The pull cord on your Lake Zurich garage door opener is garage door opener insurance

You’ve probably noticed that there is a cord, with a small handle, hanging down from your Lake Zurich garage door opener. Sometimes, it’s a yellow pull cord. Sometimes, it’s a white pull cord, or black. And, sometimes, it’s red-and-white striped. But, the color really doesn’t matter. What matters is that the cord is there when you need it.

When do you need the pull cord hanging down from your garage door opener? You need it if you don’t want to use the electric garage door opener or if you can’t use the electric garage door opener.

Without the pull cord, if there was a power outage or you otherwise didn’t have electricity running to the garage door opener, such as if the circuit breaker for the garage door opener was tripped, you would have trouble opening the garage door unless there was a redundant system – i.e., the pull cord.

The garage door opener could also break down. If so, until a garage door repair technician could arrive, without the pull cord, you’d have trouble opening the garage door.

If you need to open your Lake Zurich garage door without the benefit of your garage door opener, all you need to do is pull the pull cord to release the latch that disengages the garage door opener. You still have to lift the garage door manually but you won’t be fighting a losing battle with the garage door opener (if you’re really strong and could win that fight – don’t. You’ll damage the garage door and garage door opener).

Once you’ve pulled the pull cord, and disengaged the garage door opener, if you want to use the garage door opener again later, you have to re-engage it. To do so, pull the pull cord again and push the garage door all the way up until you hear it click.

Of course, if your Lake Zurich garage door opener does stop working, or the electricity stops short of the garage door opener, be sure to call a qualified garage door technician. And, if your pull cord comes off the garage door opener, you may also want to call an garage door technician to replace it so, if you need it, it’s there.

New garage door can have tremendous impact on Mundelein home’s curb appeal

Curb appeal is a critical factor when someone is selling their Mundelein home. If the home looks like a dump from the street, you won’t have too many people walking through with realtors. While there are many things you can do to improve a home’s curb appeal, replacing the garage door is one you may not have considered but that offers some serious bang for the buck.

In Mundelein, most garage doors are visible from the street. In such cases, it’s difficult to hide an old and worn garage door. If the garage door looks shabby, the entire house is liable to look that way for a prospective buyer who drives by.

Consider the size of a garage door. Garage doors generally run 12X7 feet, 14X7 feet or 16X7 feet. That works out to 84 square feet, 98 square feet or 112 square feet. A ranch home may run from 50 X 10 feet. That’s 500 square feet. A 2-story home could be 900 square feet. With these dimensions, the size of the smaller garage door could range from 1/5th of the homes front-facing dimensions to more than 1/10th. Even with larger homes, a garage door represents a significant portion of the home’s street-side face.

As a percentage of that curb-side view, it’s imperative to consider the condition of the garage door when selling a home. But, why wait until you’re selling your home?

Many people will tell you that their home was never in better condition than the day they sold it, assuming they didn’t buy the home new. They live with conditions that require repairs. They live with siding that badly needs painting or windows that bind. And, they live with garage doors that look ‘rough’ – to say the least.

It would be nice to live with a garage door that enhances the home’s image, even if you’re not selling your home. But, if the garage door looks that bad, is it in good condition otherwise? Probably not.

If a Mundelein garage door looks worn, there’s a good chance that the springs, rollers, hinges, garage door opener and other parts of the garage door are in need of repair or replacement. In such a case, replacing a garage door gives you a garage door that looks good and operates efficiently.