Overhead Door of Permian Basin Blog!

How will you celebrate this 4th of July holiday? A backyard barbecue? Spending the day on the lake? However you choose to celebrate, we want to make sure you stay as safe as possible. Check out our 4th of July garage safety tips!

4th Of July Safety Tips:

1. BBQs Out-We're all for you having a backyard barbecue, but keep the grill in the backyard. Since we're sure you have flammable liquids in your garage (paint thinners, gasoline, etc.), it is best to keep your grill in a well-ventilated space.

2. Firework Storage-While it is not ideal to store fireworks in your garage, you can get by with it (temporarily) using these hints: Keep the fireworks in their original packaging. Keep the fireworks away from any heat source (heaters, furnace, etc.) Keep the fireworks away from flammable liquids. Keep the fireworks away from children. It is best to store the fireworks in a part of your garage that is empty (or close to empty) and isolated.

3. Keep It Cool-For some people, their garage is the "hot spot," the place where people gather to watch a game, play ping pong, or enjoy a drink. Make sure your garage is not literally the hot spot this 4th of July by remembering these tips: Crack your garage door about a foot to let hot air escape. Set up revolving free standing fans for ventilation and extra air flow. If you have time, you can always paint your garage door a light color (white or beige) to keep it from absorbing the sun's rays. You'll be surprised how much this small change can cool your garage!

4. Have An Extinguisher-You should always keep a fire extinguisher in your garage in case of emergency. You can easily attach it to the wall so it doesn't take up garage space or get buried under other garage "necessities." Make yourself familiar with how to use it by reading the instruction manual and handling it yourself. This way, in the case that you need to use it, you won't be fumbling around in an emergency situation.

We hope our 4th of July garage safety tips will help you stay safe and have fun this 4th of July! Remember Overhead Door for all your garage door needs. We're a trusted company providing expert service and quality products. Give us a call or contact us HERE!

Happy 4th of July from Overhead Door!

For many people, the idea of replacing a garage door is daunting. It’s a big purchase that can make a big impact on the look and character of the home. How do you choose your next garage door?

But if you’re thinking about selling your home or just trying to add some curb appeal, replacing your old door is a great way to go. It will help your house stand out in the neighborhood and, research has shown, deliver a significant return on investment when it comes time to sell (up to 75 percent on average, according to REMODELING Magazine).

But how should you go about it? What should you look for? What is available? There are more choices than you think, especially when factoring in materials (steel, vinyl, wood), styles (modern, traditional, carriage house), energy efficiency (insulated or non-insulated), options (windows, decorative hardware) and colors. To make sense of it all and find the garage door system that best fits your home’s architecture, follow these five steps:

1. Understand Your Options

While you’ll eventually want to visit an Overhead Door distributor showroom, taking the time to research your options online is the best place to start. OverheadDoor.com and even social interest sites like Pinterest are good places to get ideas.

2. Determine Your Door Materials

One of the most important factors to consider is door material. All doors are not created equal, and each material used in construction has its own pros and cons. For example, while a steel garage door will last a long time, it can also be dented, something to keep in mind if your kids play ball in the driveway. Wood doors are beautiful, incredibly strong and can be custom designed to perfectly complement your home’s architectural style, but they require routine maintenance and can be more expensive than other garage doors on the market. And, if you live in an area subject to strong winds, you’ll want to consider doors with high windload ratings.

3. To insulate or not to insulate?

If your garage is adjacent to any kind of living space, such as a bedroom or living room, it’s a good idea to choose an insulated garage door; it may help to keep those rooms more comfortable, especially if you live in a climate with extreme winter or summer temperatures. Not only that, insulated doors tend to have quieter operation, a significant plus if a bedroom is located next to or above the garage. Do you have a detached garage? If so, a non-insulated door will probably do just fine as long as you’re not in a region with extreme winter temperatures or there is nothing stored in your garage that could be damaged by freezing such as paint and caulk.

4. Try on some doors!

The fun starts after you’ve determined the basics of what you want in a new garage door. When visiting the Overhead Door website, you’ll find styles ranging from utilitarian to ornate, carriage-house to modern. Spend time on our DoorView Design Center. This center allows you to upload a photo go our house then you can place many kinds of doors onto your home until you find the one you like. 

5. Time to BUY!

Contact Overhead Door and let us help you choose that door that truly matches your home. One you've gone through the steps above and are ready to talk, contact us for an estimate! 

If you, like many others, have piles of clothes, toys, shoes, purses, etc., then you may be thinking about a garage sale. Some of you might already have a headache just thinking about getting all your stuff together and organized, but do not worry! We have all the garage sale tips that you need.

Advertise

The first, and one of the most important steps, to take when starting your garage sale is advertising! Make sure to keep it simple, but enough to catch everyone’s eye. If you have a child that is old enough, let him/her create a few posters to hang up. It’s a fun thing that you can all do together. Make sure that you do write your message in bold dark writing. Now-a-days, people are on social media looking for what they want, so feel free to take a few pictures of your items that you are selling and post them to your social media. You will want to make sure that your pile of clothes is organized and your toys are not just thrown into a box before you snap that picture.

Large Items Up Front

All you have is about 3-4 seconds to catch a driver’s eye. You want them to see your items and think, “Hmm, I should definitely stop by and see what else they have to offer.” Putting your larger items up front can get you the perfect customers.

“Get Your FREE Items Here”

While you are going through all of your things, don’t ever think that someone will not want that old rock-n-roll t-shirt from the 70’s. If you can’t think of a price and don’t care much for the item, put it in the FREE pile! “One man’s junk is another man’s treasure.”

