Posted by Richard on Thursday, 02 September 2010
Tags: garage door – garage doors – garage door opener – garage door repair – garage door replacement – garage door installation – garage door service – garage door prices
Most folks fill their space as soon as they have any that is free, but there are all sorts of reasons why a homeowner could find themselves with extra space. If that space is behind a garage door, there are all sorts of ways to use it well. First think about the car. Has the car always been outside? What kept it out of the garage? Perhaps a hobby car that was going to be fixed someday finally was fixed or simply found a new garage to be stored in.
If there space isn't needed for a car, there are all sorts of options. Is there a messy hobby like painting or furniture repair that could use a space that is easy to hose down? With the garage door up heavy duty sanding work can be done, with the garage door down a heavy cloud of sawdust can take over. In either case, cover with a drop cloth or old sheet, any tools or household items stored in the garage. It is much easier to shake off and perhaps even wash the cloths than clean all every tool and dust every box.
Woodworking is only one option. Many folks have found second jobs buying and selling old objects. A box of miss-matched china is a hassle to move, but with storage space and patience it could be worth a lot more to someone who needs a specific platter. Ebay has been great for these folks. Some children's toys that are in good condition can be resold either in sets or for the detail oriented piece by piece. Grandparents in particular with more time to post and visit the post office have found a great extra income selling off their grandchildren's old toys. Parents are generally happy just to get them out the door.
If the hobby is knitting or making doll clothes there are a number of sites specializing in selling handmade objects. There is no reason that objects once photographed and then bagged and tagged can't be stored in bins in the garage. Perhaps the extra money earned can be used to refit the garage door itself as a business expense.
If cost cutting has become a priority, remember that space is money for groceries. Buying in bulk is often more economical, but storing extra peanut butter or large numbers of snack sized chips is only a bargain if they will be eaten. Extra large quantities of items like medicine can go to waste if not used promptly.
If space is truly not a problem consider buying a deep freeze. Freezer preserves have become a much easier way to store the bounty from an apple picking expedition or a bumper crop of black berries. Even buying an extra turkey the day after thanksgiving can make Christmas one bit easier.
A final option is to look around the neighborhood. Does a neighbor have an extra car that won't fit in their garage? Offer an extra parking space in exchange for lawn mowing help.
There is always something to be done with extra space behind the garage door. It doesn't have to fill with boxes of stuff, but can still hold an amazing array of possibilities.
Posted by Richard on Wednesday, 01 September 2010
Tags: garage door – garage doors – garage door opener – garage door repair – garage door replacement – garage door installation – garage door service – garage door prices
School is starting, fall is around the corner, and it is a great time to get the house, including the garage door ready for the new seasons. Storm windows that were removed in the spring need to be found and cleaned. This is also a great time to fix any screens that have gotten holes in them falls crisp air can provide a respite to Air Conditioning, but even small tears can let in annoying pests.
While checking the screens check for how sealed the windows are; caulking older windows where the wood has pulled back from the glass can help with heating bills. If the house uses heating oil, now is the time to check the level. Filling up the tank now and then keeping a eye on the thermostat. If it has been a while since the houses heating system was checked, schedule an inspection. It may not need to be done next week, but as weather gets colder appointments start disappearing.
This is also a great time to look over the winter clothes. Proper storage can make this really easy. Well labeled boxes or bins should keep the clothes clean. Anything that needs to go to the dry cleaner can be taken now before the first cold snap occurs. While the storage bins are being turned over take a moment to think about what is coming up. Halloween decorations will be coming out next, so go ahead and leave them at the top of the pile.
Check the donation/sale box. Every house should have one of these whose specific purpose is to hold the clothes or household items that aren't being used. When the bin is full take it to a charity shop. If a yard sale is in the works more than one bin might be filled. Be honest about the goods though. Shirts that have stains or look more worn might be better moved to a donation bin. Many charity shops sort through clothes that are received and items that are beyond their use are handed off to third world countries or shredded into insulation.
This is also a good time to think about unused items. Put a label on a box, especially one that hasn't been obviously opened in a while. Look through it briefly. Throw it away or into the donate box at once if it hasn't been used in 5 years or more. If it is less than 1 year put a date on the box for it's disposal. Storing boxes of unused items doesn't make anyone’s life better and anyone who has had to sort through a late parents household will agree that it never gets any easier.
