A Des Moines Garage Door Blog

A garage can mean different things to different people. Not everyone uses it only as a storage unit or place to keep the car safe from the elements. Maybe you’re looking for new ways to expand your living area without having to pick up and move to a larger home. If you need more space inside the house, consider moving one of the following areas out to the garage!

Is your garage a hot mess right now? Are you embarrassed to open your garage door, fearing you'll expose a deep, dark secret? Maybe you’re afraid to open the door that leads from your home to your garage because you know you may not get back inside unscathed. If so, it's about time you get organized!

While we don’t give you step-by-step instructions on how to CLEAN your garage in this post, we do in another. Check out Spring Cleaning Your Garage—It’s Time! In today's article, we offer ideas to help you organize your garage like a pro so you can proudly show off your tidy garage to all your neighbors.

The photo eyes (safety sensors) are located about six inches off the ground to the right and left of your garage door. One sensor sends a beam of light to the other. If this beam is broken due to some sort of obstruction, the garage door won’t close. If you notice that your garage door isn’t closing when you want it to and there are no obstacles in the garage door’s path, the photo eyes may be out of alignment. This is a common problem; sensors can be easily bumped by a garbage can, child, or pet.

When you step out into your garage in the summer, do you feel like you’re almost suffocating due to the stifling heat trapped inside? Make it easier on your home's AC and your lungs by letting out the heat! Especially if you use the space for anything other than storing vehicles, such as a home gym or workshop, you want your garage to be bearable. Here are several ways to get the air flowing inside your garage so you can breathe more easily and your home won’t have to fight so hard to stay cool on hot summer days.

Owning a garage door has its ups and downs…and sometimes the ups aren’t positive ones. If you attempt to close your garage door and it either doesn't move or it pops back up before shutting all the way, something is obviously wrong. There could be a few reasons for these problems. The answer may be easier to find than you think. On the other hand, the problem could be serious and expensive to fix, but let’s stay positive and explore the simple solutions first.

If you live in Des Moines, Iowa, or elsewhere in the Midwest, you’ve most likely experienced a power outage due to a violent storm at some point. When your electricity goes out, you lose more than the light in your home; the electricity powering your garage door will also be lost. What if your garage door won’t open when you need to rush off to work in the morning? We often don’t think of these types of problems until they actually occur, and then we’re left stressed and annoyed at the sudden inconvenience.

With the changing weather and heavy rains we’ve been experiencing this spring, it’s important to make sure we take care of our garage door systems and make small repairs as needed to keep them running smoothly. Here are several common problems homeowners face this time of the year. Many of these tasks can be completed on your own without the help of a pro!

It’s time to replace your garage door. You’ve put it off for as long as you could, and you’re finally giving in. Before you know it, you won’t have to listen to the squeaking and clunking or look at the dents and scratches covering the surface from years of driveway basketball and that time your teenager pushed the gas instead of the break.

You may be thinking, how on earth would I ever be able to wrangle the family together to help clean out the garage!? The idea that they might actually enjoy it may seem even more farfetched. If you’re a skeptic, keep reading. We’ve gathered some pretty great ideas for you and the kids that might, dare we say it, get everyone excited about cleaning out the garage!

Whether you spend a lot of your time working out in the garage and you want a nice, professional-looking work zone or you simply want your garage to look and feel clean, adding epoxy to your floor could be your answer. Epoxy is tough and durable and resists oil and moisture, making it much easier to keep your garage clean and stain free!