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Recent Blog Posts
How To Choose The Right Garage Door Material
With a variety of materials available to design and build garage doors, it's important to weigh the pros and cons of each option. In order to choose the right garage door material consider the specific needs you have. Here is a brief summary of each material and suggestions on how to effectively compare them to meet your building needs.
Steel
Steel doors are often the most reasonably priced, demand the least amount of maintenance, and are available in almost any style or texture you can imagine. Steel can also be painted and designed to mimic wood. These reasons alone make steel the most popular choice when selecting garage door material.
So what are the disadvantages of this material? When shopping for a steel garage door, there are two things you must consider. First, steel is inherently a very poor insulator. So if your goal is to reduce noise and conserve energy, an insulated door may be a smarter choice. Second, the steel panels of garage doors vary in thickness. Low- cost doors usually equate to thin panels, 27- or 28-gauge steel. While these doors are inexpensive and suitable for many garages, the steel will not effectively hold up against impact-for example, from basketballs and baseballs. If this type of activity is prevalent in your driveway, this may be something to consider. If that is the case, garage doors are available in thicker steel. Midlevel doors offer 25- or 26-gauge steel (the lower the gauge number, the thicker the steel). Top quality doors use steel that is at least 24 gauge and commercial-grade doors use even thicker steel. Steel garage doors are also available in thicker steel on the outside and thinner on the inside.
Are You Prepared For a Power Outage?
Did you know that your automatic garage door opener may not work during a power outage? If your power goes out, you may need to disconnect your automatic opener to manually open your garage door.
It is a good idea to familiarize yourself with this process in preparation for a power outage. Follow these 5 steps to disconnect your automatic opener to manually open your garage door:
Disconnect or unplug your automatic garage door opener when the garage door is closed.
Pull the emergency cord to disconnect the garage door opener from the door. Typically, the cord has a red handle and will hang down from the center rail of the garage door mechanism.
Lift the garage door straight up until the door is fully open. Make sure the door will remain open on its own. If the springs are properly balanced, the door will open easily and stay in place. If it's difficult to open, have a garage door service professional inspect the door to avoid further damage or safety risks.
Garage Renovation Gets Major Lift in Historical Oak Park
Garage renovations in towns that preserve the historical aesthetics of the area are challenging tasks for today's garage builder. Such renovations involve a great deal of on-site management, lots of office time, a list of guidelines and processes that must be followed and implemented. Overall, the process can be very time consuming.
A recent project involved renovating a garage in the historical district of Oak Park, Illinois. Built in 1917, the garage modeled its older home, which had been built just 9 years before. The home owners worked with Blue Sky Builders, Inc., experts in custom garage construction, to get the job done. The major challenges they faced included the following:
- The new garage had to keep features of the old garage.
- Historical preservation had to be kept in mind during the construction at all times.
- Stucco, a difficult material, was a key feature that needed to be incorporated into the garage in order to match the house.
Insulated Garage Doors Great for Cold Weather
It's that time of year again…cold and snowy!
If you notice that your garage door is old and outdated, you might be having a difficult time figuring out what your options are for upgrading it, especially with the cold weather coming your way. One of the best things to look for in a garage door this time of year is insulation. Insulated garage doors provide numerous advantages over other kinds of doors, and they are still very affordable when you are trying to save cash around the holidays.
Why Get an Insulated Garage Door?
Insulated garage doors are great for many reasons.They usually consist of several layers of material, including more than an inch of safe and environmentally friendly insulation. Some additional pros to getting an insulated garage door include:
- Long Lasting. Insulated garage doors can last longer because they are strong and durable.
- The quiet factor. Insulated garage doors are quiet (often quieter than many other models of doors),
Garage Safety: 7 Tips You Need to Know
Keeping your garage safe is an important task. Clutter, chemicals, tools, and leaving your garage open/unlocked are sure to make your garage an unsafe environment. Though it may seem overwhelming, here are 7 simple tips to make your garage safer:
Keep it Clean: It is common practice to store everything in the garage that doesn't fit in the house. As a result, garages often suffer from large amounts of clutter and disorganization. Ceiling storage units, for seasonal items, can help to eliminate clutter. On the other hand, hooks and nets are useful to keep everyday items in reach and off the floor.
Chemical Clutter: Garages often accumulate large hazardous chemical collections including pesticides, antifreeze, paint thinner, and automotive fluids. For safety purposes, put child-resistant caps on all hazardous chemicals. Also, chemicals should be clearly labeled and placed out of reach of children in a locked cabinet.