Clearing out shelf space now can help prepare for winter. Perhaps finding the extra few square feet to squeeze in the car, if that has been a problem. Think vertically not just horizontally. Behind many garage doors are indoor/outdoor porches. If the car can sit in the driveway, perhaps the garage can be the quiet workspace someone in the house has desperately needed. Take the time now during the last days of summer and before fall business takes over to prepare for winter.
Posted by Reba on Tuesday, 31 August 2010
Tags: garage door – garage doors – garage door opener – garage door repair – garage door replacement – garage door installation – garage door service – garage door prices
Scientists have made a stunning discovery in Africa that pushes back the human or human related use of tools (and meat eating) by roughly 800,000 years. This discovery places the use of tools at roughly 3.4 million years ago rather than the 2.5 to 2.6 million years from previous discoveries. The time of the tool usage corresponds roughly to the same period as “Lucy,” one of the oldest hominid skeletons discovered in Ethiopia in 1974.
Now these tools are not advanced in any way. The tools the garage door repairman would bring with him to fix the damaged garage door are light years beyond the tool complexity discovered but just the fact that tools were used that early is an astounding discovery.
The report says the tools were mainly of stone, and in fact may have just been stones available locally but were used on bones from cow sized animals and antelopes. It would still be millions of years before the tools developed by humans would be made of metal of any sort much less the space age, tempered metals used today.
Probably the folks from Colonial American days would be astounded by the tools of today, much less the humans from 3.4 million years ago. The tempered tools used by today’s garage door repairman might bear a resemblance to the tools from colonial days that might have been used by the local blacksmith or cooper or carpenter but the strength of today’s tools would far exceed the strength of the tools available even one hundred years ago.
So hominids were using tools 3.4 million years ago. The tools were rudimentary but they were tools nevertheless. The chain of human related species using tools moves backwards even as humans move forward into space (although recent reports of astronauts using “brute force” to fix problems on the International Space Station would probably be somewhat familiar as a method of achieving results to those from 3.4 million years ago).
People can only speculate as to what tools might be available to the garage door repairman in one hundred, one thousand, or one million years. The hominids of 3.4 million years ago would look on people in today’s world as gods, just because of the technical capabilities, even with the capabilities of basic tools available today. Given the advancement of human species in 3.4 million years, just think of the wonder of humanity in 3.4 million years in the future and how they will look back at the “primitive” world of the early 21st century.
Posted by Richard on Tuesday, 31 August 2010
Tags: garage door – garage doors – garage door opener – garage door repair – garage door replacement – garage door installation – garage door service – garage door prices
Baseball season is well into the home stretch and consequently, tempers sometimes flair. It is not a direct correlation but during the long hot days of summer, sometimes teams and players in the thick of the division races (what at one time were known as the Pennant races but since each league now has three divisions and a “Wild Card,” the terms have to be updated slightly) get a bit angry with each other. Especially in the head-to-head games between first and second place teams
Recently, the St Louis Cardinals and the Cincinnati Reds had a fairly standard baseball brawl. A lot of pushing and shoving went on, although no real punches were thrown. The brawl apparently started because the Cincinnati second baseman Brandon Phillips, spoke out to the media on how he dislikes the Cardinals and has no friends on the team. Even though the umpires probably could have ejected half a dozen players from each team, they wound up only ejecting the two managers.
There is etiquette to baseball brawls. Even though players have access to the baseball bats, which could be a pretty lethal weapon, they do not go after each other with bats. It is not like the disgruntled fan that picks up his bat while listening to the game out in his garage and destroys the garage door with it. That fan can be described as just a bit overzealous and after he has destroyed his garage door, he’s most likely abashed about it and quite embarrassed to have to tell his wife what he’s just done. If his wife wasn’t home, he might even try to fake things and pretend it happened by mistake somehow (though it would take some serious tap dancing to convince a wife that the damage happened other than with the baseball bat – especially if she is able to match wood chips (if it was a wooden bat) or the paint scheme of the garage door or bat (if it’s a metal bat).
But whether the fan admits what he has done to his wife or tries to hide it, the only damage he has done is to the garage door so he can grab his yellow pages and call his local garage door service company to send the garage door repairman out to fix the door. Or if he has damaged the door badly enough, just go ahead and have a new garage door installed.
