You probably take your automatic garage door for granted. The huge door lifts on your command with the touch of a button and gently falls back into place once you get inside.

But what happens if the power goes out? With summer thunderstorm season coming up, blackouts are likely to become more common. Lightning flashes, the lights go dark and the electricity needed to operate your garage door is nowhere to be found. Fortunately, you can take control with garage door battery backup systems. Learn how you can benefit from this system to help you decide if installing one is worth the effort.

Assured Home Access

If you use your garage as the primary entrance to your home, you might not carry a house key with you when you take a walk or go jogging. Of course, this means a power outage could effectively lock you out of your house. Until power is restored, you’re stuck outside, possibly in bad weather. Garage door battery backup systems assure home access so a thunderstorm can never catch you off guard.

No Physical Strain

In desperate situations, you might not be willing to wait outside for the power to come back on. If you can enter the garage from a side door, you have the option to pull the red release cord and open the garage door manually, but this could strain you physically and even cause a back injury. Misaligned or heavy wooden doors are especially difficult to open manually.

Besides, once you have the door open, you have to prop it open with something to avoid it slamming back to the ground. This takes at least two people. Avoid the strain and the hassle with a garage door battery backup system.

Convenience

Many homeowners feel it’s important to have the car parked in the garage during a power outage for safety reasons, but getting a car into the garage without power is easier said than done. However, garage door battery backup systems automatically power up during a blackout so your remote controls and garage door safety systems work normally. This prevents any inconvenience in entering or leaving your home during a power outage.

It’s nearly impossible to predict the effects of summer thunderstorms, but you can always be prepared. For more information about installing a garage door battery backup system, contact Overhead Door Co. of Indianapolis & Muncie.

You probably use your garage door as the main entrance to your home because it’s convenient. However, if the garage door opener isn’t working, you might have to park the car in the driveway and use the front door for a few days. If you’re wondering, “Why doesn’t my garage door opener work?” consider these possible reasons for equipment failure.

• The wall switch is broken: If the remote opens the garage door but the wall switch doesn’t work, you may need to replace the switch wires or the entire wall switch.

• The remote is broken: If the wall switch works but the remote doesn’t, change the batteries before you try anything drastic. You may need to buy a new remote or have a new receiver installed if changing the batteries doesn’t fix the problem.

• The safety sensors are faulty: If the door goes up with the remote by only lowers when you hold down the wall switch, the safety sensors may be misaligned or have gone bad. Once you determine that misalignment is not the problem, you should pursue having new sensors installed.

• The gear drive is shot: If you hear a grinding noise coming from the opener but the garage door doesn’t work, the gear drive is probably broken. This is one of the most common internal components to go bad in a garage door opener.

• The trolley carriage is broken: If the opener seems to operate but the garage door doesn’t move, you may need to have the trolley carriage replaced.

• The circuit board has gone bad: If the garage door doesn’t respond at all with either the wall switch or remote, the circuit board may be bad. A nearby lightning strike is a common reason circuit boards break. You may need to have a new one installed to fix the problem.

Garage Door Opener Repairs and Replacements in Indianapolis

No matter the reason your garage door opener has stopped working, you need a repair or replacement without delay. We recommend replacing garage door openers installed prior to 1993 for safety reasons. If your garage door is less than 20 years old, a repair is probably a viable option.

Now that you know why garage door opener may not be working, contact Overhead Door Co. of Indianapolis & Muncie today to set up an appointment.

Do you need a new garage door opener? There are a few different types—so maybe you are wondering what the most energy-efficient one is. Keep reading to learn more about energy-efficient openers and more important considerations to keep in mind if you’re shopping around!

What Is the Most Energy-Efficient Garage Door Opener?

There is no one type of garage door opener that is significantly more energy-efficient than the others. However, a screw-driven opener may not perform as well in regions that don’t have consistent temperatures year round (like here in the Indianapolis area).

But, energy efficiency isn’t what you should be asking about when it comes to the opener. Better things to consider are:

• Noise
• Maintenance
• Price
• Reliability

The best garage door opener in terms of quiet operation is belt-driven. The best garage door opener in terms of low maintenance is screw-driven. The best garage door opener in terms of price is chain-driven. All three are reliable.

Read more about the best type of garage door opener for you »

Generally, DC motors tend to be quieter, faster, smaller, lighter, smoother operating and more efficient than AC motors. But it’s a good idea to talk to a professional for a recommendation on the best opener and door for your home.

