Archive for the ‘Performing-Arts’ Category

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Some Considerations About Garage Door Openers

Tuesday, September 25th, 2007

Did you ever have to get out of the car in a chilly winter night, or while a thunderous shower is pouring down, to open the garage door? Have you thought about how to make it possible to automatically open without having to leave the car? Installing a garage door open is the solution to such annoyances. A garage door opener is a motorized mechanism that helps in automatically opening and closing a garage door, without the application of manual labor. These automations can be controlled by switches installed on the garage walls, or by remote controls.

Once you have taken the decision to purchase a garage door opener, you need to take into consideration certain aspects of this invaluable device:

The Drive System

This is of tow types, the screw-drive system and the chain drive system. Some manufacturers also offer computer controlled drive appliances, but the availability of this system is limited.

• In a screw-drive system, the machinery for hoisting the door slides along a threaded shaft made of steel. Only a few rotating parts are used in the manufacture of these systems, so the maintenance is simple. The garage ceiling houses the body of the device.

• In a chain-drive system, the door is made to move upwards and downwards along its trails by the implementation of a metal chain. These are inexpensive and hence are most popular. However, these systems are noisy. The main unit is installed at the centre of the garage ceiling.

• A belt-drive structure makes the use of a rubber belt to maneuver the opener. This is the most expensive system.

• Computer-controlled drive machineries do not have the need of chains or screws. The article rests directly on top of the garage door thus the ceiling is left unoccupied. So this system is very useful for garages with limited headspace.

Power of the Motor

The larger motors with greater horsepower not only last longer, but also are absolutely necessary for maneuvering double doors. You should check if the motor starts and stops smoothly and makes the least noise while in operation.

Speed of Operation

The best quality garage door openers work at a high speed. This eliminates the need to wait at the garage door for long.

Safety

All garage door openers have features that cause the door to move in the reverse direction if it encounters some obstacle it in its path while in operation. This prevents the door from crushing any object under its weight. The inclusion of this feature is mandatory according to federal laws. An electronic infrared beam that activates the safety system when it meets an obstruction is used to direct these automatic reversion sensors.

To prevent the stealth of the transmission signals, the garage door openers use a technology that changes that emanating code every time the device is used.

Want to learn more about Garage Door Opener?, feel free to visit us at: http://www.about-garages.info/Articles/Garage_Door_Opener.php

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How to Find Your Garage Floor After Years of Mess!

Wednesday, January 10th, 2007

Probably, the most sufficient space for storage in your home is your garage. This is because it offers a huge amount of space, though that space is limited depending on the use of the garage. Your garage is the perfect candidate for improving the efficiency of your storage space. Luckily, you have a ton of options available to you for taking on this project.

One option that you have is to go out and buy what known as a modular storage unit. These have components that you can mix and match with one another as you see fit to give yourself more storage space compacted into a tighter area. This will solve much of your space difficulty.

Another thing that you could do is to build your own storage area. Sometimes the modular ones just aren’t sufficient enough for the amount of storage that you may need, due to the amount of stuff that you’ve accumulated over the years. Building your own unit may help you cut back on clutter and make it easier for cleaning the useful area that you do have. As well, seasonal items will be easier to get to year in and year out, plus making it safer as you age with your home.

Shelves, cabinets, plastic containers, and wall-mounted racks are the more popular kinds of garage storage and organization solutions. Cabinets work great for protecting what’s inside them from moisture as well as dust. Shelves will save you space more efficiently but the cheapest solution are wall-mounted racks. These combined with clear plastics containers will assist you in being able to see the contents of your storage along the racks.

Just imagine a beautiful spring day. Your certainly don’t want it to go to waste there for get yourself excited to go for a bike ride, maybe do some fishing with the kids, and even enjoy a little picnic. However, when you get to your garage you see nothing less than a huge mess, with all of the equipment that you were so excited to pull out buried behind clutter, shoved in corners broken and damaged. There goes that idea. Instead, it’s time to retake your garage.

The most important part when organizing your garage is knowing where to start. You’ll first want to buy some cabinets, along with some shelves and a hammer and nails.

The sorting and storing goes as follows. You’ll need to categorize every object and put it in a spot specially designed for it. For instance sporting gear needs to be put in a cabinet or up on a shelf. Any tools should be placed in drawers hung on peg boards in an orderly fashion such as by size and type.

