Discover How a New Garage Door Increases a Home's Sale Price

In the past, we have written about how a new garage door increases curb appeal when selling your home. In a competitive real estate market, you want your home to stand out in the crowd. Buyers have a lot of homes to choose from and even something like an old garage door will have buyers moving on. The question many homeowners have is, "Is the cost of a new garage door worth the investment?"

We all know we must make repairs, improvements and upgrades for the purpose of maintaining our home. We also know many of these projects don't really increase the value. Nonetheless, if you take the time to educate yourself, you will find there are some projects worth doing before placing your home on the market. Two separate reports identify a new garage door as one of the top projects for creating value, increasing a home's resale price.

The first is the Remodeling Impact Report created by the National Association of the Remodeling Industry and the National Association of Realtors. The study ranked a new garage door No. 3 for both exterior projects adding value to a home at resale, and No. 3 for having the most appeal to buyers. They report that with an estimated job cost of $2,300, a new garage door recovers $2,000 at the time of a sale. This is an 87 percent return on investment.

Moreover, Remodeling magazine's 2016 Cost vs. Value report discovered similar results. This study is more focused on the cost of the project rather than the increase in home sale price. However, they found a "midscale garage door replacement" received a 91.5 percent return on investment, and ranked it as their No. 3 overall home improvement for cost vs. value. They also ranked an "upscale garage door" at No. 5 with a 90.1 percent cost vs. value ratio.

Overall, a new garage door is a small investment with a big return. This is especially true if your old one is causing buyers to take a pass. If you would like to talk more about a new garage door, or would like a free estimate, give us a call today! 

New Construction? A Garage Door Contractor Can Get the Project Done!

Building a new house is exciting! As well as scary, stressful, overwhelming, and a lot more emotions than you ever thought possible. After choosing all the finishes for the house, being in constant communication with the general contractor, dealing with delays and roadblocks, most homeowners get to a point where they just can't wait to get the project done. That's understandable, so if you're looking for someone to finish off the garage, a garage door contractor can get the job done quickly.

If you're feeling overwhelmed with all the decisions for the house, take a minute to focus on the garage. While it can be tempting to just choose a boring, inexpensive door, you may regret it in the long run. Your garage door is usually the first thing people see from the street, and it says a lot about the character of your house. So take some time and find a door you love. Maybe it's a standard panel door, or maybe you want to go old school with a solid wood door. You can choose doors made of aluminum, steel, or vinyl too. If you really want to convey a classy and unique look, some carriage doors might be in order.

The good news, is, once you choose your doors, you don't have to think about it again. Installation will be done by professionals who are experts in the field. We can add automatic openers so once you start moving in, you can easily access your garage with the touch of a button.

When you're building a house, it feels like it takes forever, but you will look back and be glad you took the time to pick out garage doors that fit the look of your house, and add to its character.

As a reputable, professional garage door contractor, Overhead Door Co. of Lansing can handle the installation so it's one less thing you have to think about as you finish your dream home. Contact us today to learn about our garage door options and schedule an appointment!

3 Items You Need to Maintain on Your Overhead Doors

Overhead doors are a great addition to any business or home. Not only are they aesthetically appealing, but they are extremely functional as well. For homeowners, they allow them to enter and exit their garage without having to get out of their vehicle. Business owners use them as an entry point for trucks coming into the facility needing to load and unload. They have a whole host of benefits to them. However, you need to make sure your doors are properly maintained to prevent any major disaster from occurring. Here are three items you need to check on a regular basis to prevent any injuries from occurring.

Springs

The springs are what helps the door to bounce up and close down. They guide it along the way by not allowing it to come slamming down to the ground at full force. Without those springs, it would be like a giant weight crashing down with no way to stop it. You need to make sure the springs are working properly at all times. You don't want to end up having the springs break on you and injure someone when the door comes crashing down.

Sensors

The sensor is on the ground on either side of the door. It lets the door know that something is in the way and not to shut down. If they aren't working properly, the door will simply end up closing without caring about what might be in its path. Even though it won't be able to close down all the way, it will definitely try to do so. Cleaning them on a regular basis will help prevent dust and other contaminants from obstructing their view.

Rails

The rails are responsible for keeping the overhead door on track. If they become damaged or worn, you could end up having your door slip off its track and fall to the ground. This could be quite disastrous for anyone in the vicinity. Rails can get damaged from someone hitting into them, worn springs causing too much strain on them and so on. Periodically checking for signs of damage can go a long way in keeping everyone safe.

By taking the time to check the three things above, you can prevent any major disaster from coming your way. These are large items that require a certain amount of components to move and operate. Without those components being in good working order, you could wind up seriously injured. If you are ever in doubt about a component on your overhead door, give us a call! We'd be happy inspect your garage door to ensure that it is working properly and perform any necessary maintenance.

Why Garage Doors Fall off Their Tracks

Is one side of your garage door out of horizontal alignment? If so, don't just shrug it off. One day you may find it lying flat on the garage floor or on top of your car. It's a serious situation, especially if your door is heavy. Even house inspectors are reluctant to get near them. The Internet is full of web pages about people whose garage doors fell and landed on top of their cars which were parked inside the garage.

The Internet is also full of advice such as clamping a door so that it's horizontally level and then adjusting the cables so that they have equal tension. Or if the door has partially popped out of its track, they'll tell you how to pop it back in again.

The problem with both of the above pieces of advice is that they fail to address the underlying cause of the problem. Without doing this, the problem will simply return and possibly hurt someone the next time around. Five of these underlying causes are explained below:

• A broken garage door spring. A door left with a single good spring means that only one side is being held. Opening or closing a door that is cocked like this can cause the door to drop out of its track. This can also happen when one spring is significantly weaker than another. 

