Let’s consider Remodeling Magazine’s National “Cost versus Value” rankings for 2020 for a second. As expected, garage door replacement ranks as one of the highest returns on investment (ROI) among remodeling projects for the fifth year in a row. In 2019, garage door replacement came in at 92% ROI.

So, if you plan on putting your home on the market or are looking to improve your curb appeal, upgrading the outside can go a long way toward adding value to your property. But here’s the catch: not every available upgrade will yield a considerable return, and if you choose the wrong improvements, you could stand to lose your hard-earned money.

Don’t fret; a new garage door installation offers the highest potential yield of all exterior home improvements. As a bonus, depending on the type of material you choose, purchasing a new garage door generally requires a small initial investment compared to many other exterior home improvement projects.

At Automated Door Systems, we’re committed to helping Montreal, Ottawa, and Kingston homeowners improve the overall look, performance, and value of their property. Below, we’re discussing how new garage door installation delivers one of the highest ROIs in the home improvement industry; read on to know more.

Why a Garage Door Replacement?

Garage door replacement is high in these rankings for two reasons. The first is curb appeal. Visibility is key for curb appeal. Your garage door is one of the most-visible parts of your home from the curb. It can make a massive difference in the home’s look if the garage door is replaced, especially if it is upgraded even a little.

The second is resale value. As a wise home seller, you’ll do well to repair the garage door. It will not only improve the curb appeal, but it’ll also increase the resale value of your home by an amount equal to the cost of the new garage door.

Choosing the Best Garage Door for Your Needs

If you’re planning to invest in a new garage door installation, how do you determine the type of door that best meets your needs? The first and perhaps the most important thing for you to consider is curb appeal. A new garage door is an excellent way to make a strong first impression, either for prospective buyers or just for passersby. To create a genuinely appealing exterior aesthetic, consider the following: 

Balance – Think about what type of architectural style your home possesses and your exterior colour scheme. Select a garage door that complements the overall design of your home and the colour palette of your siding, trim, soffit, and fascia.

Insulation – Determine whether your garage shares adjacent walls with any frequently used living areas. If so, opting for an insulated and energy-efficient garage door will help reduce your annual cooling and heating costs while limiting operation-related noise levels. Insulated garage doors usually command a higher ROI than their non-insulated counterparts. 

Contrast - If you want your garage door to make a statement, opt for a contrasting colour scheme that can make your new door stand out as one of the exterior design features of your home.

If you’re ready to experience the benefits of a new garage door installation, contact Automated Door Systems today

If you’re ready for a new residential garage door to add value to your home, our team at Automated Door Systems is ready to help you. For many years we’ve been on a mission to deliver the finest residential garage door selection, installation, and repair to Montreal, Ottawa, Kingston, and the surrounding areas. We stand by our commitment to that goal every day. 

Our garage door specialists will install to ensure smooth operation, excellent appearance and a beautiful door. This garage door will boost the curb appeal of your home, offer the qualities you want, and stay within your budgetary limitations. To learn more about our garage door openers, other services, and product selection, give us a call. When you contact us, a member of our team will reach out to you promptly. 

Whether you realize it or not, chances are your garage door is likely one of the most neglected parts of your home and is in dire need of maintenance or repair. Think about it, when something goes wrong with your air conditioner, you call a professional. And when you need a new alarm system configured, again, you call someone to install it.

Your garage deserves the same kind of upkeep. For this reason, we recommend that you schedule regular garage door maintenance. That way, your garage door remains in top working condition, and it will keep out the elements, intruders, and other unwanted animals away from your vehicle and storage space.

Here, we’ve got 5 reasons why you should be maintaining your garage by checking it for issues regularly.

Safety

If your garage door is not operating correctly, it can be a hazard to you and your family. Each year, thousands of people get injured in garage door related incidents, but you can avoid many of these accidents if the appropriate preventative maintenance and repairs are carried out.