It is after all, the home stretch of the baseball season, for the players and the fans.
Posted by Richard on Thursday, 26 August 2010
Tags: garage door – garage doors – garage door opener – garage door repair – garage door replacement – garage door installation – garage door service – garage door prices
It’s hot. Of course, it tends to get that way in the summertime. However, the Summer of 2010 seems to be a bit hotter than usual. June set a record as the hottest on record (the “record” being since humans have been tracking temperatures from the 1880s). July 2010 just missed setting a record and August 2010 is shaping up to be near record. States, cities, and towns across the country are having daily forecasts calling for “near record highs” as temperatures hit triple digits in many places, including places where triple digit temperatures are not at all common, leading to temperatures higher than ever before recorded.
Overnight temperatures are “cooling” off to the upper ‘70s and low ‘80s at best. Air conditioners are working overtime to keep things cooled down enough for people to get a decent night’s rest. Although there are places along the northern tier of the United States, where folks are not at all used to the higher temperatures. And even places like Russia are having record heat waves, with news reports about people frying an egg on a sidewalk in Siberia.
Many cities have passed ordinances against businesses propping open the doors to their business in attempts to lure passersby inside with the cool air. Of course, those same businesses probably blanche when they receive their next utility bills. They must not have had a father who told them to “Shut the door! I’m not paying to cool (or heat in the wintertime) the great outdoors!”
Now most folks probably do not have the air conditioning running into the garage so it doesn’t matter that much of the garage door is left open. In fact, keeping the garage door open might actually make it a bit cooler inside than keeping the garage door closed will do. In some older homes, people might have finished off a garage into an extra bedroom or even apartment, and in these cases, the no air conditioning and no garage door to open can leave it rather stifling (although it can be helped somewhat by a fan pulling cooler air into the former garage from the air conditioned portion of the home.)
Even though the Summer of 2010 is shaping up as one of the hottest ever, it is still possible for people, even in the southern climates, to survive without air conditioning. People survived long, hot summers in all the world and al the climates before air conditioning and even before fans. Folks knew how and where to build to achieve maximum cooling and shade utilization.
Just don’t spend too much time in the garage with the garage door closed.
Posted by Rebekah on Wednesday, 25 August 2010
Tags: garage door – garage doors – garage door opener – garage door repair – garage door replacement – garage door installation – garage door service – garage door prices
What is important about Rhinebeck, NY? It was the location of Chelsea Clinton’s wedding on July 31, 2010. To folks from New York City, Rhinebeck (which is in Duchess County near Poughkeepsie) is “upstate” New York. To folks who actually live in upstate New York, Rhinebeck (and Poughkeepsie) are most decidedly downstate.
Rhinebeck, like many villages along the Hudson River and elsewhere in New York State, dates to early Colonial days. It has been a manufacturing center and since the mid 19th century, has been a place where the wealthy have often had summer homes. One of its manufacturing products was carriages, coaches, and sleighs. Many folks have never been to Rhinebeck but would imagine that the wealthy had nice carriage houses to store the carriages and nearby stables, with many of these having been converted to modern day garages with automatic garage door openers, to allow for storing the modern day “horseless carriage” (although it is also possible that many carriage houses still are used for sleighs as New York still gets enough snow to justify it for rich people).
The early settlers in Rhinebeck would probably not understand the current obsession with cars but they would likely understand the idea of status symbols, as a carriage manufactured in Rhinebeck would most likely have been a status symbol. The early settlers might wince at seeing a beautiful carriage house converted into a modern day garage, complete with an automatic garage door opener. But they would definitely understand the need for protecting products from the weather, whether pricey carriages and sleighs or pricey cars and boats. They probably even had problems with home owners occasionally driving the carriage while intoxicated and damaging the carriage doors somehow. Even though most folks today know not to drink and drive, it does still happen and garage doors whether automated garage doors or regular, manually opened garge doors, wind up damaged as a result. Whether the damage leaves a gouge out of the carriage or the damage leaves a scratch down the side of the BMW, the next day most likely means someone is remorseful and someone is angry and they may well be the same person who caused the damage being angry with themselves.
