Making Your Garage a More Versatile Space

Your garage might be the perfect place to park your car, but what should you do if you want to get more out of the space? If you are trying to brainstorm ideas for turning your garage into a versatile space that goes beyond vehicle storage, there are some tips that you should know before you get started on the transformation.

Parking Your Cars

The first step is to determine how many cars you would like to park in your garage. This will give you a better idea of how much room you have to work with when you are turning your garage into a more versatile space.

If you are hoping for a lot of storage space, assess whether you could park your vehicles outside. Be aware that it is still possible to utilize storage space in your garage if you choose to use it to park multiple vehicles.

Organize the Space

Small spaces like garages need to be organized to ensure that the space is used as efficiently as possible. If you plan to store several different types of items in the garage, start out by organizing these items according to type. For example, kids' items should be grouped separately from exercise equipment.

Storage containers are helpful when you are organizing your garage. Choose containers that are made for tight spaces.

Expand Your Storage Space

Make the most of every last inch of space in your garage by installing shelves and overhead storage. Be sure to install overhead storage according to the included instructions. Never store heavy items that exceed the weight limit associated with an overhead storage shelf.

Hanging up tools instead of keeping them in a toolbox also allows you to make the most of your space. Hang bicycles on the wall to keep them out of the way without losing the ability to easily access them when the weather warms up.

Create Zones

Your versatile garage can be separated into different zones to allow you to complete a wide range of activities in this space. The space along each wall offers you a place to start. Work benches can be situated along a wall with hanging tools. Exercise equipment can be stored in another area along the wall along with bicycles. Rolling storage containers, toolboxes or project carts can be utilized in multiple zones due to their portability.

Take Care with Electronics

If you are picturing a home office or den in your garage, be careful with the electronics that you plan to keep in the space. Garages are generally not protected against extreme temperatures and electronics may be damaged by temperature fluctuations.

Your garage space may not be living up to its potential. Use these tips to make the most of your garage.

Quick Fixes for Common Issues with Garage Doors

Certain garage door problems require the intervention of a specialist. If you come home from work to find your door hanging askew on its hinges, you may want to call a professional to take a look at the problem before you break out your toolbox. But most common garage door problems can be solved in a matter of minutes with a little bit of light troubleshooting. If you can learn to fix the following problems yourself, you’ll save yourself a lot of time, money, and frustration.

Garage Door Will Not Open or Close

A garage door becomes a garage wall when it won’t open, and it turns your garage into a carport when it won’t close. There are several things that can cause a door to stick, so tackle the troubleshooting in a logical, orderly fashion until you identify the problem

• Check your remote opener batteries and also make sure there is nothing blocking the safety sensors
• Look for anything in the tracks preventing the door from traveling smoothly
• Clean any gunky lubricant slowing the door’s progress

If the lubricant turned out to be the problem, consider looking for a different brand that can hold up against a variety of weather conditions.

Garage Door Won’t Open and Close Evenly

Most home owners that have garage doors utilizing extension or stretch style springs have faced this problem at least once. You try to open or close the door, and it’s like trying to close a difficult set of blinds. First one side drops and then the other. This can be frustrating, but there are some factors you can check before calling a repairman. First, make sure there aren’t any obstructions in the way by cleaning off your tracks. If that doesn’t work, try the following steps:

• Check spring quality – they should all be of equal length and flexibility
• Identify your sticking points – check those points for visible damage
• Check garage door cables – look for frying, breakage and signs of wear

Relentlessly Noisy Garage Door

You don’t want to wake up your neighbors with a squealing garage door, and noisy operation can be symptomatic of a serious problem. More often than not, however, it merely signifies the need for additional lubrication. Oil your tracks with proper lube to put an end to the screeching. If you already keep up with that aspect of maintenance, clean off your tracks to make sure debris in the oil isn’t the source of the noise. One important note: use only oils specifically made for garage doors or general-purpose lubricants like JB80 or one of our specialty lubes. Using heavy weight grease or machine oils can slow your door down and cause more problems.

