
A resource for those seeking information on organizing and transforming spaces.
Guest Post - The Most Common Garage Door Issues and How to Solve Them
Your garage keeps your cars protected from outside elements. Over time, your garage door can begin to wear down due to repeated use. Here are some common issues to look out for and how to fix them.
Your garage keeps your cars protected from outside elements. Over time, your garage door can begin to wear down due to repeated use. Here are some common issues to look out for and how to fix them.
1. Your Door Won’t Open or Close
Having your door open or close easily is essential. This is especially helpful when you’re in a rush to get somewhere. Failing to use your door for a while or keeping up with proper maintenance could be causing the problem, which is why upkeep is vital.
Here are some regular maintenance tips to consider:
Apply lubrication
Tighten the hardware
Clean out any dust
Check for cracks or broken rollers
Replace the lock
Even with proper maintenance, your door can tighten over time. Here are some other common reasons you’re having trouble opening and closing it:
Your remote is dead
The door opener motor burned out
The close-limit switch is improperly adjusted
The weather has been colder
You can fix most of the problems with a simple battery replacement. However, you may need to contact a professional when dealing with your door’s open motor.
2. Broken Garage Door Springs
This is one of the more common garage door issues. There are multiple types of springs, such as torsion, extension and Holmes one-piece options, and any one of them can fail at any time. If you’re at home, you are likely to hear the break. If you notice your garage door isn’t functioning properly, check to make sure all the springs are there.
Here are some other signs to look out for:
There are balance issues
You hear excessive squeaking
The top half of the door is misaligned
The door only opens a few inches
The cables attached to the spring are dangling
Once you notice your springs are broken, call a professional for help. This is especially true if you have metal torsion springs. To keep yourself safe and your garage door intact, leave it to the experts.
3. The Photo Eye Sensor Isn’t Working Properly
A photo-eye sensor is a safety feature. It lets you know if something is blocking the door from fully closing. It’s usually a couple of inches off the ground and the size of a pea, and the sensors direct beams toward each other. The circuit breaks if there is any disruption, which prevents the door from closing.
If your garage door isn’t properly functioning, then your photo-sensor could be blocked. You may also want to check to see if the cord broke.
Here are some steps to adjust your device:
Make sure the sensors have a lit LED light
Check them to see if they are dirty
Adjust the pivot bracket by loosening the bolts and screws
Move it slightly in and out and up and down until the light comes on
See if the wires are mounted at the same height
4. The Door Isn’t Responding to a Keypad or Remote
Having a remote or keypad makes operating your garage door more convenient. If you’re remote isn’t responding, you may be out of range of the antenna. To fix this issue, make sure the antenna isn’t broken and try reprogramming the keypad.
This is something you can do yourself. If you have any questions, contact your manufacturer for more information.
Here are the steps to take to reprogram your garage door opener:
Access your door motor
Reset the motor
Enter a new code
Reprogram the remote
Make sure your remote batteries are charged before making any adjustments. If they’re not, you’ll want to replace them first.
5. The Motor Won’t Stop
When you close your garage door, the motor should stop once it reaches the top. If it continues, there may be an issue. Most motor-related problems require an up-limit switch adjustment, which you can either fix yourself or hire a professional to do. You will need to access the limit switch and turn the adjustment screws clockwise for a DIY repair.
Common Garage Door Issues
Your garage door experiences wear and tear over time. Look out for these common problems and solutions to keep things running smoothly for years to come.
Author bio: Rose Morrison is the managing editor of Renovated, where she offers advice on home renovation, maintenance, and organization.
Why You Should Upgrade Your Electric Panel
In this article, we’ll break down three reasons why you should get your electric panel upgraded.
Our homes run on electricity. These days, you wouldn’t be able to get through the day without your gadgets or appliances. Whether you need your daily coffee intake courtesy of your electric coffee maker or the latest news from your television, it’s evident that electricity plays an essential role in our daily lives.