So now that Chelsea Clinton’s wedding is complete, Rhinebeck will once again recede from the national consciousness and revert back to being another sleepy village on the Hudson River. A small town, near New York City where the locals will go about their day to day lives without the intrusion of the tourists and national media. Oh there will be tourists, as this area will always have tourists who come for the slower pace, the beauty of the architecture, or just to see where some history may have been made.
Just not as many tourists as this weekend brought them.
Posted by Reba on Tuesday, 24 August 2010
Tags: garage door – garage doors – garage door opener – garage door repair – garage door replacement – garage door installation – garage door service – garage door prices
Summer used to be a dull time of reruns. Now reality TV takes over the summer and those who aren't interested in the coming and going of Snooki and the Bachelorette are left racing to the most sound proof room in or out of the house, the garage. Some folks with a basement might convert it into a den, but many men running from summer drama are find themselves staring at a garage door. If this fate has befallen someone close there are a few things you can do to make it nicer.
First provide some space. Cars that stay in a garage all winter to protect them from snow and ice can be left in the driveway. Hot cars are not fun to get into, but some hot air is better than steamed spouses. Perhaps this means cleaning out the garage. Clothes that might come back into style, probably won't. If they are being kept as motivation for those last 20 pounds, think of the motivation a new wardrobe would be instead. Most charity shops can be counted on to take no questions asked any bad shopping decision of the 80's and 90's.
Some folks store baby things. Mom's don't want to pass along the boxes of cherished clothes because each has sentimental value and those children might want them when they have their own children. In some family situations children are having babies at younger ages, but many young adults are waiting longer and longer to start their own families. Once those late starters begin their own families many of the clothes will have gone out of fashion. And many new families have their own baby showers to provide them with all the new little clothes their baby will need. Perhaps saving in a small container one or two very nice conditioned outfits or something with particular history. Allow the rest of the clothes to go to a second hand or charity shop. Those extra boxes of goodies will provide more than a few feet in a garage, but will make a new baby very happy.
Many people can't open their garage doors for all the stored memories. Rather than storing items that will collect dust and prevent a better use of the space have a tag sale, or donate the items to a scout rummage sale. Anything to lighten the emotional load of stuff.
Once the space has been cleared think about practical ways to fill it. Patio furniture has gotten very nice lately and if space is truly a premium look a furniture that can be folded or hung out of the way when not in use. Lightweight deck chairs could be stored above the garage door off season Even a table and umbrella could be tucked away above a properly supported garage door opener. Be sure to have a garage door service check any additions, especially on a rental property.
A coat of paint or perhaps even added drywall instead of bare studs can improve the look of any unfinished space. If half the homeowners are hiding away, shower some affection and spruce up their space.
Posted by Reba on Monday, 23 August 2010
Tags: garage door – garage doors – garage door opener – garage door repair – garage door replacement – garage door installation – garage door service – garage door prices
In 1984 a group related to town watches went a step further and organized “America's Night Out Against Crime” for the First Tuesday in August. With school starting around the corner but warm weather still allowing for block parties, it was deemed the best chance for neighborhoods to get together and organize neighborhood watches. Modern houses put more focus on a two door garage door than on the front porch. Air conditioning and central heating as made observing folks coming and going something that is done inside and not reported. Getting neighbors out of doors and chatting with the focus on safety is key to crime prevention. Many people may be living near to utility workers who can get a broken light fixed quickly, or a police officer who can advise on the best person to call for something not quite an emergency but still a matter of safety.
People drive into and out of their garage doors and rarely take the time to step beyond their mailbox to introduce themselves to their neighbor. If they don't know their neighbor will they think to ask if the person coming by after they left for work was a friend or burglar? Gossip chains that used to know every child on the block and who to call about questionable behavior are move likely to be gossiping over the latest Bachelorette episode and parents of youths who have started knocking over trash cans don't get a call and so they can't be chastised. Those youth may find a different hobby or they may move up to mailboxes.
Getting a safer garage door opener can keep one car safe, meeting the neighbors and finding out which parents are working two or three jobs and leaving young adults to wander unchecked can help make the entire neighborhood safer. Simply finding local babysitters will keep a few more young folks off the street and with money in someone's pocket they can rent a movie and order pizza keeping them off the streets.
Neighborhoods have not be torn down with a garage door, but safer streets will improve every house value much faster than a new garage door and that is money to be taken to the bank.