Remote Control No Longer Works

If you can’t get your remote control to open the door, your first order of business should be to replace the batteries. Brand names and generics are interchangeable in many areas of life, but reputable, brand-name batteries are typically superior to generics. If those are not the source of the problem, check the following:

• Battery contacts – make sure your battery contacts aren’t too dirty to establish a connection.
• Reprogram the remote – directions to reprogram your remote to your garage door opener can be found on the manufactures webpage.
• Do a reset – take the batteries out of your remote and unplug your garage door opener, for about a minute each, to initiate a full reset. Often, this is all it takes to get a garage door remote control working again.

If you are uncomfortable with performing any of these repairs or maintenance items please call a garage door technician.

How to Update Your Garage Door’s Look

When looking for ways to enhance the curb appeal of their home, people often overlook one component that can make a dramatic difference: the garage door. Regardless of the size of your garage door, it has a major impact on the outward appearance of your home. Replacing it entirely is expensive, but there are ways to update and upgrade it to make it look fresh and new. We've rounded up five of the best options for updating your garage door’s look:

Repaint It: Repainting your garage door will have a very positive impact on the overall appearance of your home. Simply giving it a fresh coat of the same color paint can work wonders. If you're really looking to mix things up, you should consider trying an entirely different color. For an even more dramatic look, switch to a two-tone design. It's easy to find complementary shades that look great on garage doors. Always use exterior paint that works with whatever material your garage door is made out of, and remember to wash, sand and prime the door first to ensure that the new paint looks as vibrant and stylish as possible.

Add a Trellis Topper: This isn't something you see every day, but some especially handy homeowners have taken to mounting beautiful trellises just above their garage doors. If you have a green thumb, you may even be able to convince some climbing plants to grow up there too. There aren't kits available for this kind of thing, so you'll have to come up with a design yourself. It's a fun DIY project that really refreshes the style of your home.

Add Windows: If your garage door is made out of easy-to-remove panels, you're in luck. You can easily add new windows to the door to liven up its appearance. There are kits available to help and they include everything you need. In terms of style, you can take your pick from windows made out of translucent glass, plexiglass, plain glass and other materials. Some styles include texturing, inlays and other eye-catching features, so the sky is really the limit.

Try a Garage Door Poster: Like most people, you've probably never seen a garage door poster in action. That doesn't mean they don't work or aren't worthwhile options to consider. Garage door posters are kind of like wallpaper for your garage door. Many styles, colors and patterns are available when it comes to these weather-resistant posters, which are typically sold in kits that have everything you need to mount them.

Install New Hardware: Transform your basic garage door into one that looks downright fancy with new garage door hardware. Your local home improvement store should carry hardware kits that are specifically designed for garage doors. They're often called decorative garage door hardware kits, and many styles are available. At the very most, you'll have to drill a few small holes. From there, just screw in the hardware, and you'll be all set!

Whether you try one or several of these suggestions, you're sure to love the way your garage door and home look when you're done!

Tips to Quiet Down Your Garage Door

A loud garage door can be quite annoying, especially for people who may be trying to sleep nearby. Fortunately, in many cases, noisy garage doors can be fixed easily and quickly. If you’d like to quiet down your garage door, the following useful tips may be able to help:

1. Tighten the Hardware. When a garage door is activated, it vibrates. This can cause screws and bolts to loosen in the system, which can lead to a noisy door. You can remedy this problem by using a socket or adjustable wrench to tighten all of the screws and bolts in the system. When tightening hardware, be sure to check for any worn out parts that may need to be replaced.
 
2. Lubricate Moving Parts. Rusty parts and/or a lack of lubrication can also lead to noisy garage doors. To prevent this, you can apply a garage door lubricant onto your system's moving parts about two or three times per year. Be sure to wipe away any old grease before applying new lubricant. Some of the areas you will want to lubricate are:
• Roller Stems
• Steel Rollers
• Springs
• Pivoting Portions of Garage Door Hinges
• End Fixture Area Bearings
3. Replace the Rollers. Metal rollers can make a lot of noise when they roll up and down the tracks of your garage door. If this is what is causing your door to be loud, consider replacing your metal rollers with rollers made out of nylon. Nylon rollers are much quieter and they don’t need to be lubricated regularly. However, since replacing rollers can be a bit tricky, you may want to have a professional do this for you.
 
4. Replace the Hinges or Springs. Many garage doors become loud due to worn-out hinges or springs. In some cases, greasing the hinges will help. If it doesn’t help, you may need to replace them. Additionally, if the coils in the springs become bent, they will rub together and cause an annoying noise. In this case, the only solution is to replace them.

