Blog

  • Ring a Bell: Alexander Graham Bell Invents the Telephone

    Alexander Graham Bell lived from 1847 until 1922, and in those years he had a remarkable life of innovation and advocacy. He is best known for being the first person to patent a practical telephone, one of the greatest innovations to human communication of all time, but in his life Bell also addressed many other areas of interest to him, mostly regarding deafness and elocution. Bell’s legacy shaped human history and his inventions were critical to the continuing progress of technology, but what is commonly forgotten about his work is that he got his start in the garage – or, to be more accurate, the carriage house!

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    Shut The (Garage) Door on Burglars!

    We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again – the most important step a homeowner can take to protecting the contents of their garage is to close the garage door! Although that might sound obvious, everyone can remember a time that they left their garage door open. Maybe, some of you reading this routinely leave your door open. Or maybe, you were doing some yard work in the backyard and left the door open on the front of your home so you could put your tools away. The simple convenience of not having to worry about the door is appealing, but ask yourself if it is worth risking a break in – or worse – and you might reconsider.

  • Garage Door Magic

    How many times a day do you use your garage door? Let’s all admit it: by this point, the magic has worn off. When you take a step back and think about how much easier your door makes your life, you can probably appreciate how revolutionary this innovation was, but any homeowner with a garage door likely takes it for granted. The technology involved might not be as cutting-edge as the iPhone 6S, but it can still amaze people who haven’t seen it before – like this adorable baby.

  • Doggie Day Care

    The summer may be coming to a close, but that doesn’t mean that the heat is going anywhere! All of us here at A Plus Garage Doors are huge animal fans, but we often can’t bring our pets with us when we leave the home. Most stores won’t allow pets of course, and with the temperature outside, leaving them in the car isn’t an option. Although there may be no easy solution to this problem in the Charlotte area, Dr. Mary Traverse from Austin, Texas, has found a way to let pet owners take their dogs with them on errands, without placing them at risk.

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    Garage Mahal: A Shrine to The Carolina Panthers

    There’s just nothing like the feeling of being in a good sports bar. The camaraderie, cheering, and decor combine to make an experience greater than just watching a game. For many, the gameday tradition of visiting their favorite bar, or even just inviting friends over to crowd around the television, is as integral a part of the sport as the actual game. With the preseason ending and Football season quickly approaching, everyone is looking for the best place to watch the games. For Cindy and Bill Buchanan, they never have to look very far. Their garage is possibly the largest collection of Carolina Panthers memorabilia in the world, and they get seventy-five of their friends together to watch the Panther’s away games in it every year.

  • 3 More Garage Band Success Stories!

    There isn’t always an easy solution to a loud home. With children, television, and the rumbles or beeps that come with any appliance, finding peace and quiet in your home can be difficult. Many of these noises are unavoidable, but sometimes the secret is fairly simple. Loud hobbies or guitar practice are typically sent to the one room in the house where noises can be separated from the rest of your living space – the garage. This tradition, practiced by hobbyist woodworkers and middle-school bandmates alike has given rise to many of the greatest bands of all time. Last Monday, we looked at four chart toppers that begun playing together in the garage – The Who, Nirvana, Ramones, and The Kinks. Today, we’re going to continue the trend by talking about the origins of The Runaways, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and The Yardbirds. These three classic artists begun playing together in the garage, and from there successfully moved into performing packed amphitheaters around the world.

  • DIY: Adding Weatherstripping to Your Garage Door

    If you read our previous blog post about R-Value, you probably know that insulating your garage is an important step in keeping your utility bills down and making your garage a pleasant room to be in during the heat of summer or the cold of winter. But if you’re not interested in upgrading to a better insulated garage door, your next best bet might be adding weatherstripping (also called astragal) around your door. We’ll walk you through this simple DIY procedure for sealing the top, sides, and bottom of your door, all of which can be done on a tiny budget.

  • How to: Manually Operate Your Garage Door

    With the recent storms in and around Charlotte, as well as the tropical storm headed for Florida, it is reasonable for our readers to be concerned about their house’s power. If your home loses power, your garage door opener will also run out of juice, and you might be unable to get your cars out of your garage! If your door is properly maintained, you should be able to open it manually, and we’ll explain how to do so in this article.

  • Garage Band Startups

    Garage bands are notorious. Anytime that a child wants to explore music or an adult wants to try a new hobby, they inevitably need a space to make noise. So many middle-school bands have been sentenced to the garage by moms tired of listening to their racket that music made in the garage – garage rock – has long been an accepted genre of music. There is something inimitable about the freedom that musicians can find in the garage, sequestered just far enough away from the house that everyone else can still get some sleep during late-night practices. This bootstrapping process is respected, even coveted, among musicians tired of the heavily produced and styled modern ultra-stars that dominate pop music. Names like “The Who” and “Nirvana” are cited as inspirations and critical thought leaders among the next generation of garage bands.

  • Has Lightning Damaged your Garage Door Opener?

    Have the recent summer storms around Charlotte been raining on your parade? Not only have we been experiencing severe storms and torrential rainfall, but of course these storms are accompanied by thunder and lightning. Lightning in particular can be dangerous, to people and possessions. Many families know to unplug their valuable electronics from the wall outlets or to use surge protectors, in order to protect these appliances and computers, but your garage door opener is also at risk. If you’ve been experiencing strange problems from your opener, a lightning strike may be the cause. We’re experts in garage door repair and we’ve collected a list of ways to identify if your garage door opener may have been damaged by a power surge, so read on to see if this applies to you!

  • Your Home’s Secret Energy Cost!

    Can you imagine life without a garage door opener? Your parents or grandparents lived without them for years, of course, but the modern convenience of pulling up your driveway and seeing the door already opening is a welcome sight. The concept of having to park your car in front of the door, get out into the heat or rain, and manually lift the door isn’t just annoying, it is also a huge safety risk. Your garage door opener is responsible for holding the door closed until your specially coded remote opens it. What you probably don’t know about your opener is that it might be costing you hundreds of dollars a year.