If a neighborhood missed the National date on that 1st Tuesday in August, chat with a few neighbors about the 1st Tuesday in September or plan an event around the Texas date in October. Call the police station and see if they can send someone around to talk safety. It is never too late to make a positive change in a neighborhood.
Posted by Reba on Friday, 20 August 2010
Tags: garage door – garage doors – garage door opener – garage door repair – garage door replacement – garage door installation – garage door service – garage door prices
General Motors has finally delivered on their promise of the Chevrolet Volt and is ready to transform a homeowner’s relationship to their garage door. The price tag as been announced and though it is high for the first batch of cars, any economist will tell that with steady proven demand a supply will be ramped up to drive down cost. The popularity of the Toyota Prius and Ford Fusion has shown that Americans want more energy efficient cars. Jay Leno might not need a car that simply gets a person efficiently from point A to point B any parent will point out that is their primary occupation.
The Chevy Volt is a pure electrical car that just happens to have a backup gasoline engine to power the motor, if the battery runs out.
The garage door opener won't be the only thing plugged in anymore. Now the car itself will be feeding from the house’s electrical system. This should not be any problem for modern houses; they are used to drills and refrigerators plugged in, but if the garage is a later addition or a small workshop is already established in the garage, perhaps an electrician should come out to make sure the power isn't all on the same line. If the lights flicker when the washer turns on or the garage door is raised, it is a good idea to get a quick checkup of the system.
The high cost will deter many new buyers and the lack of bells and whistles may also reduce interest, but this is supposed to be a simple car for the average commuter who just wants to reduce their impact on the price of oil. A smart car is a little too extreme for the average American consumer. Chrysler is hoping that they are waiting for a car that looks more like a car, but provides en eco-friendly bang.
The disaster in the gulf has provided some fresh reminders of how painful the world addiction to oil can be. More cars internationally that help ween the entire planet off of fossil fuels can go a long way toward helping. American's brought the cost of cars down so that anyone can afford one. Perhaps now we can bring the environmental impact of them down so that the world can survive more people driving upon it.
The garage door doesn't need to change just to put a better vehicle into it.
Posted by Richard on Friday, 20 August 2010
Tags: garage door – garage doors – garage door opener – garage door repair – garage door replacement – garage door installation – garage door service – garage door prices
Has all the news about the BP oil spill put a downer on summer and a sour face on the garage door? Think positive! Find small things around the house to offset a carbon footprint. Everyone talks about light bulbs. Everyone has seen the spiral bulbs, but if spiral bulbd don't fit, try one of the disguised bulbs. A house doesn't need to shout from every fixture that it is eco-friendly. Strangely enough, a person can clean up their hard drives and save a lot of energy. Storing all those ones and zeros has started adding up and the less data stored and restored, the less power they will guzzle. Turning off unused computers can go a long way toward cutting the power bills. First is the unneeded heat produced by them and second is the even ghostly energy supply there are pulling. There are even smart power strips that recognize the zombie pull of some brick transformers and cut off the electricity supply.
If just looking at the garage door causes some worry over gas mileage and cost, consider cleaning out the car. Not only does every extra trip use gasoline, ever extra pound will impact the gas mileage. Why else did fiberglass replace steel in the modern automobile? The car manufactures know that ever ounce matters when they need to get the lowest mileage for the EPA.
Perhaps the garage door itself is a problem. If the door between the garage and home is constantly opening and closing and the garage door itself is unsealed a lot of heat and humidity can be flowing through. A garage door service can inspect the door and make needed changes quickly and inexpensively.
President Obama talked about the benefits of insulation, and no matter which side of the political spectrum, a person can appreciate how well sealed doors and attics can greatly improve the freedom of a person to move in their own home. Keeping the natural elements on their side of the walls can make any room more comfortable.
If small steps don't seem to be enough to combat environmental angst, consider setting out for an outdoor working vacation. Many national parks have extra chores that can be done like clearing brush or trash. A person doesn't have to go to the gulf to find contaminated water. Sometimes investigative leg work is necessary to help find the source of pollution and then reverse the effects. Pulling a particularly invasive weed that has entered an ecosystem can restore a balance. Make these ecological adventures a part of any vacation plan. Simply not sitting on the couch watching TV can help prevent some excess power consumption. Hot summer days can seem daunting for outdoor work, but just think about the winter while shoveling snow. Find the balance and seize the day.
