Getting your garage ready for your door installation.

 

 Some of the challenges installers run into are end walls not being secure,such as the above picture shows. The problem with this is that there is no support under the wall and when adding the weight of the garage door to this is can actually pull the wall away from the other wall. Some contractors will insist that it's ok to install in this situation however on this particular job there was two doors to be installed and none of the front walls were bearing on a solid foundation. And under no circumstances is it ok or even safe to install a garage door on an unsupported wall,no matter what the contractor tells you or the installer. Just think of 300- 500 lbs of steel and material crashing down and you'll get the idea of what can happen. The center wall is right below and the far end wall looked the same as this one.

 Another issue installers run into far to frequently is a mess such as the one below. Right now is the busy season for overhead door companies and installers. When we run into jobs like this it makes it all that much more challenging to do a safe and effective install. It also serves to make for a rough start to any installers day this time of year because he generally has 4-6 other installs to do that day. I will say that the framing was very good and it shows an excellent example of how the backing should be done for a proper installation. The only issue I had with this job was that between the two doors the framer used a 2x6 and a 2x4 instead of two 2x4's leaving no room to run the photo cell wires for the operators into the wall for a nice clean finish when the dry walling is done.

 This is the Calgary Health Trust lottery home. This is an excellent example of how nice and clean the job should be for the installer to come in and install the door. The supervisor was readily available for any issues or questions, he even when so far as to locate backing inside the finished ceiling for the back hang of the door for me when I was installing the door. I've run into absolute nightmare job sites where I have installed a door and it turned out nice and clean however,it does not make for a good start,middle or end to any installers day. The easier it is for him to get the job done the better the job is going to turn out. A messy job site and work area makes it very challenging to so do a job safely and properly.

All in all,the the cleaner the job is when the installer comes to install the door the easier it is for him or her to do a neat and tidy job. Consider for a minute how heavy the sections are on some of the custom doors and you'll appreciate what we have to do to get the job done so that you as a homeowner can have a safe and dependable garage door.

The Busy Season

Now that fall is upon us and winter is fast approaching there is always the "Last minute,have to get it done before winter job". This is where customers call and need work done on their garage doors now.

  One of the problems with this type of job is most if not all of the qualified overhead installers and techs are burning the candle at both ends. Our contractors have started to catch up with building as framers get the most work done in the summer time and usually by this time we're about 5 weeks behind by the middle of September. You see,there are times when our sales teams go and quote a job in the retail market in May or June and the customer will say that there's lots of time before the snow flies and they put the job off. In May or June,we can get to the job in a couple of days or a week at most if we are fairly caught up. If the customer puts the job off till the end of August or the beginning of September then it will take a few weeks for an installer to get to the job. There have been a few retail jobs and even contractors that have said to me that I should have been there weeks ago and they are upset.

  Of course I do what I can to help the customer understand the reasons why this happens, shortage of qualified and trained installers, being swamped to begin with, and then I explain the "put it off till the snow flies" mentality. Most of the time they understand and are okay with it. There are occasions where there is nothing we can do the help the contractor or customer to understand. This leave the installer feeling a sense of failure due to the prevailing attitude.

  They only way for the customer to avoid being caught in this situation is to avoid putting the job off. Or stay on top of maintenance. Lubricate springs,hinges,rollers and any other moving parts of the overhead door every 6 months with a silicone based lube is a great way to stay on top of it. Never use grease or oil and WD-40 is probably one of the worst things you can use for lube. Oil and grease attract dirt because of the stickiness,that in turn creates a situation where parts are moving against each other with foreign object obstructing movement and grinding together. There is also the option of having a qualified technician come in and tune up your door from time to time. This is very cost effective compared to replacing parts and even your door after months or even years of regular use and no maintenance. The average service call will run you around a hundred bucks and a good tech will explain the work he is doing while he is doing it.

  Now,I'm not going to B.S. here. There are some guys out there that will try to soak customers and get what they can out of if and quote prices from a nuclear powered calculator. This is where a bit of research does wonders for the wallet. I myself work for the busiest overhead door company in Calgary. I have worked for a number of them in the area and I can say with all confidence that the one I'm with now is the best I have worked with and some of the best qualified installers and tech in the city with combined experience of a couple hundred years. There's isn't a tech with us with under ten years in the industry,I myself have been installing garage doors and operators since 1996 with over 20,000 garage door installations.
 
 Another thing customers are responsible for is the type of door they choose to purchase. Personally,Steel-Craft are the best you can buy in Canada. I have seen retail customers pay through the teeth for a door from one of the building supply companies and then be left with finding their own installer. Totem in Bowness sells Steel-Craft so if your purchasing a garage door from a building supply outlet then they are the store to go with. Overhead door companies in Calgary that sell Steel-Craft doors are Action Door, Glenmore Overhead and a few other smaller companies. One other thing is that you'll pay pretty much the same with all the above mentioned companies,prices will generally be within $50 of each other.

