Garage Door Tax Credit

In these trying economic times, we are all looking for new ways to save a buck or two here or there. As it turns out, the recent stimulus bill signed by President Barack Obama came with some tax rebates for those folks looking to green up their homes. If you purchase and install a qualifying garage door during 2009 or 2010, you can receive up to $1,500 in tax credits. There are some conditions you need to meet, so keep reading to discover how this valuable tax rebate can be yours with the push of your garage door button. While most people believe that the recent stimulus bill was written and signed to help create jobs to get the economy moving, there are actually several other aspects to the bill that can help put, or in this case keep, money in your pocket. The garage door tax credit can be claimed by anyone who purchases a garage door in 2009 or 2010. The rest of the qualifications are outlined below, but don’t worry, when you get ready to invest in your garage door, the dealer should be able to tell you if your door qualifies. Many garage door makers are handing out certificates that guarantee your purchase will meet government standards. According to the guidelines outlined in the stimulus package, the garage door you purchase and install must be insulated and it must be installed in an insulated garage. The door you choose must have a U-factor equal to or less than 0.30 (a U-factor is a measurement given to doors and windows that grade how efficient they are). The garage door must also have a Solar Heat Gain Coefficient equal to or less than 0.30. The garage door must have a way to control air infiltration and you should plan on using the door for five years or more. Finally, the government asks that the garage door be installed at the taxpayer’s main residence, although the door doesn’t have to be installed on an attached garage. Again, if all this sounds complicated, don’t worry,both the manufacturer and the salesperson from the store where you purchase your garage door should have all the pertinent information for you. While the total tax credit that you can receive from your door is $1,500, you may not qualify for the full amount. To calculate your tax credit, simply take 30 percent of the total material cost of your new door. Unfortunately, the cost of installation cannot be claimed. For instance, if you paid $2,000 for your new door, your tax credit would be $600. A tax credit is significantly better than a tax deduction, however, because it makes a greater impact on the total amount of tax you need to pay during that year. You will also be doing your garage, and possibly your entire home, a favor by choosing a product that is friendly to the environment. If you have been putting off buying a new insulated garage door, now is the time to take advantage of this fantastic tax credit. Who knew going green would pay off so handsomely?

Add A Custom Garage Door To Your Remodel

With market conditions in their current state, and people losing their homes, it is very hard to have a clear vision of what we have to look forward too. In real estate, however, there is a saying that tell that what goes down must come back up, and for this particular industry those who are ready for the turn will capitalize huge on it.

As far as wants go, when remodeling entry doors and or kitchen counter tops, people don’t seem to have a problem searching for the best, for this, as they know, will only add to their home value. For a moment just imagine your $300-$7,000 thousand dollar investment with a custom garage door covering more than 30% of the front of the house.
What about if you want to go the extra mile and decide to invest $1000 or even $3000 more for a custom handcrafted door? What comes to my mind is the extra added value that this small investment will bring to your beautiful home in your expensive and highly desired neighborhood.

If your house is in an area such as Contra Costa County, that would be approximately 1 to 3% of the total value of an Contra Costa County home. From an investor’s point of view it seems silly not to consider the first item people see when they drive up and view your home for purchase. Just research what the experts are saying about the relationship between home values and their curb appeal.

Heritage Series - Carriage House Garage Door

Some experts say the garage door may not be the first item you think of dressing up when you’re putting your house up for sale, but that is definitely worth giving it some attention. If you really think about it the garage door is the single largest moving object on a home and if it faces the street, you know it plays a huge part in the over all appearance. It is very important to realize that curb appeal is a critical factor in selling a home. If a prospective buyer doesn’t like the view from the street, chances are he won’t waste time coming inside, and that is something you as a seller dont particularly want.

In a new study field, realtors nationwide were asked to determine if garage door appearance made a difference in the listing price they would assign to a house, nearly all of the agents interviewed agreed that a new garage door enhances curb appeal and 75 percent believes it adds value to a home. In fact, most have recommended that a homeowner replace their garage door when listing their house for sale specially if the present condition of the door was broken, in bad condition or rotted. Nearly half said appearance was a big reason because the age or style of the door detracted from the home’s curb appeal.