However, if you need to replace your torsion springs located at the top of the door, you should have a professional handle the problem. Replacing or adjusting these springs can be very difficult and dangerous if you don’t know exactly what you are doing.  Do not attempt to repair or adjust torsion springs yourself.

If you have a noisy garage door in your home, you have probably found that it can be very annoying. Fortunately, there are many things you can do to remedy your problem. In fact, if you follow the useful tips described above, you will have a quiet garage door in no time at all!

If you are uncomfortable with performing any of these repairs or maintenance items please call a garage door technician.

Spring Garage Door Tune Up

As you work your way down your spring home maintenance to-do’s, don’t forget to add spring garage door tune ups to the list. Annual inspections help ensure reliable, quiet operation of the door as well as home safety. A neglected garage door can become noisy and pose significant security and safety risks to you and your family. The average garage door does up and down over 1000 times a year! So you can only imagine the wear and tear that occurs from regular use. Some things to focus on during your garage door tune up are:
Inspect Your Door’s Hardware:

1. Tighten Nuts and Bolts- Garage door hardware can loosen. Inspect and tighten any loose roller brackets as well as the bolts that hold the rails to the support brackets.
2. Inspect Rollers for Wear and Tear- Nylon rollers crack and chip as they deteriorate while steel rollers tend to tilt as they weather. We recommend buying replacements if they are worn but do not remove the bottom roller bracket as this is under high tension and should only be replaced by a professional.
3. Inspect the Lift Cable for Wear- Look for broken cable strands but do not replace it yourself. This cable is under very high tension and should only be replaced by a professional.

Maintain Springs, Chains and Seals:

1. Lubricate Springs, Chains and Screws- Apply a small amount of spray lubricant to the door’s hinges, rollers, torsion springs, end bearings, center bearings, locks and tracks as needed. By lubricating your garage door in the appropriate places, it will make the opener operate quieter and smoother. This can also help extend the life of both the opener and the door.
2. Replace Weather Seal- Over the harsh winter, your weather seals have been tested and can become brittle and worn. Replace the seal to ensure another year’s worth of protection. Through weather proofing and insulating the garage door, it can save you on your utility bill and remain drier throughout the winter months and cooler during summer.

Test Your Door’s Capabilities:

1. Balance- Disconnect the automatic opener from the door by pulling the opener release handle. Then manually lift the door halfway. A well balanced garage door will hold that position. If it rides up, the springs are under too much tension. If it falls, the tension needs to be increased.
2. Auto Reverse- Place a 2" x 4" board (laid flat) under the middle of your garage door and try to close it. As it impacts the board it should stop and reverse within 2 seconds. If your door does not reverse please refer to your garage door openers manual for instructions.

Keeping your garage door safe and functional is an important part of owning a home. Use spring as a time to inspect and replace any pieces of your door that may not be functioning or are weathered from the winter. It will not only save you money in the long run, but also give you piece of mind as you drive your car into your garage each night.

If you are uncomfortable with performing any of these repairs or maintenance items please call a garage door technician.

Having Trouble Programming your Overhead Door 111663 Series Remote?

If so, read on!  Here are Star Door Parts our employees have years of experience troubleshooting just about any remote or transmitter problem you can encounter.  Here is our trip on how to program your Overhead Door garage door opener when the factory instructions just don't seem to help.

Overhead Door Remote Programming Tip
First,start by taking the cover off the remote and with one finger depress the button that you depress to open the door and keep it depressed. The red light and the green light will illuminate. Then, with the other hand, depress the other button and the green light will blink twice. Finally, release both buttons and that will activate the remote.

For Overhead Door remotes, keypads garage door and openerparts and accessories, please visit us at www.stardoorparts.com

Garage Door Decorative Hardware

Did you know that one of the fastest and most cost effective ways to add curb appeal to your home is simply by adding some decorative rustic hinges and handles to you garage door.  Although this is not a look that will work for every home it is a option for many.  You can purchase various kits and individual pieces to match your homes style.  These overhead door accessories are easy to install with simple hand tools and relatively inexpensive.  Use our coupon code FASTFIVE to save an additional 5% when you order online from www.stardoorparts.com