Be merciless about throwing things away and don’t even think twice before you toss away anything that you haven’t used recently or those things that are broken. If you haven’t fixed it yet, chances are that you won’t. Seasonal gear should also be sorted; boots and things that are out-of-season such as coats should be organized in small closets.

Once you finish sorting, organizing, and throwing away Unwanted or unneeded items, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to recognize your long lost friend; the garage floor. Maybe you can even get your car into the garage again. Wouldn’t that be special?

Leroy Calstard’s long articles are found on quite some online publications tied to information on woodworking workbench. His observations on garage workbench can be found on http://www.insidewoodworking.com/workclam/garageworkbench.html.

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What to Know Before Starting Garage Construction

Wednesday, January 10th, 2007

Before beginning your garage construction it’s essential to have in mind what purpose that you’ll be using it for. Are you going to tackle your garage design so that you can park your car or so that you can have the workshop that you’ve always wanted? Maybe it’s a combination of the two. Either way, or for whatever reason, you’re going to want to know ahead of time.

You also want to be clear on your budget and exactly how much money you’re going to have to work with. Though it may not look like it at first glance, there is a profound difference between remodeling, home rebuilding, or just simply reorganizing a small area of your garage. Without a realistic budget you may quickly begin to incur costs that you never thought about.

First thing’s first. You have to figure out what you want and what your needs are for this newly revamped garage are. You may think that your garage is way too small, but even the smallest areas, if planned out correctly can be sufficient for many things.

The decision of whether or not to do the project
yourself or hire a contractor depends on many factors,
for instance your skill level as well as the enormity of the project. If you only possess the basic skills, you can still take on a commendable project for simple reorganizing.

You only need to buy the storage materials yourself according to how much stuff you have to store, and the space that you have at your disposal. You’ll need shelves, cabinets, pegboard, pegs, and hooks in order to transition your garage into a usable space over the weekend.

Perhaps you have a greater project in mind, one that you’re not actually qualified for. In this case you should probably consult an electrician or plumber before tackling this job.

If you’re planning to completely convert your garage into a living area be sure that you’re qualified as a professional, because you certainly don’t want to risk decreasing your homes safety, as well as decreasing the value of your own home altogether.

It’s definitely recommended that you choose to hire a contractor no matter what task you’re taking on, even the simplest of them all, no matter what your level of skill. That being said, be sure to get one whose quality of work that you’re sure of, and have seen. Getting a contractor by word of recommendation is usually a good idea, and that much better if you can see with your very own eyes the quality of work that has been performed in the past. This will show you first hand if you’re going to be satisfied with your contractors work.

You certainly don’t want to find out that your contractor isn’t qualified when he’s in the midst of your garage construction.

Eric Slarkowski’s detailed reports can be encountered on plenty of web sites with information about woodworking workbench. Writing for works on woodworking workbench and garage workbench the reviewer confirmed his experience on the topic.

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Garage Door Maintenance Tips

Tuesday, December 26th, 2006

In order to keep your garage door looking new and in good operating condition, you need to do regular garage door maintenance on it. The garage door needs to be washed regularly, but you should always use the garden hose, not a pressure washer. You can use a mild detergent, the same as you use on your car and rinse it off thoroughly. Using car wax on the door once a year will help to protect the lustre and shine and protect it from acid rain and UV rays. The weather stripping also needs to be cleaned on a regular basis and it should be lubricated if the door is used a lot. For this lubrication, you should always use a silicone-based product, rather than petroleum based one because the weather stripping needs to be flexible.

The tracks, hinges, rollers and springs of the garage door need to be lubricated on a regular basis. Motor oil works well for this job, but you need to wipe off any excess oil. This will prolong the life of the garage door hardware and will keep the door operating properly. In addition to doing maintenance on the garage door, you also need to do regular maintenance on the garage door opener. At least once a month, you should observe how the door opens and closes. If you work the door manually, you will be able to see if the door is well balanced. If it isn’t you will probably need to contact your retailer.

You also need to check to see if the door opens and closes completely. If you need to, you can make the necessary adjustments and the directions for doing these are in your garage door opener’s manual. Check the safety reverse feature on the door opener to ensure that it is working properly. This feature should automatically reverse the door when the sensor detects that there is anything in its path.
Providing maintenance on your garage door will preserve the life of the door. It will also ensure that it will open whenever you want and not leave you standing in the rain trying to get the door open to drive in the car, It also ensures you that if there are children in the area, the door will not accidentally injure them by closing if the safety feature doesn’t work.