Now, what would happen if the power went out?
It would be pretty nerve-wracking, and you wouldn’t be able to do things the way you usually do. Our homes don’t magically get electricity. What keeps electricity running in your home is your electric panel.
Electric panels are usually in your basements or garages, making them easy to overlook. Although they are pretty durable and rarely need to be replaced often, they are obsolete and can become rusty over time.
When left unchecked, an outdated electric panel can cause a lot of problems for homeowners. An outdated electric panel can cause fires due to faulty wiring and damaged parts. Although a fire is terrifying enough, it isn’t the only reason you should upgrade your electric panel.
In this article, we’ll break down three reasons why you should get your electric panel upgraded.
The Safety of Your Home
The most important reason for upgrading your electric panel is to keep your home safe from potential dangers such as fires. According to research, faulty wiring and electric panel problems are some of the leading causes of house fires.
Instead of waiting for disaster to strike, you should get your electric panel checked to see if you need to upgrade it or not. Investing in an electric panel upgrade will not just keep your home safe from electrical mishaps. Upgrading your electric panel is one of the most beneficial improvements you can do for your house other than remodeling it. Besides keeping your home safe, it will also increase your home’s value— perfect for those planning to move out or rent their homes.
Overusing Power Strips
Another reason you should consider upgrading your electric panel is due to overusing power strips. If your home is filled with power strips, then it might be time to upgrade your electric panel.
Today, we need electricity to charge our phones and appliances. If you’re using more and more power strips and extension cords to keep your gadgets charged, you are using more electricity than your home can supply.
Tripping Circuit Breakers
Have you ever plugged in a new electrical appliance, and a minute later, your power gets cut off? This happens when your circuit breakers trip. It’s a safety feature in your home to prevent electrical mishaps.
However, if you notice that your circuit breakers trip constantly, it probably means that your home can’t handle that much electricity. This is a sure sign that your electric panel needs to be upgraded.
Wrapping Up
Your electric panel is just as important as any part of your home. It might be the most important thing since it keeps your house running. Upgrading your electric panel can help prevent many issues in the future, such as potential fires, faulty wiring, tripping circuit breakers, and excessive electricity use.
If you’re unsure whether or not your electric panel needs an upgrade, you can hire a professional to help you out. Electrical emergencies are never fun to deal with. When in doubt, call a professional because they can help you determine what steps you need to take and make sure your electric panel is in good condition.
How to Brighten Your Yard With Landscape Lighting
For most of us, a yard is more than just some extra space tacked onto the back of our house. It’s a safe haven, where we can tend to our garden, socialize, and relax in tranquil, beautiful surroundings.
However, especially for those who are lucky enough to have large yards, lighting can become an issue once the sun goes down. Sitting on the decking isn’t quite as fun when it’s pitch black outside.
So, you have two choices. You can go inside when it gets dark, or you can highlight your beautiful yard with carefully chosen landscape lighting.
Depending on the size and features of your yard, you may need only a few simple lights. Let’s discuss how to choose what to highlight, and what types of yard lighting are best for you.
For most of us, a yard is more than just some extra space tacked onto the back of our house. It’s a safe haven, where we can tend to our garden, socialize, and relax in tranquil, beautiful surroundings.
However, especially for those who are lucky enough to have large yards, lighting can become an issue once the sun goes down. Sitting on the decking isn’t quite as fun when it’s pitch black outside.
So, you have two choices. You can go inside when it gets dark, or you can highlight your beautiful yard with carefully chosen landscape lighting.
Depending on the size and features of your yard, you may need only a few simple lights. Let’s discuss how to choose what to highlight, and what types of yard lighting are best for you.
Choosing Features to Highlight
It’s easy to go overboard with landscape lighting. It’s better to adopt a “less is more” attitude to lighting up your yard. Yard lighting is more about highlighting features of your garden than anything else, so if you overlight, nothing will stand out.
