What are the benefits of a steel door versus a wood door?

I wanted to cover this topic because I get the question quite often. I have the answer also posted in our FAQ on the site http://www.gdugaragedoors.com/#!__garage-doors/faq

Both wood and steel doors have advantages.  A solid wood door is 100% wood, through and through, and is preferred more for its natural look.  It is by far the heaviest, most secure and beautiful door you can purchase. From a high quality manufacturer, they will resist most major shifting and expanding, although they will require more maintenance.  

Typically these doors may be all cedar, redwood, or may have softwood frames with oak, mahogany, or other hardwood panels. They arrive unfinished and need to be primed and painted or stained on all six sides of the door upon installation.   We recommend a visual inspection of the paint or stain finish on wood doors one time per year to confirm if another finish application is necessary. 
 

Paint Grade Carriage House Door

Steel doors may require less maintenance than a wood door. Steel doors withstand the elements better, and, because most are made of hot-dipped, galvanized steel that is vinyl clad or given a baked-on polyester finish, they don't rust or require repainting as often as wood doors. Most warranties guarantee the door won't rust for as long as you own the house, but do not protect against fading. On the downside, steel does dent and can be difficult to repair.  

Amarr Classica

Annual cleaning of the exterior of the door with a common household detergent and warm water at least one time per year is recommended. These doors are a great addition to your home and are one of the most cost effective way to update your home. We have some great design galleries you can browse through by visiting our website at www.gdugaragedoors.com.  

I hope this helps answer some of those questions but if you have more feel free to email me at shawn@gdusandiego.com.

Best regards,

Shawn M. Black

Early Birds Get The Worm....

Chuck and Scott are up early today to install the Abrams gates. They came out perfect!  Earlier I posted production pictures of this project, I thought it would be nice to see the progress of the project. Look out for a post with the finished doors with stain and hardware!  

We are finishing up May and with the arrival Memorial day here we are expecting a record breaking summer with all the new jobs the estimators are bringing in! Be sure to check back for updates or click on www.gdugaragedoors.com to sign up for our RSS feed.

Solutions emerge for Navy radio garage door jams

Some interesting tidbits of information about the Navy and garage door openers.

Solutions emerge for Navy radio garage door jams

Garage Doors, Gates, and Dueling Road Shows

This week at Garage Doors Unlimited is exciting, and challenging. We have several orders for new Custom gates and garage doors. Sean is doing all the finishing touches on these custom STK cedar gates this morning.

Custom Wood Gates by Garage Doors Unlimited

Custom Arched, T&G STK Cedar Face, STK Cedar Face

Not only are we able to produce these beautiful doors and gates we are in the middle of dueling Costco Road Shows. Scott really out did himself this week making some awesome new displays so we can know set up and break down the shows in minutes as apposed to a more traditional brick and motor display.

Check out our new website @ www.gdugaragedoors.com or stop by the Costco Roadshows in La Mesa and the Market Street locations and to take advantage of our promotions and save some money on your new garage doors and gates!

Top 10 Garage Door Security Tips to Prevent Break-Ins

Hello Everyone, I found these great tips on a cool site from ITS TACTICAL.COM to help you all out with your new garage doors. This just proves there are very easy ways that anyone can do to protect yourself from those evil doers! If you have any questions you can contact us at www.gdegaragedoors.com just click on our contact page!

- Shawn

Top 10

1. Don’t leave the garage door remote in your vehicle – If a thief breaks in to your car and steal the remote he has a way into your home.
2. Invest in a keychain remote opener – Stop using that remote you clip to your visor and get a keychain remote opener that you can leave on your keys.
3. Secure your garage door emergency release – Follow our article here and learn how easy it is throw some zip-ties on your emergency release and still retain it’s intended function.
4. Keep it locked – Put a deadbolt on the door between your house and garage; is it really that much of an inconvenience to have to use a key each time you come home?
5. Make sure the door from your garage into your house is as secure as your front door – Ensure you have a strong, sturdy door made out of solid-core wood or reinforced steel and install an Anti-Kick device like the Door Devil on it!
6. Don’t leave your garage door open – It amazes me how many people in my neighborhood just leave their garage door open all the time. It’s just inviting someone to pop their heads in and grab something. Listen up America! I don’t care how safe you think your neighborhood is, good neighborhoods are the first place criminals like to drive through to case houses.
7. Install a wide-angle peephole in the door between your house and your garage – You’ll at least be able to see what’s going on if you hear a strange noise; rather than opening the door to find out.
8. Frost or cover your garage windows – Don’t do thieves any favors by enabling them to see when your vehicle is gone, a better idea would be to replace the door with one that lacks windows.
9. Padlock the throw latch on your garage door when you’re out of town – If you don’t have a manual lock on your garage door, you can use a c-clamp tightened down on each side of the door track to effectively “lock” down the door. It’s similar to those small window track locks you can buy for your home interior windows.
10. Don’t neglect maintenance on the mechanical parts of your roll-up garage door and keep an eye out for corrosion. Don’t forget the door from your garage to your house; check the frame, locks, hinges and any replaceable items