If your garage door starts malfunctioning, it can close on a person or your car, which is extremely dangerous and can cause damage & injuries. Your door is both heavy and powerful, and it can put you at great risk if it’s not operating effectively. If you begin to notice any issues, you should call us to have your garage door professionally inspected, maintained, or repaired as soon as possible.

Convenience

Perhaps your garage door is the most used entrance and exit to your home. But if it malfunctions or doesn’t work properly, it can cause you a lot of inconveniences. One fine day, you may even find yourself stuck on either side of the door. Moreover, if you lead a busy lifestyle, the last thing you need is a faulty garage door that keeps you waiting every time, especially if you use it a lot.

Avoid unexpected repairs

If your garage door suddenly breaks down, especially when you’re not expecting it, it can be costly to repair or replace. While general repairs are not particularly expensive, suddenly being hit with a faulty door can be costly.

Our experience tells us that many garage door replacements are a result of a lack of maintenance. Remember that many unexpected faults and repairs can be avoided by simply carrying out regular maintenance throughout the year. Neglecting your garage door can lead to a heck of a lot of issues that can quickly burn a hole in your pocket. Keep in mind that the worse your garage door problems get, the more expensive they’ll be to repair.

Increase lifespan

Considering that your garage door is an investment, therefore you must look after it properly. Neglecting proper maintenance can shorten the lifespan of your garage door. For instance, unaligned tracks, faulty safety sensors, loose volts, and lack of lubrication, can prevent your door from working correctly and damage it in the long run. It’ll shorten its lifespan and will need replacement sooner than a door that is correctly maintained.

As we mentioned previously, replacing your garage door can sometimes be expensive. Therefore you must call us to carry out the correct maintenance and to make sure that you don’t end up spending unnecessary money on issues that could have been avoided easily.

Increase the value of your property

A brand new garage door has the potential to increase the value of your property. Potential homebuyers will always favour properties that require little work and maintenance. If your residential garage door is not working properly or requires repairs, this could put homebuyers off your property.

By taking the time to maintain your garage door properly, you ensure that it operates smoothly and efficiently and is more appealing to potential buyers. An efficient door is also convenient and can save you time when it comes to entering and exiting your home or office - something that’ll appeal to buyers.

Need some maintenance or repair done on your garage door? Our team of experts at Automated Door Systems will come to you to take care of it in a flash. Book a garage door repair anytime for skilled technicians that can come to you in no time. 

Although you might be tempted to save money on labour and parts by replacing just one spring, you should replace both garage door springs when one breaks.

Garage doors have two springs (left and right-wound), one on either side of the door. The springs exert the force that makes your door light enough to be lifted. When one garage door spring breaks, homeowners sometimes wonder if they need to replace both springs or if they can just replace the malfunctioning one. Read on to learn why you should always replace both garage door springs even when only one breaks.

Why Is A Balanced Garage Door Important?

The main function of springs is to keep your garage door balanced, ensuring that both sides of the door move up and down simultaneously. If one spring breaks, it throws off the function of the door, as now the two sides will rise and fall at different speeds.

You will also hear more noise when using your garage door, and the other spring will wear down faster with the higher workload, trying to balance out the issues on the other side of the door.

The average life expectancy of a garage door spring is about 10,000 cycles, including both opening and closing. For most garage doors, that means about seven to nine years according to the number of cycles, but some springs break within four or five years with frequent use.

Growing gaps between the coils in your springs indicate that the springs are failing and may need to be replaced.

Why Is An Unbalanced Garage Door Dangerous?

If one spring breaks, several things can occur:

• The door may close suddenly.
• Loose springs can crack or may fall out of the brackets.
• Your garage door might slow down or speed up. It may even become unpredictable and put you and your family in danger when you enter or exit your garage.

A malfunctioning spring leads to warping on the tracks due to wear on the wheels. The motor also experiences a greater demand for power when the garage door is pushed up and will need to be replaced sooner.

Can A Garage Door Operate With One Spring?

