New Garage Door Considerations

Depending on the size of your home, a garage door can represent between 30 and 40 percent of the exterior of your home. This means choosing and installing the right garage door is an important decision, not only in terms of cost, but in terms of appearance and functionality.

What considerations go into your purchase?

There are many considerations to take into account when installing a new garage door include the color, finish, and composition of the door, the strength and durability of the track, the insulation R value, and whether or not there is a warranty available. Check with the installer and manufacturer for warranty information.

Since the garage door is such an extensive part of the appearance of the front of your house, you want a door that provides aesthetic value to the appearance of your home. They come in a variety of colors and styles to complement your home. Some styles available include raised panel, flushed, elongated, and ribbed. The compositional materials include fiberglass, wood, aluminum, steel, and composite materials. The choice you make regarding these materials depends not only upon the appearance you want to achieve, but the size of your budget and the functionality you want to achieve with your new addition.

Steel or Wood?

Should you choose a steel or other type of metal or wood door? This depends, again, on the purpose you wish to achieve. Wooden doors are often more attractive, less utilitarian in appearance, but they can offer more maintenance challenges than a steel door. Wood doors need to be painted, while steel doors do not. Also, steel doors typically have longer warranties and can be insulated.

What is the R value?

The R value is the measure of resistance of specific building insulation materials. In the case of garage doors, this boils down to choosing either polystyrene or polyurethane for your insulation. Polystyrene has an R value of 2 per inch while polyurethane rates at 4. Despite the lower rating, many construction experts recommend polystyrene because it is waterproof, where polyurethane is an open cell foam subject to water damage. Closed cell foam alternatives for polyurethane can be used, but they are typically more expensive, making polystyrene an obvious choice for insulation.

Your new or replaced garage door will be a large addition to your home, so considering both form and functionality is an essential part of making a your purchase.

5 Benefits of Installing Sliding Doors in Your Home

Sliding doors are very popular and are a great medium to enhance the beauty of your dwelling or any other property. The reason behind its popularity is due to its easy operability and large space benefit it offers to the buyers. The doors having a sliding mechanism offers plenty of advantages for your home. If you wish to know about the advantages of the sliding doors, you may go through the rest of this article.

• Energy Efficient

If you will look at the improvements and variations in the sliding door technology, you will find a huge difference between earlier and present day sliding doors.These doors are energy efficient as they prevent the flowing of air out from the house. The dual panning of the doors reduces the uneven heating and cooling in the home. It also prevents the air to pass from the edges

• Durability

If a person has decided to install these doors in his property, then he would like to install something durable and strong. In the earlier days, they were usually installed with the aluminium frames. But now, they are used to hang with other types of materials that are much durable and stronger. Anyone can move these doors easily,whether a child, adult or an old person without jamming.

• Variation in design and style

You have plenty of options in moveable doors. There are enough designs and colors of sliding doors in the market. The color you choose must meet your expectations and requirements. The design and style of the doors vary with the material you choose for the installation. Every material has its own advantages and disadvantages. You are required to choose according to your needs and budget you have decided for the overall installation project.

• Plenty of space

They are space saver. The sliding mechanism of these doors is advantageous for people living in the house.These doors are ideal for a limited space. It is a best option for a congested place where opening and closing is not very easy.It will save a decent space in a room and you can open it easily in the congested place. These doors slide horizontally in one direction without opening inwards or outwards.

• Multifaceted character

Sliding doors have a property of versatility. Due to this property, they are quite popular in the market and are preferred by most of the homeowners. They can be used in bathrooms, conference hall, banquet hall or bedrooms. You will get the exclusive advantage of these doors if you have a large hall at home. The versatile nature makes it more suitable for shopping malls for the handling of traffic.

These doors penetrates light while enhancing the look of your property.You can make these doors energy efficient by using the double glazing material. So, it would be better to install the highly functional doors on your property and gain the advantages they offer to their customers. If you consult an expert professional for the door, you will get the right model for your home.

Choosing a Security Door

While most home entrance doors are sturdy and provide protection from the weather and intruders, some homeowners choose to install security doors for an added sense of safety. If you decide to purchase these type of doors for your home, the following tips will help you select a quality product.

1. Choose steel or dense wood. Security doors should be sturdier than the average home door. Steel or dense wood versions are strong and are good choices for security shutters. Steel ones are also less prone to warping and will not peel after years of use. Doors made of steel or dense wood are difficult to damage and will help deter intruders.

2. Check the fit of the door in the frame. They need to fit tightly into the frame without being difficult to open or close. There should not be any visible gaps next to the frame. The absence of gaps and small openings prevents the it from being pried open.

3. Make sure the frame is very sturdy – a door is only as good as its frame. If the frame is weak then it doesn’t offer much protection. A poorly constructed and flimsy frame can be easily damaged enough to pry the the whole thing open. Carefully inspect the frame to make sure it is solid and durable enough to enhance the protection of your shutter.

4. Insist on good locks. A lock that can be easily broken does not offer much protection. Your system should have deadbolt locks with rectangular cylinders that enter the frame at least one inch when in the locked position. Make sure these are high-quality deadbolt locks. Single cylinder deadbolt locks require a key for outside entrance and have a knob for locking and unlocking from the inside of the house. Double cylinder deadbolt locks require a key to lock and unlock the door from both the inside and outside of the house. Some owners choose to have multiple locks on their security shutters for an extra layer of security. Additional locks can be added to your security shutter at any time.

5. Verify the quality of the security system. There are established industry standards for security shutters. Make sure the security shutter you choose for your home meets these standards. Reputable dealers will carry security shutters that either meet or exceed the industry standards.

6. Quality security shutters will not have conventional windows. Glass windows can be easily broken, allowing entry into the home. If you want windows in your security system, you can choose to have windows with laminated glass panes. Another alternative is to have glass windows with steel bars in the window areas.

7. Talk to a security professional before purchasing your security system. A security expert can give you sound advice about your security and other home security needs.