceptable condition, but you need more space! Whether you are adding more cars to the collection or just have a lot of stuff, a new garage or a bigger garage can help you in your path towards organization. Learn more about choosing the right size garage.
3. You Want To Increase Your Home's Value
A garage will make your home more appealing to buyers. Beyond a new garage, upgrading the size of your garage, or even small improvements, like updating your garage door, can add value.
How to Clean Your Garage: Tips on Spring-Cleaning
With spring just around the corner-spring is just around the corner isn't it?-it's never too early to start thinking about how to spruce up the cluttered abyss that has become your garage. Sometime during those long, dark months of relentless cold your garage became buried, not just under the vast accumulation of snow but under your junk. And so it is time for a fresh start! It is time to clear away the salt stains and make way for those long anticipated gardening supplies and lawnmower. Here are some tips to help you get started:
1. Assess the Mess
Garages typically end up being that one place in the house where things go in, but never come out. But not today! It's finally time to take inventory. Pull out everything-from those rusty garden sheers to that pile of mystery electrical wires. From there you can make piles: yard sale, Goodwill, garbage, and storage. This is a time to be honest with yourself, if you haven't used it in the last 3 years chances are you won't in the next 3 either.
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