Energy Efficiency: Door Material

In terms of energy efficiency, you’ll want to look more at the material of the door. We offer many insulated steel doors that score high in this category. Installing an energy-efficient garage door is particularly important if:

• You use your garage for activities other than parking cars (gym, workshop, hobby room, etc.)
• Your garage is below another room or attached to an interior living space

Air can more easily leak into the garage and adjacent living spaces if the door isn’t insulated.

Garage Door Installers You Can Rely On

Do you want to install an energy-efficient garage door and reliable opener? Look no further! Overhead Door Co. of Indianapolis & Muncie has been installing insulated garage doors and high-quality openers throughout central Indiana for nearly 90 years and can help you too.

Contact us to learn more about our services!

Garage doors have been around longer than the automobile; they were once called carriage house doors and protected carriages from the elements and vandals. Just like cars, garage doors have come a long way. Designs have changed from an eyesore to an important aspect of a home’s curb appeal.

What’s more, garage doors are more functional today than ever. Of course, remote-controlled automatic garage door openers are ubiquitous these days, but the latest garage door technology takes this even further.

Modern Garage Door Technology

So what is the latest technology for garage doors and openers? What’s the right choice for your home? Read on to learn more about modern solutions:

Vehicle-Installed Transmitters

Have you ever pulled up your house only to find someone has removed the garage door opener from the visor? Now you suffer the inconvenience of climbing out of the car and punching the numbers into the keypad before you pull into the garage. It’s even worse if your garage doesn’t have a keypad; you have to park in the driveway and enter through the front door!

Vehicle-installed transmitters eliminate the need to carry a garage door remote around with you. The transmitter links up with the code of your garage door opener, even if it has a rolling radio signal. This allows you to open the garage door by pressing a button built into the visor. Multiple buttons allow you to program different doors if you have a two- or three-car garage.

Bluetooth Garage Door Openers

Bluetooth technology allows for home automation from your smartphone. One option is to automate your garage door.

With a physical controller installed in the garage and a mobile app downloaded on your smartphone, you can control the garage with your phone. Go for a jog without bringing those annoying keys along or protect your vacation home while you’re away. An online account allows you to monitor who has accessed the garage door and when.

You can even grant keyless access to anyone with a smartphone. Allow family, friends, out-of-town guests or maintenance workers access to the garage without giving them a key or access code. You can also add or remove people from your authorized list as needed for your security.

Garage Door Services in the Indianapolis Area

The latest garage door technology is changing the way we enter our homes! If you’re interested in enjoying a quality garage door and want to discuss the latest features, contact Overhead Door Co. of Indianapolis & Muncie. Browse our wide selection of replacement garage doors and let us help you pick the best option for your home.

If your garage is attached to your home, you know that a lot of cold air can enter into your home via the garage, especially during the kind of winters we’ve been having the last few years. Fortunately, there are many ways to make your home (including the garage door!) more energy-efficient and keep that cold air outside where it belongs.

Ways to make your garage door more energy-efficient

• Insulate your existing door. Most garage doors are made for security, not energy efficiency. Some types of doors can absorb the cold temperature and transfer it to the inside of your garage, even while the door is closed. An insulated garage door can help prevent this. We offer insulated doors in all materials!

• Choose a door that’s naturally resistant to temperature changes. If you’re already thinking about upgrading your garage door, consider the insulation potential before you decide on a door. Some materials, such as wood, are naturally resistant to temperature transfer. This doesn’t mean you can’t get an energy-efficient door in another material.

• Install weatherseals at the bottom of your door. Another place that cold air can enter your garage is from under the door. Prevent this by installing a garage door with a good bottom weatherseal or repairing your old one.

Garage Door Service in Central Indiana

Overhead Door Co. of Indianapolis & Muncie offers various types of garage doors (from traditional steel to modern aluminum) that are insulated and come with excellent bottom bulb seals to help protect against the elements.

To learn more about insulating your central Indiana garage door and/or making it more energy-efficient, contact Overhead Door Co. of Indianapolis & Muncie. We’ve been helping local homeowners with their garage door needs for more than 90 years! Call us today at 317 489-0825 for Indianapolis location or at 765-215-2932 for our Muncie location.

If you need to install a new garage door, chances are you’ve been doing research, trying to find companies in your area. You want to hire the best installers, not some repairman who claims he’s experienced and will try to rip you off (this happens more often than you may think—but more on that later).

Taking the time to find a good company is the most important part—after all, a garage door is only as good as the installer.

How to Identify Good Companies

So how do you choose the best companies and weed out the scammers (or just plain bad companies)?