  During the busy season most of us are working 12-14 hours a day so when we are lucky enough to get a weekend off to spend with our families,we generally don't want to work that weekend. Try to get the number off the truck to call their office to book a time for your install. There are days when I have 5-6 people come up to me or stop me in traffic and ask about having their door installed. While this doesn't bother me,it can be a little tough when I suggest calling the office when the customer wants their work done as fast as possible.

Types Of Garage Doors

  Over the years I have formed some very solid opinions about the makes of some of the doors out there. I have also had the pleasure and learning experience to have installed Everything from SteelCraft (my personal preference), Overhead's 297's (a close second) to Clopay's and Wayne Dalton's. Now this is just my opinion, Clopay and Wayne Dalton should NOT be making and selling doors. I'll leave it up to you to interpret what that means. Almost all of the installers I know including myself will not install these doors. That doesn't means that there isn't people out there that won't though. They don't last as long, are manufactured to lower standards and require more maintenance. So in the long run,they are not more economically feasable. They may seam like a good deal & cheaper to buy at the time however,they are not a door you would want to install in a garage you plan to use a lot.

   Steel-Crafts T-12 and Overhead's 297 are pretty much a standard R-10 door. The number indicates insulation value on the Steel-Crafts standard residential door. I have installed these doors in almost every application from straight installs to custom installations that require low heads room kits and double top tracks with very little to no trouble and most if not all are still working as they were intended.

  The T-16 and 597 are a little heavier and are rated R-16 and around R-15 respectively. These are better suited for insulated garages that you plan on heating on a regular basis. They're even more durable that the earlier mentioned doors due to more material used in their construction.

 If you are looking for curb appeal for a garage on the front of the house then models like the Renaissance, Ranchcraft,Vintage and Carriage Craft doors might suit your needs much better. The come with insulation values from R-10 to R-16. These doors offer more design options,especially with the Ren's and will definitely help build value for your home.

Here are some pics from the Steel-Craft website of the different models the offer.

The first is the Carraige Craft,

 This series is the Ranch Craft

 This is the Thermo-Craft,this is the basic door.

Well ain't this something else.

 Ever have some strange noise or bang coming from your garage door and think nothing of it? All those little noises that have started when you open your door? The ones that increase over time till one day something snaps and your garage door doesn't move when you push the button for the opener?... Ya,those are the ones I'm talking about. I have gone to service calls where the customer notices their door going up or down all cock-eyed. Here's a piece of advice,when you notice your overhead door doing that..STOP! Do not push the button hoping to hell that it fixes it's self. It's not going to happen. And it should be pretty obvious why. If it's moving that way then there's something broken or it could be something simple like the cable is off. If you keep pushing the button the get the door to move after it's jammed in the opening,then there's gonna be something broken. I already stated tip #1 so here's tip #2. Stopping the door when it first starts going crooked is a lot cheaper to fix then tracks,weather strip, drums and cables.

  Your garage door is a moving mechanism and some of the new ones out there like the Ren's or Renaissance are damn heavy and the last thing you're gonna want is for chunk of that to bean you in the head. Now, I do want to be clear on something. I'm not talking in this manner to be condescending,I'm just being straight forward because it works. Nothing says there something wrong with your door like it coming down on something or heaven forbid someone gets seriously injured. Some of the 16x8 Rens have springs on them with enough energy to lift the motor out of my Chevy. That should give you an idea some of the torque those springs are under.

  Right now,I'm just giving you a basic rundown on why you should be well aware of the most important aspects of the door that lets you drive into your garage,I'll move into some tips and tricks in the next session and along the way you'll figure out where you should place you limitations when it comes to trouble shooting problems and just call a professional. For some of you,own the fact that it's at "Push the button,door goes up,door goes down" Some of you may have a mechanical aptitude and be able to tackle certain or even all aspects of maintaining and repairing an overhead door.

  A couple things you should identify about your door are the size,type or make and what type of opener or operator you have if you have one. My personal preference is a Steel-Craft door and Chamberlain operator. They are in my opinion the best you can have in your home. A close second for the type of door would be Overhead Door's design like the 297 or 597. There are very similar in design and durability. I could go into other makes of doors and operators however,I would simply due to the fact that they just don't measure up.

Steel-Craft's T-12,T-16,Flush (which the Ren's are made from) the their Carrage Craft are all maintenance friendly. They are designed with the installer in mind. And a good installer will assemble the door and install it keeping in mind that there just might be someone coming behind them to work on the door or possible install and operator afterwards.