When it comes to adding value to a home’s list price, the right garage door does make a difference. A manufacture company showed realtors before and after images of several different homes featuring a variety of garage door styles ranging in price from inexpensive to high-end. Respondents were asked to assign a selling price to each of the houses and were alerted that the only difference in the photos of each house was the garage door. The results were astonishing, depending on the style of the door, and how it fit in with the architectural style of the house, realtors increased the list price anywhere from one to four percent. On a $350,000 home, that’s an increase of somewhere between $3,500 and $14,000 just because of the garage door.

The increase was figured out by using the spread between the average estimated selling price of each house with a basic garage door and the average estimated selling price of that same house with various styles of replacement doors. Now, that doesn’t mean that a home has to have a designer garage door. All that you have to ensure is that the door just enhance the overall appearance. After doing some personal reserch homeowners should choose a model that fits the look and price point of their home to get the best return on investment.

The average price for a new garage door ranges from $900 to $5,000 and more depending on the size of the door and the material it’s made from. The most popular look in garage doors right now is the carriage-house style door. The doors look like old-fashioned swing-out doors but function like modern roll-up doors with an electric garage door opener. The choices for design, color and materials are virtually endless. Do the math and you will see how much your small investment will profit you in the long run.

A Great Home Idea

Are you looking for a great home idea? Perhaps you have gone through great lengths renovating the living room, the kitchen, and even the shower room, but how about your garage? Although you do not frequent that place, it houses your prized vehicle. So give it a major boost with a good garage door opener. It is true that this device may be mostly invisible because it is usually installed on the ceiling, but it can do things that will make your house look dashing. With a mechanism that automatically operates your door to pull up and pull down, it can give your house a certain appeal. But this is not just about look and design. A good quality garage door opener also provides convenience and ease of use. Most openers nowadays are electronically powered and can be operated without having to exert a muscle. Some of these can be operated via a control panel usually mounted on the wall. It is usually placed six feet from the ground to avoid small children from reaching it. Most people however prefer a garage door opener installed with remote control sensors. This allows it to be operated even from inside the car. But how exactly does a door opener work? Well, there are different designs available in the market. And although their functions are relatively the same, they have a different mechanism and they work differently. First, there are the electric powered and the non-electric powered ones. But in either case, torsion springs or extension springs are commonly used. For the torsion spring types, the lifting force comes from the torque produced by rotating the spring. And as for the extension spring types, the strings are extended to pull the doors up and down. Other designs use trolleys and steel tracks. In this case, an electric motor pulls the trolleys along the steel tracks which cause the doors to open and close. As for the doors itself, there are also several design types out there. The classic and most common design is the window-type which opens by moving upward in an angle. The other type which is gaining a lot of popularity lately is the sectional garage door. This has a mechanism similar to a roll up door which allows it to be pulled up vertically. This makes it a safer choice over the window-type especially on windy places. But if you really want to make a statement, then you should focus on the materials used. Wooden garage doors may be more expensive but they certainly look better and they have that attractive classical feel. They also make a better statement when used with a good varnish. Also, wooden garage doors are not only beautiful, but they also have several advantages over the other materials used for making doors. Like for example, it will not rust like metal. Metals also absorb a lot of heat from sunlight making the inside of your garage unbearably hot. Wood on the other hand promotes a cooler environment because it does not absorb or release as much heat. However you look at it, getting a wooden garage door is a great home idea that is not only functional, but also very trendy. Never mind the additional cost. The better durability of wood makes it a wise investment choice in the long run.

The Garage Door – The Largest Moving Object In Your Home

The garage door is an integral part of the design, architecture and security of your home, and plays a huge part of the overall appearance of your house. It is the largest door in the house yet many people tend to use it as the main exit and entrance to their homes; and no matter what you use your garage for, your garage door is one of the most important visual features of your home, representing up to a third or even more of the front.