No, both springs have to work together to pull the garage door up and bring it down gently. Operating on one spring presents safety concerns and can also lead to wear and tear on the door.

Also, you should never try to balance a garage door yourself. While replacing both springs is imperative for your door to function again, only a professional can provide the repairs you need. Our garage door repair technicians at Automated Door Systems know how to perform tests on the door’s balance.

Garage doors are quite heavy—hundreds of pounds—and you don’t want to put yourself in harm’s way. The safest option is to enlist our help to replace both springs.

Contact Automated Door Systems For Spring Repairs And Replacements

Now you know why a balanced garage door is essential—it protects you and your family. If you have a problem with your garage door opener, or if you need a garage door spring replacement, call Automated Door Systems now.

We are a professional garage door installation and repair company, and our experts are known for the quality work they provided their clients over the years. We can solve all your garage door-related problems for you. Call us now.

A good garage door should easily last 10-15 years. It goes through the change of seasons and multiple daily cycles of opening and closing. But your garage door is still under some threats in winter that you should address.

When your garage door is stuck, it’s always bad, but getting your garage door stuck in winter can create all sorts of problems. If you leave your garage door open in winter, it allows warm air to escape your home, driving up energy costs. Also, the stuff in your garage, like your car, will be fully subjected to the elements. 

To help you with garage door winter maintenance, in this blog, we’ll tell you about why you should winterize your garage door and how to protect your garage during the winter.

Garage Door Cold-Weather maintenance tips to consider

You are well aware that maintaining and protecting your garage door in the winter is part of the essential service. Here are some tips to Prevent Garage Door Damage this winter. Ideally, you should start taking preventive measures at the end of fall, just as winter approaches, but if you haven’t done these things yet, no worries, just go ahead and do them even if winter is already here.

1. Lubricate All Moving Parts

Get some garage door oil and lubricate the springs, tracks, rollers, and any other moving parts that require lubrication. It will help as the new lubricant will less likely show cold weather effects like freezing or drying.

2. Get Rid of the Snow

If there’s any snow on or around the door, get rid of it immediately before it starts melting or freezing. Have a snow blower, shovel, or other snow removal tools handy to remove snow as soon as it appears quickly.

3. Check the Weather Stripping

High-quality, intact weather stripping is critical if you’re trying to prevent snow, moisture, and cold from getting into your garage. Even a small gap or crack in your weather stripping can render your door useless. Take time to make sure the weather stripping is completely intact by examining the frame and bottom of your door. If there are any gaps, cracks, or loose pieces, get in touch with us immediately.

4. Check Your Photo Eye Sensors

It is related to tip number three. One way snow can affect your residential garage door is by covering up the sensors that tell your door if someone or something is underneath it. It is an important safety feature, but if enough snow builds upon one or both of these sensors, they will not be able to make the connection that tells your door it is okay to operate. If your residential or commercial garage door is not coming down properly or is going back up intermittently, ensure that there’s no snow or other debris on the sensors.

Schedule an Inspection with Automated Door Systems

Another brilliant way to ensure your garage door winter preparation is sufficient is to schedule preventative garage door maintenance and repairs with a highly recommended company like Automated Door Systems. That way, you’ll prevent minor problems from turning into major mechanical issues.

With a full inspection, debris removal, parts lubrication, and other general steps, we will ensure that your garage door gives you reliable service all winter long. We also offer seasonal inspections to ensure your garage door operates at its best on the cold and snowy winter nights. Contact us to learn more about planned maintenance or to schedule an inspection or repair.

Like most people, you’ve probably been wondering how to make your house more energy-efficient. You may wish to decrease your home’s carbon footprint or reduce your energy bill—maybe both!

Whatever your reason, you’ve most likely heard a wide range of recommendations on how to achieve your goal. A new insulated garage door is an option that is often overlooked and can play a role in your house’s energy efficiency.

What’s An Energy-Efficient Garage Door?

An energy-efficient garage door reduces your family’s energy costs by helping to regulate the temperature in your home.