• Look for signs that confirm the company’s authenticity. While a “meet the team” section on their website or a picture of the outside of their office is nice, the more important thing to consider is their vehicles. Is the company’s name on their vehicles? A phone number? Beware of so-called company vehicles that don’t have any markings or signs that they are legitimate.

• Make sure the company is licensed. Hiring a company without the proper licenses (and insurance) is a disaster waiting to happen. You can be held liable for injuries, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. A whole host of problems can arise from working with unlicensed, uninsured contractors. Check with your local consumer affairs office to make sure the company you hire is licensed.

• Ask for recommendations and see references. Asking a friend, family member, neighbor, etc. is always helpful. Also be sure to look for testimonials on a company’s website—and don’t hesitate to ask for references you can contact when you talk to the company. A reputable company will happily provide references.

Unfortunately, so-called garage door contractors try to rip off unaware homeowners. The Rossen Reports team actually conducted a hidden-camera investigation in suburban New York. The home included a garage with a door in good condition, as verified by two independent, certified experts. They rigged the door with a small problem. Equipped with a hidden camera, the homeowner called repair companies to inspect the garage, which was rigged with additional hidden cameras. According to the experts, a qualified repairman would require “about a minute” to fix the problem. The results were astounding.

Additional Tips

The additional tips below can help you weed out the bad companies and ensure you hire the best of the best, but they aren’t necessarily deal breakers:

• Look at reviews and professional websites. If you want to select the absolute best companies, look at company testimonials, reviews on sites like Yelp, and websites like BBB (do they have an A+ rating?).

• Look for awards. Although not necessary, awards reflect stellar service and the company’s dedication to providing complete customer satisfaction. This can give you peace of mind when you hire them.

• Ask about specials and coupons. Installing a new garage door can be a pretty big investment. Does the company offer specials or coupons? This can make things a little less stressful!

• Check out the scope of their services. Do they offer just one service? Do they only install one type of door? A garage door company with experience installing different types of garage doors—from modern aluminum residential to commercial rolling—is more likely to have more experience and can be more convenient to work with.

Experienced Garage Door Installers Serving Indianapolis

If you’re looking for a good garage door company in the central Indiana area, consider Overhead Door Co. of Indianapolis & Muncie. Look around our website, do additional research and give us a call—we’re happy to answer any questions you have.

Contact us today to learn more about our services or to get started on your project!

Do you need to replace your old garage door? You’ll want a garage door that not only looks good and performs reliably but is also up-to-date. To that end, we’ve compiled a list of garage door trends for 2015!

Garage Door Trends This Year

2015 garage door trends include something for every taste.

• Think height. This isn’t normally the case for garage doors, but you may want to consider it this year. Garage doors are getting taller (and wider). This can be convenient, accommodating more cars or leaving more room for storage and hobbies—and it can also help make an aesthetic statement.
• Incorporate personality. Speaking of aesthetic statements, it’s an emerging trend. Use your garage door as not only the necessity it is but also as a statement piece! Dress it up with detailing like windows and decorative hardware and hinges.
• Go bold. Bold is in. Don’t be afraid to go a little brighter with your garage door color. Instead of traditional white or a more neutral shade like beige, go for an interesting red, yellow or other vibrant color.
• Use wood. While bold colors are in, so is going more natural. Wood garage doors are classic yet trendy—and they’re a major trend right now. Overhead Door offers lines of wood garage doors to complement any home.

Garage Door Installation in the Indianapolis Area

Do you need a new garage door—or are you thinking it’s finally time to update your old, dull one? With these trends in mind, now is the time to act! If you live in central Indiana, Overhead Door Co. of Indianapolis & Muncie can help you get a stylish, durable door. We install steel, wood, aluminum, fiberglass-clad and vinyl-clad garage doors, perfect for any home, from modern to traditional.

Contact us today to learn more about our services or to talk to one of our professionals about replacement!

You may also be interested in reading:

• Using Your Garage Door to Boost Your Home’s Curb Appeal
• Garage Door Window Styles

Are you trying to decide between different materials for your new garage door? There are many to choose from and all of them offer their own advantages. If you want to compare different materials, keep reading to learn more!

Types of Garage Doors

Various types of garage doors include fiberglass, wood, aluminum, vinyl-clad and fiberglass-clad.

Aluminum and fiberglass are both materials used for many garage doors. What are the differences between these two types of doors and which one should you install?

