Garage

Nowadays, garages are practically assured on a new home. It wasn’t too ago that garages were considered to be a luxury. We see garages of all shapes and sizes, from attached garages, detached garages, garages built under living areas; they are now a normal part of the house. When you're done here, check out our blog post titled "How Your Garage Can Make You Sick "

• Types of garages
  • Attached garages, as the name implies, are connected to the house, with access provided into the house from the garage in most cases. Most are built as a part of initial construction, although it’s not unusual to find a garage that was added on years after the house was built.
  • Detached garages, as the name implies, are not connected to the house, and often stand alone off to the side or rear of the house. Older garages of this type were often built on the ground, and usually suffer from wood rot and/or bowing, sagging walls and roof framing. As vehicles grew over the years, it is common to find a small bump-out” section at the rear to allow room for the front end of these larger vehicles.
  • Under-garages are built underneath living areas, often, but not always, located below the living room or bedrooms. The floors in these living areas are usually somewhat cold in the winter due to the colder temperatures found in the unheated garage. Heating ductwork that is run through these garage is often in need of insulation improvements and must be tightly sealed.
• The things we find…Here is the short list of the common defects and problems that we find in garages:
  • Extension cord wiring – Extension cords are developed for temporary short term use, not as a permanent wiring source. If you have one of these items feeding electricity to your overhead door opener, have it replaced with a “hard-wired” outlet located near the opener.
  • Lack of GFCI protection- This electrical protection was developed in the late 1970’s, and may not be present if your house was constructed prior to that time. This is simply a low-cost outlet with a very sensitive built-in circuit breaker.
  • Ungrounded outlets are also found in some garages constructed from the 1960’s and prior. These should be updated by installing GFCI receptacles.
  • Handyman wiring- Garages are one of the areas where we often find do-it-yourself electrical work. Avoid stepping into this murky practice, as improper electrical work can result in electrical shock, a fire, or even death. Use an electrician for all electrical work.
  • Hardboard overhead doors – This material, often referred to as “Masonite”, (a company that manufactures a good deal of this stuff), has a tendency to deteriorate if left to the weather. This material will begin to swell if contacting moisture for any length of time. As it wets, it swells and becomes “punky”. We are not big fans of this material due to these problems. If your door is made from a hardboard product, we strongly urge you to keep both the inside and outside painted annually. This will give you the best chance for protection and longevity. If you ever need to replace an overhead door, our advice would be to avoid hardboard, and settle for a metal, wood or fiberglass door.
• Automatic overhead door openers
  • Adjusting- The safety switches on garage door openers should be checked regularly, especially if there are young children or pets in or near the home. Below are some of the guidelines which apply to most openers. (Check your owner’s manual for the specifics of your opener.)
    • To check the safety, start by tripping the switch to bring the door down. Put your hands under the door and push-up against the bottom edge. The door should offer very little resistance and immediately reverse.
    • If the door continues to close the downward pressure needs adjustment. Turn it in the direction marked "less downward pressure". Reduce the pressure until such time as the door will not go down with ease, and then increase the pressure until such time as the door can close. This is the minimum amount of pressure, and the safest setting.
    • Do not adjust the downward TRAVEL knob - this regulates the where the door stops and not the pressure.
    • Some openers do not have a knob or screw - check the rear of the unit and a treaded bar with a screw driver slot and a nut (often plastic) are visible. In many openers this nut regulates the pressure and adjusting it can change the sensitivity of the opener.
    • If the door opener needs to exert a lot of pressure to get the door to close, the door or its tracks may need adjustment or lubrication. (do not use regular grease - a special non dripping grease is available from garage door opener supply stores)
    • Note 1: Safety devices that stop the door from closing if the beam is broken should be mounted on either side of the door frame 4-6 inches from the ground. These safety switches can be retrofitted to older model garage door openers for an added level of safety. These are commonly referred to as “electric eyes”.
    • Note 2: Setting the safety switch involves opening and closing the door numerous times.
    • If you have one of the older style garage door openers that do not have the new auto reverse safety features, it would be a good idea to have a new opener installed.
  • Wood rot at the jambs of the side pedestrian door- This is an area where we always seem to find rot, especially with the doors that have metal thresholds. Water and snow sit on these areas and which up through the wood fibers of the jambs. It’s very important to keep these junctures painted and caulked regularly.
  • Overloaded overhead storage- The area in the rafters is often found being utilized as a storage area. The problem with this setup, is the area tends to be overloaded, creating downward pressure on the roof framing. Also, it can be quite dangerous if the storage is heavy, as something may fall, not to mention it can be risky bring weighty items up there.