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Days in the Field, Part 1

Bywittycow

Longtime followers of our blog and new visitors alike will probably be surprised to learn that I am not, in fact, a garage door technician! I am a member of the A Plus Garage Doors office team, so I work closely with the technicians on everything that I write and share – you don’t need to doubt its accuracy! But in my day-to-day job with the company, I only rarely visit job sites in-progress. But here at A Plus, we believe in going above and beyond the call of what is required. That’s what led us to have 40+ 5-star reviews on Google, and a reputation for reliable, timely service in Charlotte. We’re family owned and family operated, and Jimmy Perneszi – the owner – has been working on garage doors for over thirty years. Suffice to say, we only do quality work, and we bring our “A-Plus game” to every job. 

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This HOA Forced Their Residents to Leave Their Garage Doors Open – Find Out Why.

Bywittycow

If you’re like the majority of US homeowners, you use your garage for much more than parking your car. For some homes, the garage is a smorgasbord of tinkering space, storage closet, workshop, parking spot, and playroom. The garage is a useful middle-ground between an interior room and the world outside, perfect for messy work or bulky storage. You wouldn’t want to bring your bike inside every day, or to leave your table saw in the kitchen, but you also wouldn’t put either of those outside. Leaving your things inside and closing the garage door lets you protect them, from the elements and from thieves. But for an unfortunate development in Auburn, California, this wasn’t an option.

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Garage Greatness: The Humble Origins of MyPillow

Bywittycow

There’s an old adage – anything that separates you from the ground is worth spending money on. It goes for good quality shoes, it goes for good quality mattresses, and – on a related note – it goes for a comfortable pillow! Everyone knows the hotel room struggle of trying different pillows and combinations of pillows, trying to find the one with the perfect mixture of firmness and softness, but for most people this hunt isn’t inspiring. For a certain kind of entrepreneurial spirit, however, any hardship is inspiring. Mike Lindell has just that spirit. 

Lindell tried everything to create the life he wanted for his family through an increasingly bizarre list of business ventures. In 2004, he finally found the million-dollar-idea – or to be more accurate, the multi-million-dollar-idea! MyPillow, a company that he begun in his residential home’s garage, has now sold over 30 MILLION pillows! Before he was the king of pillows, however, Lindell’s life followed a rocky path through business failures and drug addiction. In spite of this adversity, his drive never faltered, and Lindell has made a successful company out of humble beginnings in the family garage. 

Loud Garage Door Blog
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How to Fix Your Loud Garage Door

Bywittycow

Is your garage door obnoxiously loud? Does your family wake you up when they come in late at night, or leave early in the morning? Do you worry about disturbing your neighbors with the horrible grating noise? Well you’re in luck, because these problems are fixable! Garage doors and garage door openers, like most machines, are always going to make a little bit of noise just because of the mechanical stresses of their operation. Most of this noise, however, can be reduced via proper care and a few easy upgrades. If you’ve been living with a monster of a door for years, you’d be amazed at how quiet things can really be. 

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Why you Don’t Want to Leave Your Garage Door Open

Bywittycow

Do you ever leave your garage door open? Most people do. If you’re coming and going while doing yard work, if you have kids playing in the yard, or if you’re trying to let some airflow into a humid and musty garage, it can be the most convenient choice. This habit can quickly become a problem, however, because leaving your garage door open is almost as bad as leaving the door to your home open. You see, it only takes an instant for an expert thief to duck inside your garage and abscond with some of your valuable possessions, or worse – if you ever forget to lock the door between your home and garage, the garage door being open can result in an intruder in your home. There are other risks associated with an open garage door besides intruders – letting animals and the elements into your garage can also be a problem. To avoid all these problems, there is one simple solution – just shut your garage door!

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9 Things you Shouldn’t Store in the Garage

Bywittycow

The garage is truly one of the most versatile rooms in the home. Behind your garage door is a huge space, with room for your vehicles, your hobbies, and your storage. Every homeowner uses their garage differently. For some, the garage exists just to park their cars. Others practice woodworking, auto repair, or some other hobby in the garage. Many families use their garage for storage, filling the huge room with different possessions. It is this last group that we’ll be addressing today, as we look at what items you shouldn’t store in your garage. 

You see, the garage door is an excellent way to keep people out of your garage, but depending on the construction of your home and your choice of residential garage door, it might not be as good at keeping the elements away from your valuable possessions. Since the garage is typically less insulated than the rest of your home (and usually not heated or cooled) the goods stored there are vulnerable to all the problems of storing things outside, albeit to a lesser degree. But if you want to protect your stuff, there are certain things that you should never store in the garage, no matter how much insulation your garage door may have!

Ugly Garage Doors

Ugly, Broken Garage Doors

Bywittycow

There is nothing worse than an ugly garage door. Coming home every day should be a joy – but coming home to a garage door that you despise will only make you unhappy. Your home should be a safe and happy place for you, your own oasis in the middle of your life. Having an ugly, old, broken garage door certainly won’t help you feel that comfort! 

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How to Prepare Your Garage Door for a Hurricane

Bywittycow

Hurricane Irma’s recent passage through North Carolina has left many of our customers thinking about their home’s hurricane preparedness in a whole new light. Even people hours inland from the coast can be at risk during hurricane season, and for our readers around the globe, many other areas present threats of tornados, monsoons, or other natural disasters. If you want to prepare yourself against these natural threats, the best place to start is the most vulnerable part of your home. Believe it or not, that might actually be the garage door!

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The NUMBER ONE Problem with Garage Doors

Bywittycow

What is a photo-eye sensor? You’ve probably seen the small boxes attached to your garage door’s side rails, low down on either side, but do you know what purpose they serve, or how to fix them if you have a problem? This is one of the most common problems that we get called in for, and luckily in many cases it’s a problem that we can fix over the phone. So if you want to know how to fix your sensor or to learn why your photo-eye sensor is important, keep reading!