Benefits of Aluminum Garage Doors

Aluminum garage doors look great on modern homes and can add unique beauty and character to the exterior of any household. Not to mention, these doors are incredibly low-maintenance! Aluminum garage doors are also:

• Corrosion-resistant and durable
• Versatile in terms of design
• And more

When compared to other metal and wood garage doors, aluminum doors are incredibly lightweight (which can reduce chances of accidents). Aluminum doors are more water-resistant and will not easily rust over time.

Benefits of Fiberglass Garage Doors

Fiberglass is a durable material that is used for a variety of construction projects, including door installation. Fiberglass-clad garage doors have a beautiful fiberglass exterior that resembles natural wood. They work well for homes and some commercial buildings and are:

• Low-maintenance
• Energy-efficient
• Able to help reduce outside noises

When compared to other types of garage doors, fiberglass-clad models are energy-efficient and low-maintenance, giving you the appearance of beautiful wood without the upkeep.

Aluminum & Fiberglass Garage Doors in the Indianapolis Area

If you want a door that is more low-maintenance and can help complement your modern home, consider aluminum. If you’re interested in a more traditional look and energy efficiency is high on your priority list, fiberglass may be the material for you.

If you need to install a new garage door for your home in central Indiana, look no further than the team at Overhead Door Co. of Indianapolis & Muncie. We offer high-quality fiberglass and aluminum doors that can complement many different homes.

Contact us to learn more about our services!

Do you need a new garage door for your home? You’ve probably been doing your research, looking into the different garage door materials available. When you need a new garage door, there are many types to choose from—each with their own pros and cons.

Types of Garage Doors

Various types of garage doors include steel, wood, aluminum, vinyl-clad and fiberglass-clad.

Steel is the classic garage door material and aluminum, though more of a newcomer to the market, has quickly gained popularity. What are the differences between these two types of doors, and which one should you install?

Aluminum Garage Door Benefits

Aluminum garage doors look great on modern homes and can add unique beauty and character to the exterior of any household. Not to mention, these doors are incredibly low-maintenance! Aluminum garage doors are:

• Low-maintenance
• Corrosion-resistant and durable
• Versatile in terms of design
• And more

When compared to other metal and wood garage doors, aluminum doors are incredibly lightweight (which can reduce chances of accidents). Unlike steel garage doors, aluminum doors are more water-resistant and will not easily rust over time.

Benefits of Steel Garage Doors

One popular alternative to aluminum garage doors is to install a steel garage door. These types of doors are for both commercial and residential purposes. Steel garage doors are:

• Durable
• Low-maintenance
• Versatile in terms of design
• Energy-efficient
• And more

Compared to aluminum garage doors, steel garage doors tend to be more durable. However, in cold temperatures, steel doors don’t insulate as well. But keep in mind that we offer many energy-efficient, insulated doors!

Steel & Aluminum Garage Doors in the Indianapolis Area

If you need to install a new garage door for your home in central Indiana, look no further than the team at Overhead Door Co. of Indianapolis & Muncie. We offer high-quality steel and aluminum doors that can complement many different homes.

Contact us to learn more about our services!

Is your front door in good shape? If it’s not, it may be time for replacement. Old front entry doors take away from the aesthetic of your home, but, more importantly, they leave your home less:

• Secure
• Energy-efficient
• Comfortable

Contact Overhead Door Co. of Indianapolis & Muncie today if you need to replace the door of your home in central Indiana, or keep reading to learn more about how you can tell if you need a new door!

Do You Need Front Door Replacement?

Does your front entry door need to be replaced?

You should talk to a professional to determine if you need a new door, but there are some signs you can look out for on your own that indicate a replacement may be necessary. You may need a new front door if your door:

• Is hard to open or close
• Doesn’t operate the way it should (sticks, doesn’t latch properly, etc.)
• Doesn’t lock correctly
• Has moisture around the frame and/or by the bottom
• Is cracking, warping, rotting or rusting
• Has a lot of dents and dings

You may also need a new door if your energy bills have been increasing for no apparent reason and are higher than they were at the same time last year. An old, drafty front door can be a significant source of air leaks, so if your utility bills have increased, your old, inefficient door could be the culprit.

Front Door Installers Serving Indianapolis, IN

Do you need to replace your front door? We’d love to help you determine whether you need replacement—and all your options. We offer fiberglass and steel front entry doors from top manufacturers, such as ProVia, Masonite and Home Guard.

Talk to the professionals at Overhead Door Co. of Indianapolis & Muncie today—fill out the form in the sidebar, or call 317-489-0825 (Indianapolis location) or 765-215-2932 (Muncie location)!