Which Garage Doors Are Most Energy Efficient?

The most energy-efficient garage doors are insulated, made up of numerous layers of steel. The most efficient products for insulation are polyurethane and polystyrene.

When it comes to efficiency, an insulated garage door goes a long way towards keeping your home warm in the winter and cool in the summer. An insulated garage door will keep the air in your home from escaping, thereby saving energy.

How Does A New Garage Door Decrease Energy Costs?

If you are looking for ways to make your garage or your home more energy-efficient, here are a few reasons you need to begin with your garage door:

• It Lowers Energy Usage & Ultimately Energy Costs

Lower energy usage equates to decreased energy costs, but the question remains, how can a brand-new garage door lower energy usage?

Now, you might have noticed everything comes back to insulation. Recent studies have shown that correctly insulating and air sealing your home can decrease heating and cooling expenses by 15%. It’s easy to ignore your garage door when it comes to insulation, but it undoubtedly makes a big difference.

• It Regulates The Temperature In Your Home

You probably don’t spend a lot of your time in your garage, but it’s still an extension of your house. If your garage is not insulated, cold and warm air can radiate from your attached garage into the rest of your home through shared walls. And if you find yourself adjusting your thermostat constantly, this may be the reason behind it.

You can save time and lower energy costs by updating to a new insulated garage door.

• It Can Make Your Car’s Battery More Efficient

You probably didn’t see a connection between your vehicle and decreasing energy costs in your garage, but it is an excellent bonus benefit. Severe heat in the summer is punishing for your automobile’s battery. Elevated temperature can cause liquid in the battery to vaporize, reducing its lifespan.

It’s Time To Upgrade Your Garage Door

Having a standard residential garage door and having an energy-efficient garage door for your home is different, and the difference is vast. If you want to upgrade your garage door to an energy-efficient one, we have got you covered.

Contact Automated Door Systems’s garage door installation experts today and get a modern garage door installed with no fuss whatsoever. We take pride in offering garage door repair and installation services to all our valued clients and are fully dedicated to delivering best-in-class customer service.

Don’t wait; start reducing your energy costs and contribute to reducing your carbon footprint.

When you start a business, you tend to think about the obvious needs first: a desirable product, reliable workers and easy-to-manage inventory. While these factors are crucial, there are other vital components to a thriving business that you may not have considered.

One of these components is a high-quality commercial garage door installation. Commercial door installation includes commercial garage door repair and installation and storefront commercial garage door installation and repair. In this blog, we’ll explain why a professional installation is important, to keep your business not just safe, but thriving.

Let’s face it: Safety & prosperity go hand-in-hand

You must protect your business to make it grow, and strong security doors are paramount for protection. Criminals, thieves or burglars are always looking for an easy way to steal, but with strong security doors, they don’t have a chance and won’t even bother trying. These doors keep undesirable intruders out, and therefore make your business safer.

They also minimize the risk of damage from fires, natural disasters and pests. The best commercial and industrial security doors tend to be made out of metal, specifically aluminum, because it is durable, reliable and cost effective. An aluminum security door is sometimes better than a plastic or wooden one.

Storefront commercial door installation & repair is handy when done properly for the following reasons:

Workers feel safer and are more comfortable, morale increases and ultimately there is an improvement in work quality. Where material is concerned, a roll-up or grille-type barrier may be useful. However, aluminum may again be best depending on the structure of the building.

It’s best to consult with our experienced professionals at Automated Door Systems and allow them to evaluate your particular situation, as simply analyzing the door on your own won’t be sufficient, no matter how careful you are.

Commercial garage door repair and installation is also essential because it not only helps to protect your business, but gives it a more appealing look, which helps to attract clients. A properly functioning gate will speed up your business and can help increase profit. Various materials are used, and doors—including rolling steel doors, fire doors, insulated and non-insulated manufacture, in several designs—are available from Automated Door Systems.