For lots of information on
garage
doors and other garage remodeling related topics, visit Garages Spot at
http://www.garages-spot.com

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Garage Door Insulation

Tuesday, September 26th, 2006

There are differences in the types of garage door insulation used in the different types of doors. Most use either polystyrene or polyurethane and both products are safe to use as insulating materials. Polystyrene comes in a solid state and is molded to suit the needs of the garage door. Polyurethane is a foam that is applied through an automated system and fills every possible space in between the panels of the garage door. This results in a sturdier door because the foam is injected into the space.

Polyurethane is better as insulation because it results in a higher insulating value of R17, the highest possible rating measuring 3 inches of foam in the door. With this type of insulation manufacturers advise buyers to choose a dark color door if the door will be exposed to long periods of sunlight. If you choose a door that does have polystyrene as the insulator, the gluing process is very important to ensure that the door does not become defective. When contact cement is used the panels become more resistant to delaminating, but the panels in the door should have brackets to fasten inner and outer layers securely to prevent the insulation from coming out.

The energy efficiency of the garage door depends on the insulation. Weather stripping also plays a part in ensuring that cold air does not get in around the bottom of the door and the heat you have in the garage stays there. A double lip weather stripping takes on the shape of the door and helps to seal the door to the floor, even if it is uneven. Insulation in a garage door helps to keep the temperatures inside to reach below freezing even if the temperatures outside dip below the freezing point. This make it much easier to start your car on cold winter mornings and you don’t need to have a heating block.

For lots of information on
garage
storage and other garage remodeling related topics, visit Garages Spot at
http://www.garages-spot.com

Posted in Diabetes, Internet-and-Businesses-Online, Link-Popularity, Performing-Arts | No Comments »

Six Steps To Developing A Marketing Message That Sells

Sunday, September 24th, 2006

All too often companies spend a lot of time and money developing their logo and the graphic look and feel of their promotional materials - important aspects of effective marketing - while giving only cursory consideration to their marketing message - an equally important component to successfully promoting your business. Development of your marketing message should be given at least equal time as development of the graphic elements or what is commonly referred to as the “look and feel”.

Here is a six step process that will help assure your marketing message will sell.

1. Capture the attention of your target market with a headline that clearly defines who you are talking to. If you are selling to retirees your headline might be something like, “If you are 65 or older.”

2. Identify the problems, symptoms, issues, needs and wants of your target market. You must start with where they are and then move them to the action you want them to take. To continue our example, if you are looking for retired people to volunteer time to a cause your sub-head might read, “ And looking for a way to make a difference in the lives of others”.

3. Provide a brief description of the product. This is the features of your product or service. Be sure you describe features that matter to the target market you are communicating with and that you describe them from the target market’s prospective. In other words, talk about what your customer is buying - not what you are selling.

4. Describe the benefit and the value that the customer will derive from purchasing your product or service (or from taking the action you want them to take). Again these benefits must be pertinent to the customer group you are selling to.

5. Give your message credibility. This could include testimonials, case studies, or money-back guarantees.

6. Specifically state the action you want the recipient of your message to take. For example, “Pick-up the phone now and call 111-222-3333 to register” is much more likely to lead to action than simply giving a telephone number and assuming that if the person wants to register they will call the number. Whenever possible, you will also want to offer multiple ways for people to take action (i.e. phone, email, fax, regular mail, and website).

Follow these six simple steps and you’ll have a marketing message that sells. And the great thing about investing in development of your marketing message - just like your logo - you will be able to - and you will want to - use it in all your promotional materials from your 30 second introduction to your website.

Julie Chance is president of Strategies-by-Design, a Dallas-based marketing coaching, training and consulting firm that helps businesses from specialty retailers to professional service firms Map A Path to Success by implementing marketing programs that work. Interested in learning more? Sign-up for their Free Marketing Minute Series at http://www.strategies-by-design.com/contactvideo.html or explore teleseminars presented by Julie at http://www.success-strategies-u.com, the training division of Strategies-By-Design (http://www.strategies-by-design.com).