So, the key is to prioritize the features you think should be emphasized. Let’s take a look at some popular features and how you can highlight them.
Yard features
This could include water features, statues, or any other kind of notable decoration. Focus on beauty spots in your yard. Feel free to experiment, since playing around with lights and shadows can give a yard a completely different look at night.
Pathways and driveways
While yard lighting is usually a decorative aspect, don’t overlook a safety element. Some lights can sit unobtrusively along pathways, steps, and driveways. This lights up traffic areas and means you can move safely around your garden at night.
Decking or patios
Chances are, the patio or decking area is where you’ll spend most of your time in the garden at night. Spotlights can work well to illuminate the area, but they can be a little too bright, and leave harsh shadows. Some flat lights can be built into the area around the borders of the decking or patio, giving a relaxing, low-level light.
Texture areas
Lights can add detail and texture to an area, for example, a stone wall. Setting lights at intervals along a wall can keep the area gently lit while highlighting the textured area of the wall. This can also be handy to illuminate signs.
There are endless possibilities of features and areas to light up in your yard. The goal is to get your yard to look completely different during the night.
Types of Lighting
Yard lighting can vary from soft, subtle fairy lights, to harsh spotlights. The amount of lighting and the kind you use will depend on the size, shape, and style of your yard. For example, if you have a large yard, you’ll need strong lights and you may need more of them.
You can use just one style of light, but it’s more common to use a variety.
Spotlights and floodlights
Especially if you have a large yard, spotlights provide a good way to illuminate a large section at once. Motion-activated spotlights can add an extra layer of security. Spotlights can also be trained onto a feature element, creating interesting silhouettes and shadows. They can also draw attention to a feature you’re particularly proud of.
Post or in-ground lighting
Ideal for lighting up driveways or pathways, these lights can be built into the path itself, or can easily be placed alongside.
Water feature lights
Submerged lights in a water feature are exceptionally popular. Water feature lights make the water look as if it’s glowing from the inside, and you can even use colored lights to give an ethereal effect.
Uplights, or accent lights
These types of light shine directly onto a feature, drawing the eye. You can use these types of light around decking or patios, but you can also use them to highlight your favorite garden features.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of possible lighting ideas. The age-old method of stringing fairy lights in trees and shrubs can give your yard a sparkling, mischievous look. However, if you’re planning to light up your yard with large-scale landscape lighting, you may want to consult a professional.
Properly setting up landscape lighting is very important, if you don’t want your lights to flicker and die halfway through a late-night barbeque! Professional landscape lighters can give you helpful advice and may even give you a preview. Remember, the reality of the lighting may look different from how you imagine it in your head.
Benefits of a Well-Lit Yard
A well-lit yard can greatly enhance the beauty of your garden. Aside from allowing you to spend more time in your yard, landscape lighting makes yard space safer. Highlighting paths and driveways is a sensible choice to prevent tripping, and motion-activated spotlights can be a huge deterrent for prospective intruders.
Of course, landscape lighting gives you the chance to express your individuality, allowing you to style your space in a way that suits your taste. You can add as much or as little lighting as you like. Now, sit back and enjoy your revamped yard!
8 Decluttering Secrets for an Organized Home
Here are some decluttering secrets you might find helpful in creating a clutter-free living space:
Declutter – the word would spike terror in someone like me!
Although I would love to keep my place decorated to the nines, I just can’t. I am sure there are many out there in the same dilemma as me. According to National Soap and Detergent Association, getting rid of clutter will eliminate 40% of housework in an average home.
Moreover, a study by Cornwell University says that stress caused by clutter can trigger avoidance and coping strategies. These include incessantly consuming junk, over-sleeping, or binge-watching Netflix. This is not the kind of life you deserve.
Whether we like it or not, a kitchen counter stacked with dirty dishes or a basket loaded with unfolded laundry can be as distracting as a toddler throwing tantrums. If you are done with this life and want to flip the scenario, this blog is a must-read.