Workshop 101: You can utilize the wall space in your garage to store tools securely. This prevents accidents from tools tipping or falling over. Also, don't forget to store ladders sideways as opposed to upright! Upright ladders tempt kids to climb them and also may tip over on vehicles or children.
Garage Makeover: S.T.O.P. Clutter
Thanks to LiftMaster® for this great article!
Has your garage turned into a parking spot for stuff and not your car? According to a Garage-Trends Survey, the average American stores $6,500 worth of gear in the garage. The garage tends to be the landing spot for all possessions that do not have a place within your house.
How can you possibly get garage clutter under control? Lifestyle expert Korey Provencher developed S.T.O.P., a simple system to get your garage organized:
S – Sort: First and foremost, it is important to take everything out of your garage and place it out into the open so you can see what you have. Also, this is an important step in determining what you can get rid of. Sort all of the items you have removed into categories such as sporting equipment, tools, and toys.
T – Talk and Trash: Get your whole family involved in the process of deciding what you need, what is trash, and what can be donated to charity.
Garage Building Best in August: Beat the Cold Weather!
Take Advantage of Building a Custom Garage Before August Ends
It's true - fall is right around the corner with winter not too far behind it! Don't be left out in the cold! Now is the time to finally make that decision to build the new custom built garage that you have always wanted.
Before any garage is built, there is a lot of garage planning and preparation that must be done. All of the garage options have to be figured out and finalized such as:
- Deciding what type of garage you want to build,
- The size of the garage you need
- The location of your garage
- What color you want your garage to be
- Whether or not you need various features such as windows, multiple doors, etc.
Importance of the Building Permit
There is a lot to think about! Once all decisions have been made it will be time to submit for the required building permit with your town or village. The building permit process is, in many cases, the longest part of the entire garage project.
Is Your Garage Ready For Summer?
Garage sales, barbecues, parties. Activity in the garage increases exponentially during the summer months. It is important to prepare your garage in advance for the coming months.
The Chamberlain Group, a residential and commercial access solutions manufacturer of LiftMaster garage door openers offers these tips to get your garage in gear for summer:
- Summer means increased traffic through your garage. Therefore, perform a periodic safety inspection of your garage door. This is especially important for those garage doors equipped with automatic openers.
- Test your garage door opener's safety reverse mechanism monthly. How? Use a piece of wood and place it in the path of the door. Next, close the garage door. The door should automatically reverse and return to the open position. If not, the door needs to be adjusted in order to be safe.
- Organizational needs change throughout seasons. Place items you will need for summer months in an easy to access place near the exit to the garage. For example, you may want to place a grill, toys, or a lawn mower close to the exit so it is easier for you to access.
National Garage Door Safety Month: Is Your Door Safe?
Thank you to our friends at LiftMaster® for this article.
It's National Garage Door Safety Month! Make sure you take some time to check out your garage door and make sure it is safe.
Over the years, we have seen the American home evolve, and now more than ever - the American Garage! Aside from the look, the garage has evolved into being a home entranceway. In fact, more than 70 percent of homeowners enter and leave their home through the garage door, relying on it as their new front door.
Now that the garage door plays such a key role in many homeowners' daily lives, garage industry professionals, installers and leading manufacturers of garage doors and openers have worked together to offer easy-to-follow tips for maintaining the safety and security of this access point during June's "National Garage Door Safety Month."
"June is the perfect time to pay a little more attention to your garage door and opener since a garage often becomes the hub of activity for many families," notes Paul Accardo of LiftMaster®, the world's largest manufacturer of professionally installed openers.
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In 1979, Blue Sky Builders, Inc. formed to serve the needs of the Chicago-land area homeowners by creating and building extraordinary, custom garages. They are a full service garage builder and have helped design new garages, fix old garages, remodel existing garages, and more.
Most recently, Blue Sky Builders, Inc. thought it would be best to share the experiences and projects in designing, repairing and remodeling garages for homeowners through the creation of the Skywriters blog.
Blue Sky Builders, Inc. was started in 1979 as a quality custom builder, offering exceptional customer service. Currently in their 33rd year of service to over 50 communities in the western suburbs and Chicago area, Blue Sky Builders, Inc. plans on building garages for many years to come. The original owners still handle all day to day operations and provide free on site estimates at the convenience of their customers.
The staff are well known and comprised of knowledgeable professionals with over 33 years of experience. They are all familiar with current building codes and common construction practices, making them stand apart from other garage builders.
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Services listed are not a guarantee or indication of future work.
