Roller Doors Also Need Cleaning and Care

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Roller Doors spend their lifetime with half of them outside in the weather, be it sunny, raining or howling storm or snow. The other side—the inside, is left to contend with the flotsam and jetsam that blows in when they are opened. Then, depending on your situation, be it domestic, commercial or industrial, these mechanisms may need to contend with smoke, steam, settling dust and grease particles, among others.

This does not mean that they don’t have their fair share of issues to contend with anyway. The simple operation of them contributes to wear and tear.

Factors That Could Impede Optimal Operation

Usually, the working mechanisms of such doors are placed inside to protect them from the elements. Even after being placed inside out of harm’s way, these operating mechanisms can still be obstructed or hampered in many ways.

Simple use alone will create a demand for regular cleaning, lubricating and general maintenance. For example – How often do you open and close your roller door?

Domestic Roller Doors

If you have a domestic roller door and work a normal week you could expect that you would open and close your roller door twice a day. This means on average that you door is being operated 730 times per year. That’s 730 openings and 730 closings.

This is just to get to and from work. Once you throw in the fact that there might be two of you opening that door twice a day you can see how quickly this number increases.

Commercial & Industrial Roller Doors

Depending on what your industry is, your roller door may also be opened and closed twice a day. If there is ever any downtime for meal breaks or rules about when your door is in use during the day, this number could double or even triple.

Different Maintenance Agreements For Different Doors

You can see why it is imperative that your roller door should be included in a cleaning and maintenance schedule. Just as you may routinely check a pool filter, clean out your gutters or dust your blinds you must also have your roller doors checked.

Direct Door Services maintain and service all doors in the Brisbane and Gold Coast Areas. We offer a range of service agreements to ensure you get the best out of your door and will continue to do so for many years to come.

Our experienced team can attend to motorizations, forming openings, re-springs, impact damage and more.

The Perfect Garage Door

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Choosing a garage door can be more confusing than choosing a door for your home. Not only are there a variety of materials and finishes to choose from, you also need to decide on the mechanism used to open and close the door.

Choosing the right garage door is, however, extremely important in terms of security, curb appeal and also convenience. Direct Door Services can help you to nail down the perfect garage doors. Here are a few things to consider:

Cost Effectiveness

Budget constraints do have to come into this equation but you really should choose the best door that you can afford. You need a door that is sturdy and that will last for a long time – steel and wood are good options.

The saying, “Buying cheap is going to cost you”, is especially apt here – factor in the useful lifespan of the door you are considering before simply going for the cheapest option. (It’s not really saving money if you have to replace it again in a few years.)

Good Quality

That leads to the next point – look for quality. A good quality garage door will stand up to the elements better and look good for longer. Also consider maintenance when deciding on what material to buy – steel and Colorbond are low maintenance options. Wood will require varnishing every few years.

To Tilt or not to Tilt

This is probably one of the most important decisions as it will often affect the material chosen for the door. Choosing one or the other is generally more a matter of space available than personal taste.

A tilt door is tilted up and out of the way and tends to take up more space. On the plus side, it is easy and quicker to operate. A roller door rolls right out of the way and takes a little longer.

The Actual Materials

The materials will dictate the end look. Having an ultra-modern shiny steel garage door may not fit in too well with traditional Queensland architecture. On the other hand, a wooden door may not go very well with an ultra-modern design. You need to take the architecture of your home into account when it comes to choosing a garage door.

You need to consider the longevity and maintenance aspects of your chosen materials as well. Wood, for example, is subject to more damage by the elements than steel or Colorbond.

With 18 years of experience in the industry, Direct Door Services is on hand to make this confusing choice a whole lot simpler. Let them come out to see for themselves and see what they will suggest. For more information go to www.directdoors.com.au

Choosing the Right Paint for Your Garage

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It might not seem like a big deal, but the paint you choose for your garage is important. This is the first thing that people see from the outside. The garage door has to blend well with the rest of the house and not be a visual liability. Often, garage doors are left out of the more important items to fix in the house. But, actually, they occupy a large space in the house and should be given the same attention.

Paint for Protection

Paint is not only for aesthetics, but also for function. It acts as protective covering for your garage doors. Paint material is essential in fighting off rust and any undue damage due to rust.

Garage doors may be made from different types of material. More information on garage doors here. For garage doors made mostly from wood, paint can act as an effective cover to protect them from climate and weather damage. Occasionally, you will need to do a re-painting of the garage doors to ensure that they are well protected from the elements. In early signs of rust showing or paint chipping off, act on it as soon as possible and do a thorough re-painting job.

