Springs: A Garage Door's Best Friend

Springs are the main operating system for the garage door. People often wonder how a 1/2hp motor can lift a 150- or 200-pound garage door, and the real answer is that it probably couldn't--not without a little help. This is where your garage door's springs come in. These springs are wound with an incredible amount of required tension, and it's this tension that does the majority of the work when your door is opening or closing. Maybe you like to leave your door cracked open to let in some air? That's the springs at work again. Or maybe you've opened and closed the door manually, and with surprisingly little effort. That's the springs at work for you one more time.

A broken garage door torsion spring.

We last wrote about springs over a year ago, and we think that post covered some very important information. You can view the full post here (and we recommend you do), but we'll recycle some of the key points below.

• Springs don't usually shatter into pieces when they break, so it's not immediately obvious that a broken spring is causing a door not to open. Due to the incredible tension we talked about above, however, you are likely to hear a loud BANG when they break, and it would be very difficult or impossible to open the door manually.

• A broken spring is one of our most common service calls.

• In addition to inconvenience, broken or old, rusty springs can create a safety hazard for family members and pets that may be passing under an open door. For this reason, checking and properly lubricating springs is always on our checklist during all service calls.

• Springs are made to fit your unique garage door. We keep a large number of common sizes in stock, and we can also custom make some sizes in our shop. In most cases, we're able to replace broken springs the same day, and we're always able to get you up and running with a safe, temporary fix, should a special order be necessary.

Much like garage doors and nearly everything else, springs face extra pressure due to our warm, salty air. For this reason we use only the highest quality high-cycle springs, and we stand behind this quality with our own 3-year warranty.

To close out another great year with you all, we're offering our biggest savings ever on spring replacements. During the month of December 2016, save $50 off of any single-car door spring replacement, and save an incredible $100 off any double-car door spring replacement! Whether you have a broken spring or preemptively want to replace an old pair, use code word SPRINGS to take advantage of this great deal when calling 871-8888 to schedule your appointment!

Giving Thanks

We may not always remember it, but Thanksgiving is more of a Hawaiian holiday than we might imagine. Before Plymouth Rock and what most people think of as the meaning behind Thanksgiving, Native Hawaiians already had a festival of thanks, celebrating a successful harvest for an entire season. In order not to compete with the existing November holiday of La Kuokoa, King Kamehameha III declared December 31 a national holiday of Thanksgiving, making it a national holiday 14 years before Lincoln declared it as such (we now of course celebrate in November alongside our mainland neighbors). What does this have to do with garage doors? Well, nothing directly, but this month we're giving thanks and remembering some of our own history.

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One of the things we're most thankful for is our rich history here on Maui, and the opportunities that led to us being Maui's oldest garage door company. It takes a long time to earn trust, and we take that responsibility seriously, dating all the way back to when we were Maui Doors, in 1975. Fast forward to 1985, when Javan is fresh out of high school and working as an employee of Maui Doors. Over the course of five years, Javan worked tirelessly and grew the garage door portion of the business to its own enterprise, eventually assuming ownership in 1990, when we officially became Maui Garage Doors. 

Javan & Keri Quinsaat, Owners

Today, we're still the same family-owned-and-operated business we've always been, but we've continued to grow and build on the trust of quality service we've worked to establish throughout our history. We maintain a physical location and showroom, are fully accredited, a member of the Better Business Bureau, and an active member of the International Door Association. And we couldn't have done any of it without you all, or without the dedication, professionalism, and expertise of our incredible staff. So from the bottom of our hearts: THANK YOU, MGD O'HANA!

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To express our gratitude, we're offering 10% off any service or repair calls in the month of November. Mention promo code THANKFUL when calling 871-8888 to schedule your appointment. Please also feel free to share something you're thankful for this month. We look forward to hearing from you!

Wi-Fi Enabled Operators: Access Anywhere

One of our most popular posts last year focused around new technology that allows you to control and check the status of your garage door from anywhere on our beautiful island (or the world). This was no huge surprise: Since the first electric overhead garage door opener was invented in 1926, the way most of us have gotten in and out of our garages has been with the push of button, either on a remote or a wall switch. When we no longer had to get out of our cars to open the door, that was a huge deal, but we always had to be within immediate proximity of the door itself. Thanks to LiftMaster's MyQ technology, you now don't even have to be in the same country, and it's allowed for some incredible peace of mind and improved home security.