Ultimately, purchasing a commercial garage door of any kind is a very personal process and should be handled professionally and thoughtfully. Understand what to expect when embarking on this search; it’ll help you save time and money.

Knowing what exactly to look for when it comes to security is genuinely priceless. Although security may not be at the top of your list of enjoyable topics to think about, prosperity and peace of mind are more than worth it.

Call Automated Door Systems For Commercial Garage Door Installation Now

Not even the best industrial door delivers optimum performance without proper installation. The experienced, trained professionals at Automated Door Systems are at your service for all commercial and residential garage door installation and repair. Call Automated Door Systems now and make your business more secure for years to come.

As residential and commercial garage door repair professionals, we at Automated Door Systemss have dealt with any issue you can think of when it comes to garage door repair. But sometimes, some problems continue to surprise us, like the tennis ball that somehow managed to knock the door entirely off its track or the tiny insect nest growing on the photo-eye sensor. Even though these issues are not that common, it’s nothing that garage door service professionals like us can’t handle!

While you may be thinking of fixing the problems yourself, there are many reasons it is best to leave the garage door repair up to professionals like us. Knowing what’s wrong with your garage door will help you determine if it’s time to call someone for assistance. To help you troubleshoot your garage door issues, here are the top 5 reasons your garage door won’t work.

1. FAULTY SAFETY SENSORS

First and foremost, and perhaps most commonly, your safety sensors may not be functioning properly. The twin sensors are situated at the bottom of your garage door, less than six inches above the ground. They face each other, sending a signal across the length of the doorway to determine whether anything is preventing the door from closing.

If any one of these sensors stops receiving power or is not emitting the signal properly, your door will respond by failing to close all the way. This safety can be annoying when there isn’t anything blocking the door. If the root cause behind your door not closing is a sensor failure, you can contact us to purchase a new pair of sensors and replace the faulty ones.

2. SAFETY SENSOR MISALIGNMENT

Most times, the photo eyes work properly; however, they send a perpetual signal to your garage door that something is obstructing its path due to misalignment. It occurs if the sensor gets struck or moved out of place. Most sensors are equipped with a light that informs you whether they’re in alignment or not for your convenience. When the light is solidly on, both sensors are aligned and functioning properly. When the light starts to blink, they’re out of alignment. We at Automated Door Systems can usually correct this problem by returning the sensors to their proper orientation.

3. BROKEN SPRINGS

Garage doors heavily rely on different springs to open and close with ease. If any of these springs are damaged or broken, it could lead to misalignment, and the door may not close properly. Fortunately, you can easily tell when one of these springs has been damaged. With a brief visual inspection, you’ll be able to diagnose the problem almost immediately. But we recommend leaving all spring repairs to a professional like us.

4. DOOR TRAVEL LIMITS

The problem may also lie within the travel distance setting on your door. Many garage door openers have a default setting to tell the garage door how far to close. The door can be improperly set after installation, or it may slowly drift away from the original set over time. If the setting is too high, the door will stop short of the actual ground. If the setting is too low, it will “think” it’s hit an object when it’s hit the floor. Either way, you will have to adjust the door travel limit setting. Different models of openers have different ways of achieving this. But it’s generally done with knobs on the machine itself.

5. SOMETHING BLOCKING THE DOOR

Though this problem should be obvious, you shouldn’t overlook it. If something is blocking the door from closing all the way, a full closure will be impossible. Try checking your garage floor and it’s surrounding areas for any objects or debris causing the door to close improperly. You should also check the tracks, and the garage door itself, for the culprit.

Contact Automated Door Systems for any Garage Door Related Problems

At Automated Door Systems, we’ve been installing and repairing garage doors for many years. We know the ins-and-outs of commercial and residential garage door repair, and we can help you diagnose your garage door issues if you’re still uncertain what the problem is. We handle everything from garage door replacement to automatic garage door repair.

We provide repairs and service to customers in Kingston, Montreal, and the surrounding areas. Get in touch with us today to answer your garage door questions or schedule a service and installation with our skilled garage door technicians.