What Paint Colour to Pick

People need to be careful in choosing the right colour for their garage doors as this could make or break the look of the entire house. More than often, the garage becomes part of the entire façade of the house, so the colour must blend or match the colour of the building.

It is a good idea to be guided by a colour palette to help you decide on which colour to select. There are available guides on colours to help you match different colours so that they will complement each other and be visually appealing even when they are not monochromatic.

The safest choice would be using the theme colour of the house, picking what is the most used tint on the house exterior. Be mindful about the style of the house as well. So if you have an old, traditional house style, choose a colour that will help accentuate the character of the house.

The garage door can also be used to provide a strong colour contrast to the house. If you have a modern type of dwelling, you can choose a colour that is more contemporary, yet still complementary to the colour range of the building exterior.

Garage doors can showcase your creativity and bring out the best of the home exterior. That is why choosing the right paint and colour for them is as important as deciding for the rest of the house.

Why Hire a Professional to Install Your Garage Door

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Many people love doing DIY work. It makes them feel good, with a sense of accomplishment and triumph for learning to do things they have not done before. But there are certainly tasks and jobs that are not meant to be done by a DIYer. Doing so might lead to fatal accidents or injuries. Jobs such as installing or repairing garage doors are among those that require professional skills.

Automatic garage doors such as roller shutters have complex contraptions that require specialised technical knowledge. Before the actual installation, the door will have to be measured precisely by the garage door specialist. Attempting to do the installation by yourself could be dangerous. You could get into an accident while trying to install the door. There are many motor parts that need to be placed correctly for the automatic door to function correctly. The specialist will have to work with springs coils and chains during installation. Accidents could happen if the springs are mishandled.

Doing things by yourself might also be more expensive in the long run because if you fail to install the roller garage door properly, you will then end up asking for professional assistance to repair any damage or correct any mistakes in the installation. Professional door installers spent years to learn and master their craft. A DIYer who simply researched and dug books and online resources regarding garage door installations will not be able to master such skill in a few days. These skilled professionals also have years of experience so they know how to deal with issues and technical problems if ever they occur.

Dealing with technical problems is one thing that DIYers would not be prepared to handle. If a DIYer did manage to put the garage door together, it is still not a guarantee that it will function correctly. A malfunction could be disastrous. The door could fall apart and be damaged. Worse situations can happen like the doors crashing on your car or on a person. Guesswork has no place in installations such as this one. You will definitely need the technical expertise and experience of a professional.

Another advantage of hiring a professional is the assurance of the work done. There are chances that even a professional could make mistakes. If so, the work will be repaired and re-done as part of their accountability in the contracted work. Therefore, you will not need worry about extra expenses, just as you would worry if you are installing the doors by yourself.

Garage Door Repairs

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Garage doors need to operate properly at all times. Otherwise, potential problems such as unwanted accidents could happen. If the garage door gets stuck and cannot be opened, it would definitely cause a lot of problems as you would have difficulty getting the car out. The troubles get even worse if the malfunction happens when you are in a hurry or while stuck in a big storm. You should be able to look for signs of problems with the garage door early on, before the operational issues get worse. One good sign that there is something wrong with the garage door is when you start hearing unusual noise or creaks when opening or closing the door. It would be good to seek the help of a garage door repair company at the first sign of a problem.

Garage door maintenance service should not be difficult to find as there are contractors specialising in this type of work. They should not cost you a lot of money as well. Because the mechanisms in garage doors are most of the time complex, it is better to entrust any type of mechanical repair to a professional. Handling the repairs by you could be dangerous. You could get injured or much more damage to the door could happen if you make a mistake. The repairs could get even more complicated if you are dealing with a remote controlled garage door where motorisation is involved.

One benefit of hiring a professional to handle garage or roller door repairs is the warranty that they offer. This is good because if the garage door malfunctions again after the repair was done, you only have to report it to the service and they will render the corrections to the repairs for free. Service work with warranty also signals that the company is offering quality repair work. The trick is in finding the right company to repair the problematic garage door. Contracting a reliable repair service, equipped with the needed skills and knowledge, improves the chances of the door getting fixed quickly.

You may also do some maintenance work with the door. You can spray penetrating solvents into the hinges, rollers or latches of the garage or roller door. Adding lubricants to the rollers will help maintain the good working condition of the garage door. However, if there are persistent problems even after the preventive maintenance, then it is recommended to find and contact a repair service of good reputation.