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Previously available only through the addition of a retrofit package or accessory, MyQ functionality is now seamlessly integrated in a number of LiftMaster's world-class operators via built-in Wi-Fi! Models include a 3/4hp belt-drive operator, a 3/4hp chain-drive operator, and the impressive DC battery backup belt-drive operator. These operators are strong enough to lift the heaviest of doors, and with built-in Wi-Fi and MyQ technology, you can do so from a remote or the LiftMaster smartphone app on your phone or tablet. Additionally, all three of these models include LiftMaster's patented Security 2.0 functionality, ensuring that there's no crossover with a neighbor's garage door remote, for example.

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With MyQ, you can monitor the status of your door, receive garage door activity alerts, and open or close your garage door from anywhere with your smartphone or tablet. It even works on gates! With the appropriate accessory, you can even control the lights in your home, all through the same free app. With these new operators, they simply connect to your existing home wireless network. It's as easy as selecting your home network and entering your network password. Check out the video below for additional information on the functionality of MyQ technology.

As Maui's only authorized LiftMaster dealer, we're pleased to be offering 10% off the purchase and installation of any Wi-Fi Enabled LiftMaster operator, through the month of October 2016. Use code WI-FI when calling 871-8888 to schedule your FREE estimate today!

Win a New Garage Door!

It's often said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but for one lucky winner, garage door beauty will be measured by the eyes of the Maui Garage Doors o'hana. For the first time ever, we're having a contest! During the month of September, we'll be accepting submissions for our "Ugly Garage Door" contest. Additional details and rules follow below.

To Enter: From September 01, 2016 - September 30, 2016, e-mail a picture of the outside front of your garage door (e.g., take the picture by standing straight on looking at your closed garage door from your driveway) to mgd@mauigaragedoors.com with the subject line "Ugly Door Contest." In your e-mail, please include your name, best e-mail address, best contact phone number, and one or two sentences about the history of the door (approximately how old it is, the story of its decline, etcetera).

How it Works: All entries will be shared on the Maui Garage Doors' Facebook page on October 1, 2016. Public voting (liking) on Facebook will close at 5:00pm on Monday, October 10. For a vote to count, the person voting must like both the image and the Maui Garage Doors' Facebook page. The winner will be the image with the most verified likes and will be announced by 5:00pm on Friday, October 14, 2016.

What You'll WIN: A standard-size garage door INSTALLED! Door upgrades and larger sizes are available for an additional charge. (A standard-size garage door is considered to be a 16' x 7' Amarr Stratford 1000, Solid (no windows), in White.)

The Fine Print: No purchase necessary to enter or win. A purchase will not increase your chances of winning. Only residential doors will be considered. Only likes of the officially shared image on our page will register as a vote (meaning that an image shared on your page must still be liked on the MGD Facebook page), and the individual voting must have also liked the MGD Facebook page. Winning prize has no cash value and is not transferrable to cash. By entering, you give consent to have the image and story you submit shared publicly on the MGD Facebook page. Upon accepting the prize, the winning party also agrees to have a before/after image of their home, their name, and their image used by Maui Garage Doors for promotional and advertising purposes. Winning prize and free installation is limited to the island of Maui only. Residents of Hana, Lana'i, or Moloka'i will be subject to additional fee for transportation of materials and additional travel time for technicians.

Have questions about the contest, or an ugly door that can't wait for contest results? Call 871-8888 to schedule your FREE estimate today!

Quality Without Cost: Martin Standard Steel

Loyal readers will have by now realized that we're fans of alliteration, so when August rolls around, it's naturally time to showcase something with quality--we wouldn't put our name behind it if it didn't meet our expectations for quality--but that is also affordable. (Get it? August...affordable?) This month's topic could not meet these requirements better. Comparable to one of our most popular doors, the Stratford Series by Amarr, Martin's Standard steel door is a top-quality door at an affordable price.