Price It Right

When you are all organized and ready to start pricing your items, make sure you are pricing to sell. Your customers are looking for low prices, and more than likely do not carry a lot of cash on them. So, keep it low, but make sure you get your money’s worth.

Tag It All

So now that you are pricing all your items, you want to make sure that you put a tag on ALL of your items. Your customers are just browsing, not looking for anything in particular, so if they pass something without a tag on it, they (more than likely) will not ask the price. That’s not always the case, but you would rather be safe than sorry and have that purse sold at the end of the day!

Organize

During your garage sale, things could get messy. So, beforehand, organize and keep your space tidy. People do not want to go through a maze to get to that $1.00 item. They will simply pass by it and not think twice. Plus, when they are ready to check out, you want them to be able to get to you with ease. If you have small sets of things, put them in a baggy or some type on container so the pieces will not go missing. With that being said, make sure you label everything! If the small pieces go to a larger piece, label that.

Keep It All Together

You want to keep all your like items together. Kitchen items, living room items, clothes (with sizes organized), etc. This helps you keep your area clean, and if someone is in fact looking for that specific item, you can direct them towards the section with no problem.

Too Big For Garage Sale

For your last garage sale tip, we recommend keeping it small. What do we mean when we say that? Well, you’re not going to sell a piece of furniture for $600 at a garage sale. You can put it on Craigslist. Like we mentioned before, most of your customers will not have that kind of cash on them, so keep your prices low, and make sure you have a little bank beforehand to be able to provide change.

So now that you know all about the basic garage sell tips, get on out there and get that garage sale going! Happy selling!

So, last week we talked about the basics to turn your garage into a man cave. Now, let’s talk about the finishing touches to make your man cave the best one on the block!

Protection

Now that you have your insulation, floors, and lighting done, next you will need to think about your protection. Most man caves have the big TV’s, valuable memorabilia, and many other “manly” things that you want protected. A good security system is something that you might want to look into. If you have a back door in the garage, getting a deadbolt is something that is strongly recommended. Everyone will know about this man cave as soon as you open that garage door, and everything that’s in it, so protecting those valuables is just a simple thing that could save you a lot of money.

Furniture

When you think of a man cave, you think of things that a man wants. What is the one thing that every man wants in his home? A recliner! So, of course, his man cave needs to have the best seat in the house, and that seat needs to be a recliner. You know that he will want the guys over, so extra seating and bar-stools are a must. Just for some fun, other than watching the big game on the TV, you could add a poker table and even a dart board. Next comes the entertainment…

Bar and Fridge Area

Let’s say you’re watching the game and your team is in the red zone about to score a touchdown, but your drink runs out. WHAT DO YOU DO? Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to just walk up to the bar or fridge and still keep your eye on that game? Well, you are not alone my friend! Placing a bar area and a fridge in the man cave will be one of the best choices you have ever made, plus your guests will be happy about it! No one wants to keep walking in and out to go grab a drink in the fridge that’s inside. Don’t be that guy. 

You have spent months, maybe even years, thinking about your dream man cave. You have all the information you need to start, so don’t wait another minute! Don’t forget to send that invitation to that awesome party when you get it done! 

If you want to do more than just park your vehicle or store junk in your garage, then we have the solution for you! With Father’s Day just around the corner, moms and kids are thinking about what to get that special man in their lives. What better gift than a MAN CAVE? So many men out there dream about their man cave and having “the boys” over for some football parties, or even just to hang out and have a few drinks to relax from a long hard week. Some of you may have already started the process, but got stuck on a thing called “life” and just haven’t got around to finishing the man cave. Some haven’t even started at all, but have every vision in their head of what they want the man cave to look like. Well, we are here to help you and want that invitation to that awesome football party this season!

Cleaning

First off, you will need to get the entire garage organized and cleaned out. Maybe this is the perfect time for that spring cleaning you were supposed to do a few weeks ago, or even that garage sale that you’ve been talking about for a year now. Whatever it may be, you need to be able use as much garage space as you can. Turning your garage into a man cave will keep mom happy along the way with a clean garage. So, put those bikes on a hook, those tools in the toolbox, and those boxes to the garage sale pile and get that garage cleaned.

Insulation

Next would be insulation. Now, you want the man cave to be a place where you can enjoy sports all year around, right? Having insulation helps keep you warm in the winter and cooler in the summer! One way to save money is by installing the garage door insulation yourself. You will need the walls, floors, ceilings, and garage door insulated. Garage insulation is expected to be on the lighter side of things, which is great! So, don’t worry about all your money going to that.

Lighting

The next helpful tip to turn your garage into a man cave would have to be the lights. You wouldn’t want to spend all this time and money on your man cave and not be able to show ALL of it off. You want to make sure your lights go with your style. Another little tip: If you have an attached garage it might be a bit easier to install your lights yourself. If you have a detached garage, it might get a little bit tricky, and calling the electrician might be the best choice.

Flooring

Let’s face it, garage floors were not meant to be comfortable. In fact, they are very cold/hot at times. Adding wood floors to your garage could give you “that look” that your man cave is missing. Plus, it gives off a more welcoming vibe, which will make your guests want to return and you holding the title for best man cave on the block!

We have just touched base on the fundamentals of turning your garage into a man cave, so subscribe to our blog and stay tuned next week when we put the icing on the cake with painting and decorating. You are on your way to having your dream man cave!