The Importance of Your Garage Door
Your garage door is an essential part of your home. Besides keeping your residence safe from intruders, an attractive and properly working garage door can also improve your home’s curb appeal, help with energy savings, and increase the home’s value.
Garage Doors and Home Safety
A garage door is the largest entry into your house, so you want to be sure it is safe against intruders making an unwanted entry. You also want it to be safe to use for people living in your home.
Many home invaders gain access to a house through the garage door, but you can prevent this by taking the proper preventative action.
Thieves sometimes cruise around neighborhoods with a garages door openers, looking for a door that opens using the same electronic codes. Often, they target homes that look unoccupied and where the residents appear to be away on vacation.
When you go away for an extended time, unplugging the garage door opener or installing a vacation lock keeps thieves out. Another option is installing a garage door opener with a rolling code technology.
Rolling codes garage door openers automatically change the electronic code needed to open the door each time the opener is used. Doing this makes it next to impossible for someone to open the door using another opener.
A poorly operating garage door can also be a significant safety hazard for people who use it. Two of the most important safety features are the electronic eyes that prevent the door from closing onto a person or pet and an emergency release mechanism for opening the door in the event of a power failure.
Your garage door specialist can efficiently and economically install a rolling code garage door opener, vacation lock, and sensors to prevent an accident and to keep thieves from entering your home through the garage.
Garage Doors and a Home’s Curb Appeal
Garage doors don’t last forever, and as they age, they can cause a home to look shabby and unattractive. A rundown garage door can also be another signal to a thief that a home might be easy to enter. Additionally, a worn-out garage door and opening system is a potential hazard in a home, especially for children and seniors.
The lifespan of a garage door and the opener varies depending on how often you use it.
Typically, if you open and close the door twice a day, the lifespan is about 14 years.
However, garage doors opened and closed six or more times a day can wear out in as little as four to five years. The components most likely to wear out over time are the heavy-duty springs, and worn springs can pose a safety hazard and prevent the door from opening and closing properly.
Replacing an old, worn-out garage door and its opener with a new system improves the home’s curb appeal and also makes using the door safer for you and your family.
Insulated Garage Doors Save Money on Energy Bills
An uninsulated garage door can waste significant amounts of energy from heating and cooling, especially if the walls between the garage and house are also uninsulated.
An insulated garage door is one solution to saving money on energy bills, and there are other benefits to insulating this entrance.
For example, a well-insulated garage door can:
- Last longer than an uninsulated door,
- Open and close with less noise and vibration,
- Protect vehicles and other items stored in the garage from extreme fluctuations in temperature,
- Keep your garage at a comfortable temperature when you use the space for activities like auto repairs, crafts projects, or if your garage doubles as a laundry room.
Your garage door repair expert can easily install insulation on an existing door or replace the entire door with a new, insulated model, reducing energy costs and keeping your home and garage more comfortable year-round.
A New Garage Door Can Increase Your Home’s Value
Most real estate agents agree that a new, attractive garage door is one of the best ways of quickly improving a home’s value and getting it ready for sale.
Many real estate agents say that installing a new, high-quality garage door is the second most valuable improvement homeowners can make when putting their house on the market. Replacing a garage door is a sound and cost-effective way of making a home attractive and inviting to potential buyers.
Garage doors are heavy and potentially dangerous for people who are not experienced in this type of work. Replacing and repairing garage doors is a job best left to specialists.
Commonwealth Garage Door Company in Richmond, Virginia, is the expert you need for fast and reliable help with all upgrades for this important entryway into your home.