Here are some decluttering secrets you might find helpful in creating a clutter-free living space:
1. Start small
No matter how much you have to organize, it is essential to start with baby steps. A weekend-long organizing project when you have a family and a timetable and a life all at the same time is never a good idea.
So, start small. Invest in hooks, under-bench storage, and catch-all trays. This is to make sure the smallest of items, like keys, have a place. Small wins are colossal in a decluttering game.
2. Toss away the “one in, one out” rule
Many minimalists stick by the one in, one out rule. It regulates that you have to declutter something of the exact nature every time you bring something new.
It sounds cool in theory. But honestly, it encourages mindless guilt-free purchasing. You will supposedly declutter something when you get home. It would be apt to term it the bandaid approach. You may end up with a clean space, but it doesn’t teach you how to live with less. Seeking assistance from a clutter-busting service may be your next best shot.
Instead, practice on the “zero in, one out” rule if you really want to declutter your house.
3. Look at your home as a guest
This is one of the most potent tips you could ever find.
Imagine you are a guest staying at someone’s place. We tend to keep things where we found them in neat order. Plus, we don’t pile stuff on the floor when looking for something particular. You carefully rummage through stuff to find what you are looking for and don’t create a mess.
This simple tip can help to keep your home tidy.
4. Be smart with storage
Take a long, hard look at the number of bins or containers you use to keep stuff. If you feel about buying more containers or bins, the problem is not about the storage space. Instead, it is about the number of things you have.
Slim down the things you have in the existing baskets and boxes before hitting stores to buy new containers.
Then, reassess your storage needs. Buy more storage boxes and ensure that everything stays in its place. Incoming mail should remain in the basket on the countertop. Similarly, the TV remote will never get lost if there is a holder to keep it.
5. Always clean when you are done
Call this a room reset.
If you begin following this tip, you will be surprised at how much time it saves. For instance, before you hit the sack, try to keep extra things at their places. This will only take a few minutes if you are trying to move towards minimalist living.
A few minutes invested every day to keep the space tidy will give you a surprisingly vast amount of extra time. For further efficiency, you can hire a junk removal service like the Super Bee Disposal to handle the task for you.
6. Create a cleaning kit
No one can argue against the benefits of a clean home. Take some time to collect the cleaning supplies you usually use. Store them in a central location of your home for instant access. You can keep them in your linen closet, basement, or a lower cabinet in your kitchen. Find a large basket or a tote to keep all the cleaning supplies.
When you put them all in one place, the number of cleaning materials you have will surprise you. On the contrary, cleaning supplies all over the house doesn’t give you the proper insight into all the things you have. Consequently, people end up buying more than their requirements.
7. Follow the “30 Day” rule
The 30-day rule could be a blessing in disguise for those who religiously follow it. It implies not buying any oversized or expensive item within 30 days. If you still need it after that, go for it. The whole point of this rule is to give yourself some room to breathe. Impulse buying could lead to a budget disaster, not to mention the clutter in homes.
While you are on the 30-day break, you can question yourself if you actually need this big-ticket item. Does it make sense? Can you live without it?
8. Don’t keep broken stuff
Who does that! Right?
Well, you might not know, but you may be keeping broken, stained, or torn items. We tell ourselves that we will fix it and throw it in our closet. Over time, a pile of clothes rises on it, and it goes out of our minds. That pending fixture never comes. And we end up with unnecessary clutter in our houses.
If you need it and have a solid determination to fix it someday, you better store it in a box. Add this errand to your to-do list. Or the next time you go out shopping, find a replacement and let go of the broken items.
Parting Thoughts
Decluttering is a chore. It takes time and adequate planning to keep your place prim and proper. Experts recommend that you keep all distractions at bay when you are on a mission to remove clutter from your home or workplace.
Plus, make it an ongoing endeavor. This way, you won’t have to skip your work or friends’ hangout for a mission clean sweep.
We hope this all makes perfect sense. Let us all get to work!