The garage door is the single largest moving part in your home, and should be inspected and maintained every year, and because of the large number of small parts, its installation is highly technical, because they tend to be a very large, moving part, it’s prone to fall out of adjustment with daily use, and let us not forget that it is usually the heaviest moving item in a house, sometimes weighing up to 400 pounds.

But sometimes, your garage door is not working the way it should, to maintain your garage door in good shape, make sure it is well-lubricated and operating properly; a crucial consideration because it is probably opened and closed at least several times a day, every day of the year, remember to check the springs for breaks or rust, because most of the weight of a garage door is supported by the door springs.

A door is balanced when it stays in any point of travel while being supported solely by its springs, to balance and adjust a garage door, you will need professional help because it could be dangerous for the non-expert, if the door is not properly balanced, you might need as well a professionally trained service person to replace the springs as they are under very high tension.

Universal Transmitter

Liftmaster has introduced a new two button remote control transmitter. The Liftmaster #375LM is a Universal Transmitter. Each of the two buttons can be set to different models of Liftmaster , Stanley , Multi-Code, Linear and a variety of other brands as well. This is really great if you want to have one transmitter to open two different devices. You can code one of the two buttons to an older Liftmaster 390 MHz dip-switch or rolling code and the other button can be set to the newer 315 MHz rolling code system instituted in the summer of 2004. The instructions are very clear and simple.

Heritage Series Garage Doors

Heritage Series

Contra Costa Door has a new line of doors. The Heritage Series combines the durability of insulated steel garage doors with the look of wooden faced Carriage type or Coach House type overhead sectional garage doors.

Decorative Elements Make The Door

Decorative iron or aluminum hardware is traditionally added to garage doors to create a style. There are two types of elements that can make a striking difference but are presently underused. Faux Lite Panels and Clavos. When designing a garage door to enhance the look of the home or structure many times these certain elements can be added at very little expense. Certain recessed or  flat panel high definition doors like the Style Setter Pro can have grids added to the solid top panel. These grids mimic the look of a window without the added cost of glazing. Clavos can also be added. Clavos , Spanish for “nail”, are large headed iron or aluminum  square or circular embellishments. Lines or arcs of clavos can create divisions where none naturally exist or can enhance or focus the eye to one area or another.

 

Faux Lites and Clavos

Garage Door Repair

Oh No ! , You just found out your garage door is in need of repair. Broken spring ? , Cables came off ? What to do ?

Call a professional, period.

I have always said that the installation and repair of a garage door is 50% science and 50% art. Anyone can do simple repairs by following the directions but you generally count on the door to work flawlessly for years and years and that’s where the “art” of the garage door repairman comes into play. A well trained craftsman will be able to ” fine tune “ the installation or repair.

The most common way of finding a garage door repairman is to look in the Yellow Pages but be wary of the companies that have big ads that don’t list a local physical address as you are probably dealing with a referral company that actually is not in the repair business and is just contacting a local handyman.

I have heard of some of these companies charge 3 and 4 times the going rate for the same repair eleswhere and also remember …. never ever sign a blank work order.

 

Don't Service This Yourself

The Garage Door Makes the House

The importance of a garage door can be overlooked. The garage door is sometimes the only unobstructed view of the entire home. Selecting the “right” door for the home is very important.

1.) Choose an architectural element on the home to carry over onto the garage door.

2.) Add windows or some other design that will put a “head” on the door.

3.) Paint the door to match the homes’ body or trim color.

Below are two examples:

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The door shown above show the element of the crossbar or gridded windows on the home was added to the door to tie the two together.

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This garage door design features a “head” or “top” design to the garage door, A Style Setter Pro, without adding lites or windows. The home already has a lot of glass and adding more would overwhelm the overall design.

Creating a special design can be fun, easy and economical too. Contra Costa Door in Concord, California has a product called the Style Setter Pro that is adaptable to many homeowners design ideas.

All Aluminum Coach House Doors

Northwest Door makes an excellent aluminum Coach House Door. The Infinity series Coach House Door features a very smooth finish. Unlike most steel garage doors that feature a rotary embossed fake wood graining the Infinity features a finish that is as smooth as glass.