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The Martin Standard comes in three classic panel styles and four steel paint colors, but customization options are nearly limitless with an incredibly wide range of powder coat colors and window options. An upgraded hardware package will also provide a lifetime warranty, while sections and colors are guaranteed by a strong, five-year warranty. Depending on your needs, four insulation options are also offered: steel only, steel + insulation, steel + insulation + steel, and an impressive steel + two insulation layers + steel.

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Martin backs their doors with a trusted name that's been in the industry since 1936. Since that time, the company has remained in Martin family while expanding offerings and improving on quality with the newest technologies. They've focused on safety by inventing (and patenting) a finger safety system for section joints called FingerShield, and have been recognized by the Consumer Product Safety Commission for "build[ing] to a higher standard." These advances have led to them being an international name, selling in 93 countries. We're proud to offer them here on Maui.

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We're kicking off August with a great promotion for the Martin Standard door: $50 off of a single-car door installed, and $100 off of a double-car door installed. To take advantage of this great promotion, use promo code MARTIN when calling 871-8888 to schedule your FREE estimate today!

Summer Showcase: Ziegler Doors

Before we offer a new product here at Maui Garage Doors, we do a lot of research to determine if it's of appropriate quality, both in its performance in Maui's micro-climates and its manufacturing. When possible, we use products from companies with values similar to ours, that manufacture and operate on as local a level as possible, and that don't take shortcuts to put profit over quality. This month we're excited to share with you one of our newest finds: the phenomenal, custom doors from Ziegler Doors, Inc.

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Since 1969, Ziegler Doors has been a family business, operating out of Orange County, California. While the possibilities of their custom doors are limitless, the've made a name for themselves by creating high-quality, hand-crafted doors that replicate "old world" architecture. As door technology has advanced over the years, so has Ziegler's offerings, now including a recycled, composite door that they stand behind with a lifetime warranty.

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Of their offerings, we've seen strong performance from their custom wood and composite Eco doors, and we're excited to now be offering both on Maui! Their residential custom wood doors can be made from nearly any wood species found in the world, and you can choose from one of their designs or work with us to create something completely unique to your home. Being environmentally conscious has always been a focus for us, and their composite Eco doors maintain quality and customization while using all recycled wood product for a beautiful product.

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We're excited this month to be offering the BIGGEST SAVINGS EVER on these doors: For the month of July only, save $75 off any single car door and $150 off of any double car door! Call 871-8888 and use promo code ZIEGLER when scheduling your FREE estimate today!

$ave Safely During National Garage Door Safety Month

It's June, and that means it's once again time to celebrate National Garage Door Safety Month! We've talked before on the blog about the importance of preventative maintenance, so we won't say more here than the fact that a large number of issues with your door and operator are avoidable and detectable with regular, routine maintenance (hint: service plan!). Instead, this month we'd like to look at the importance of garage door safety and provide you with some good tests that you can use on your own. Although this knowledge can help to save you some money, we still have a great promo for this month for when you do need a service call.

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Last year we mentioned that the garage door is the heaviest moving object in your home, and how 70% of homeowners use the garage door as their primary entrance to their home. These stats are still true today, and that means that it's still just as important today as ever to make sure things are running smoothly. Not all problems are obvious, and that's why each time we visit your home we have an extensive checklist to check on the integrity and operation of all of the moving parts. The garage is a natural gathering place for us here on Maui, and National Garage Door Safety Month is a great opportunity to get a questionable door back in order or replaced.

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Luckily, you don't have to be a technician to do some very basic checks on your own. Check out the video, provided by LiftMaster, below for some great tips that you can utilize at home. Keep in mind that these checks are intended to test the operation of a properly functioning door. If you suspect any issues or have been having any trouble with your door, please do not perform these simple tests. The theme of this month is safety, afterall, so please, please call us before putting yourself or your family or pets at any risk!

Did any of your tests not pass? If so, give us a call to schedule an appointment immediately. During the month of June we're excited to be offering $20 off the cost of any service call, PLUS a FREE kids safety coloring book! Use promo code SAFETY when calling 871-8888 to book your service appointment.