• A damaged lift cable. Old lift cables can wear over time and start to break a few strands at a time. This causes the cable to stretch which then causes your door to become misaligned. This continues until the cable breaks while the door is moving. 

• A buckled door panel. This can happen when backing your car out of the garage without first opening the garage door. This is a common mistake made by countless tired or distracted people. The buckled panel warps the door so that it fails to properly move in the tracks. 

• A damaged or warped track. When one of the tracks is damaged or warped, the door hangs up on the side of the bad track. This cocks the door and may pop it off its track. 

• Bad rollers. Rollers can wear out, drop out of the track, or seize up. Worn out or missing rollers mean that the door isn't attached to the track at those points. A seized roller can cause the door to hang up. 

Remember that a horizontally misaligned door won't stay that way forever when the door is in use. It will fail in some way. Hopefully the door will simply get stuck rather than drop off on top of your car or worse. Don't wait for that day to come. Contact Overhead Door Co of Lansing to schedule your garage door maintenance and avoid an emergency situation!

3 Questions to Ask Your Garage Door Contractor

Whether you are looking to install a new garage door or simply need your existing one repaired, chances are you will sooner or later start looking for a garage door contractor. And that's a great choice: with professional help, you can be sure that your installation goes just right, and your repair is done up to standards.

But going with a professional is not the only decision you need to make. Next comes a question that is just as important: how do you pick the right one for your needs? Here are 3 questions you can ask to make sure that's the case:

1) Do You Have a License?

The most important question to ask is related to the credibility of your potential contractor. Do they have any accreditation or memberships that hold them to an acceptable standard? Any contractor call themselves a professional, but only accredited ones can actually get the work done reliably.

2) What's Your Timeline?

Next, find out just how long the project would take. You may have a different idea than your contractor, simply because they know the scope of work better than you do. Especially if you are deciding between different contractors, this question can help you decide which one best suits your needs.

3) How About the Budget?

Finally, you should determine the cost of a contractor. The cheapest option is not always the best, but you also don't want to choose one that will charge twice as much to get you a new garage door as their competitors would. Always try to get a free estimate, which tries to help you plan your own budget better.

Choosing the best garage door contractor for your needs is a crucial part to getting the job done right. Fortunately, the above three questions can help you accomplish just that, getting you one step closer to that perfectly functioning, great looking garage door.

Overhead Door Company of Lansing is licensed and insured, and a member of many professional associations. Give us a call today to learn more about our services and how we can help you with your next garage door project!

Garage Door Service for Your Commercial Business

For many businesses, commercial garage doors help conduct daily operation, and make customer interaction easier. Depending on the type of business you run, the entrance to the garage is like the front door of the store; daily interactions take place there, deals are worked out, and customers leave happy.

But what happens when you need garage door service? What do you do when the part of your business most integral to servicing customers goes down and needs repairs?

You call an expert, of course. A professional in the industry with years of service can get your garage door back in business in as little as an afternoon, whether through upgrade or repair.

Why call a professional? 

A commercial garage door service is ready to handle any type of problem. They have the experience necessary to make the right decisions for your commercial business. They are also an expert at determining when it's time to replace, and when you simply need a repair, both of which can save you time and money.

Further, a professional garage door service can get your business up and running with no additional stress for you, which is why we recommend that you never try to fix a serious commercial garage door problem if you lack the experience. Instead, let a true professional deal with any problems your commercial garage door may have.

Does your business need a garage door upgrade? 

It is possible that the reason your garage door failed to begin with is because it is on its last leg. a common occurrence for those who use their doors often. Sometimes, after many years of fulfilling its part of the bargain, garage doors simply give up, and repairs aren't feasible.

In some instances, commercial businesses opt for an upgrade. Deciding on a new sectional door, high-speed door, or rolling steel and fire door can help propel your commercial business into the twenty-first century.

Need commercial garage door repair or upgrades? Overhead Door of Co. of Lansing is here to help! Give us a call today.

How to Open Your Garage Door During a Power Outage

Power outages are a fact of life. A storm, a fallen tree branch on a power line, a heat wave, or a work crew doing maintenance are typical reasons for them. Knowing how to use your garage door without power will come in handy in the event of a power outage or when there is an electrical problem with the door.

Manually opening the door must be done from the inside, so you will have to enter your home through another door and proceed to the garage.

First Step
Locate the emergency release handle. Garage doors are required to have an emergency release handle, which mechanically disconnects the door from the motor. The handle is usually red and at the end of a cord that's tied to the release lever of the trolley.

Second Step
After locating the red emergency release handle, pull it down and toward the garage door motor.

Third Step 
The door is now disconnected from the motor and you are free to lift the garage door using the door handle near its bottom. After opening the door, make sure it will stay in place before letting go of the handle.

Fourth Step 
When you're ready, manually close the door. If your door doesn't have an interior slide lock, you can re-engage the trolley attachment, which will lock the door. This is done by pulling the emergency release handle down and toward the garage opening. You may have to move the door a bit to get the tow bar arm properly positioned with the trolley for it to re-engage.

When The Power Returns 
If the tow bar arm isn't already re-engaged, then with the door in the closed position, push the close button and the trolley will move toward the tow bar arm and re-engage. A Word Of Caution During a power outage, the emergency release handle should only be used when the door is fully closed. Using the emergency release handle when the door is open may cause the door to fall to the floor if your springs are weak or not balanced.

Overhead Door Co. of Lansing is always available to assist you in the event of an emergency. Contact us today!