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.