© Copyright 2006 STRATEGIES-BY-DESIGN. May be reprinted with credits and contact information.

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Garage Door Impressions From The Street (Literally)

Saturday, July 29th, 2006

OK, you’ve picked your perfect home with the perfect hardware (you’ve been listening to me!). You know how important that first impression is. Your front door is magnificent with hardware to die for. You’ve done you home work and you’ve coordinated your hardware though out your home. Congratulations! Pat yourself on the back for a job well done.

But wait. Do you have a street facing garage door? And what percentage of the front of the house does that door represent? Hum. What was that thing about first impressions? But it’s just a garage door after all. People are looking at the rest of your magnificent house. Yea – right. Just a short drive up your driveway and there it is looming over you. Not to mention everyone can see it from a mile away and it is often given the least consideration of the exterior of the house and is yet often the most prominent. So perhaps it’s more significant than you may think.

But there is hope.
Want the look of a carriage house door but have an overhead door setup? Consider architecturally correct rust resistant cast aluminum strap hinges and handles. You have added a great look with very little weight on your overhead motor. Well, what can I say? You’ve done it. Magnificent.

There are many solutions to this simple problem. Architecturally correct rust resistant cast aluminum strap hinges and handles are just one easy fix. Consider ring pull handles, fleur-de-lis handles, or more decorative strap hinges and door studs. The list of ideas is endless and the look from the street will be beautiful.

Mary Barrett
President EHC (The European Hardware Company)
800 975-7089
http://www.europeanhardware.net

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Building a Garage Workbench

Saturday, July 15th, 2006

If you are setting up a home workshop, one of the most important things you will want to include in it is a workbench. A workbench helps you work with accuracy. There are many prefabricated workbenches you can purchase, or you can build your own workbench. You can buy a plan to do this, or buy a kit and put it together.

A workbench will come in a variety of sizes and styles and what you choose will depend on what kind of work you will be doing on it. Workbenches serve for woodworking, crafts projects or just household repairs. A good bench can be bought at a home improvement store, but if you prefer to build a bench, look for plans on the Internet or in do it yourself books. There you can look through hundreds of designs to pick the one that suits you best.

The most common design is a table style, with a hardwood top, although some come with table tops made of steel, and metal legs, in six or eight foot lengths. They are sturdy and durable and will suit just about any project. It looks like a table, with nothing underneath. You can also get a cabinet style, that has drawers or cabinets under the table top. The dead space under the table is put to good use in this way. Another option you may see, or you can hang your own, is pegboard behind the table to hang tools and other supplies and have them at hand.

Some workbenches come with a power strip built into them, and if you use power tools, this is an ideal layout. Up to nine outlets are in the strip and a heavy duty cord connects them to the electricity. They should have protection against an electrical overload. Another attractive option is a tool caddy so smaller tools can be easily reached.

If you want to customize your workbench, you may consider building your own. You can buy a kit, and everything you need for the bench will come with it, but of course, you are limited to the design of the kit. The pieces are precut to be put targeted without mistakes.

If you build your own workbench, you will have the option to make it exactly the way you want, though it will be more work. You can find free plans on the Internet and you just have to cut the wood pieces and follow the plan.

If you are going to do this, choose good wood, such as oak or a hardwood plywood. To protect it, put on a number of coats of polyurethane. Sand between each coat, so that you have a smooth nice looking finish that will be an easy to clean surface.

In order to make room for your new workbench, you will have to clean out and organize the space where it will be. This is the time to get rid of old paint, junk, and tools that are broken or you no longer use. Start with plenty of storage space so you won’t have a messy, cluttered work area. Cabinets can organize tools and supplies, and the walls of your garage can be used to store a lot of items.

Consider installing high cabinets to store chemicals and paints, as well as sharp items, out of the reach of children. You may want to put locks on lower cabinets for safety as well. Large items can be stored in locker style cabinets, and you can put in drawers with dividers to organize smaller tools and parts.

The essayist Leroy Calstard is very interested in ideas corresponding to woodworking workbench. His publications on garage workbench are found on http://www.insidewoodworking.com and other websites.

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The Best Place for Garage Storing

Saturday, July 15th, 2006

It’s becoming a joke these days that a garage is used for almost anything except storing a car. Most people store their sports equipment and other large items and also use their garage as a workshop. Some have even put a home office or a gym in the garage space. If it has reached the point where you cannot fit your car in your garage, maybe you should think about putting in some shelves for additional storage.

Garage shelves can be obtained either site built or prefab. If they are site built, you will have to fit them into your existing space but you can adapt them to your needs with equipment you can find at your local home center, lumber yard or hardware store.

Basic garage shelves can be built out of 3/4 inch plywood of 1x or 2x lumber, simply set on heavy duty shelf brackets. The brackets should be attached to the studs with long screws and the shelves should be attached to the brackets. This is necessary because of at he weight. For additional strength, a brace can be added at each stud.

Floor supported shelves are very stable and are made by running vertical 2X4s every 50 inches and placing them on the floor, then attaching them to rafters or ceiling joints at the top., Then, 2X4s are run horizontally between the uprights and particleboard is used for the shelves. Usually 19-25 inch deep shelves are used and the 2X4s are placed on 25 inch spacing. The advantage of this is you can change the spacing to accommodate larger items.

If you are storing small items, it is better to attach a series of 1X2 strips to the inside edges of 2 adjacent studs. Then, cut some 1X4 and 1X6 lumber and fit them between Th studs and slip them on top of the 1X2s. This creates some small shelves that can be adjusted for small items such as cans, jars, bottles; you may want to organize your screws and nails in these jars and bottles.

For really durable, heavy shelving, choose steel shelving. Plastic shelving may be alright if you are storing things that are light weight, but if you have heavy items, you should choose steel. The disadvantage of steel is that you cannot cut it to size to suit your needs, but have to pick from the standard shelves. These do come in different widths, depths and heights, so you can find the ones most closely suited to your needs.

You should make sure that the prefabricated shelves you choose can be adjusted. AT least two different levels of adjustment between the framework is desirable. Make sure the pins are heavy duty and have a bar in place to prevent them from working loose.

Finally, make sure your prefabricated shelves can be attached to the wall for security against tipping. If you are going to use the shelves for heavy items, this is really an important feature.

Focusing recent findings in garage organizer, the columnist publishes mostly for http://www.insidewoodworking.com . His abstracts on garage storage cabinets can be found on http://www.insidewoodworking.com/workclam/garagestoragecabinets.html.

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Replacing A Garage Door

Saturday, July 15th, 2006

If you have an older home one of the first things you may consider changing are the garage doors. The good news, however, is that new garage doors have many great features that older ones do not, so you will get a lot of benefit from this project. The newer garage doors are insulated for both temperature and sound. You might find this handy if your son has started a rock group in the garage. Today’s garage doors are much more secure than older ones and since we keep a lot more “stuff” in our garages than just cars, this is an important consideration. Last but not least, new garage doors and lovely to look at and are just about maintenance free.

Years ago, only wood was used for garage doors, but today you have a choice between steel, fiberglass and synthetics. You can have any look you want to suit the exterior of your home. New models are constructed with a fitted tongue and groove panels that are just as impervious to wind ran or snow as your front door is. Most of the garage doors sold today have safety features so that they cannot close if they hit an object, so that accidents such as closing the doors on your car or a child or pet cannot happen. They may even have a feature where the object is pushed away from the panels so fingers can’t be caught.

The newer doors offer light panels, but still afford security since they are made of unbreakable plastic. There are even models that send a different code each time your garage door is opened, so thieves who steal codes are stymied.

All of these features are great, but because of their complexity, they make installing your own garage doors difficult. These doors are heavy and therefore difficult and dangerous to install, the springs are very strong and if not handled well can cause serious injury. There are few do-it-yourselfers who are experienced enough to tackle this task. Even maintenance should be left to experts, and someone less handy should only stick to the easy tasks of oiling the wheels, hinges and tracks.

If you still feel up to the task of installing your own garage doors, make sure you do not do it alone. It is a big job and safety requires an extra pair of hands. Start the job with the weather stripping. This keeps out drafts and moisture. You will need a spring tensioning tool. Make sure you rent a good one in good condition, since serious injury can occur if this tool malfunctions.

You may decide to install your own garage doors, but unless you are a very experienced home handy man, you may want to consider hiring a professional because of all of the risks that this installation entails.

The copywriter Kurt Schefken is especially interested in news about baseboard installation and drywall repair. You can learn about his work on drywall repair and drywall installation over at http://www.insidewoodworking.com .

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