© 2008
Door & Access Systems
Publish Date: Summer 2008
Author: Tom Wadsworth
Pages 72-74
CLIPPINGS
Garage Doors and Openers in the Media
Clippings are brief summaries of recent news articles in
the consumer media. These stories offer insightful clues to
the latest trends for the door business.
Anchorage Battles Snout Houses, Boring Garage Doors
Source: “Snout Houses,” Anchorage (Alaska)
Daily News, March 9, 2008.
“Snout houses, the houses where the front is mostly
a blank, boring garage door, are still legal to build in Anchorage.”
So begins this editorial about a six-year-long process of
revising the city zoning code. The editor complains that “Anchorage
is filled with look-alike subdivisions of snout houses …
(that) make for monotonous, dull neighborhoods.”
The proposed changes require that front entrances be “visible
from the street” and that garages take up no more than
65 percent of the length of the front of a house. If the garage
exceeds 50 percent, the builders must pick from a list of
choices to make the front of the house more appealing.
Editor’s Note: “A list of choices,”
eh? How about choosing an upscale garage door to polish that
snout into a dazzling “new front door”? Who says
garage doors must be blank and boring?
And one more thing. If anyone questions whether the garage
door is indeed “the new front door of the American home,”
consider these points from Anchorage. Garages now can absorb
65 percent (not 30 percent) of the front of the home, and
the front entrance often is not even “visible.”
Sears Upsells to Carriage Doors
Source: Teena Hammond Gomez, “Garage Doors Come
Down Front and Center,” Shreveport (La.) Times (Gannett
News Service), May 24, 2008.
“Once-forgotten garage doors are getting attention
as homeowners realize that swapping out a basic blah door
for something more stylish can make a big impact.”
That’s how this syndicated article begins. Appearing
in various newspapers around the country, this story tells
consumers why it’s a great idea to upgrade to the new
classier doors.
The reporter offers several quotes from Jim Sparling, Sears’
product manager for garage doors. “For 70 percent of
houses, garages face the street,” he says. That’s
why homeowners are looking for doors that enhance curb appeal,
he adds.
Steel carriage house doors are the most popular, says Sparling.
Chris Cunningham of Cunningham Overhead Door in Louisville,
Ky., agrees.
“For years when it came to your garage door,”
he says, “you had two or three choices, nothing exciting,
and there are so many more choices now.” Cunningham
adds that people are now investing in better-looking doors
and replacing garage doors to change the look of their homes.
Editor’s Note: How many of your customers this
week will already be aware of the smart decision to buy classier
garage doors? Will you go ahead and sell them a garage door
style from 1990, or will you join Sears and Chris Cunningham
in the garage door revolution?
Experts Confirm Garage Door’s Key Role in High Winds
Source: Judy Stark, “Garage Doors Need Extra Precautions,”
St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times, May 18, 2008.
Many Floridians equate hurricane preparation with windows
covered with plywood.
“But here’s the plain truth,” reports Judy
Stark. “Approximately 80 percent of residential hurricane
damage starts with wind entry through garage doors, according
to the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes.”
Besides quoting FASH, this article quotes Jeff Burton of
the Institute for Business and Home Safety. “The larger
the door, the more vulnerable it becomes to high winds,”
he says.
The garage door is “one of a building’s weakest
points.” Plus, garages tend to be at the corners of
the house, “where wind pressure and suction are greatest.”
The article encourages homeowners to either buy a new door
that meets hurricane codes or apply appropriate retrofitting
to an existing door. Bill Houser of Genie of St. Petersburg
offers helpful advice to define “appropriate.”
Editor’s Note: With each hurricane season, new
attempts must be made to educate homeowners about the importance
of wind-resistant garage doors. The news media, the Federal
Alliance for Safe Homes, the Institute for Business and Home
Safety, and Genie of St. Pete are delivering the message.
Are you?
GDO Break-Ins Spreading Nationwide
With warmer weather here, burglars are enjoying their peak
season. And more thieves are using remote controls to gain
entry through garage doors. Here’s a sampling of recent
break-in reports.
While You Sleep. An Indiana man admits involvement
in 15 separate burglaries and crimes, confessing that he “used
garage door openers in unlocked vehicles to gain access to
garages while homeowners were sleeping.” WRTV-6
(Indianapolis, Ind.), May 1, 2008
The Break-In After the Break-In. Omaha police
report, “We’re seeing a lot of (car) windows broken
out. The glove box is ransacked and the garage door opener
is taken.” Burglars get the home address from the car’s
registration and then break into the home several days afterward.
KETV-7 (Omaha, Neb.), May 1, 2008
Victims Shocked. “Garage Door Opener
Thefts Shock Victims” is the title of this Charlotte,
N.C., story. Thieves pop the lock assemblies on vehicles parked
outside businesses, then they steal the GDO remote controls.
Police believe thieves use registration cards and a GPS system
to find the houses quickly. Charlotte (N.C.) Observer,
March 28, 2008
Churchgoers Beware. This brazen thief hit
four Texas church parking lots, broke windows of vehicles,
and snatched the remotes. The thief is also suspected in “similar
burglaries where garage door openers were taken from vehicles.”
Midland (Texas) Reporter-Telegram, April 18, 2008
New Burglary Tool. The title of this Massachusetts
story is, “Thieves’ New Tools: Garage Door Openers.”
Police say, “There has been an increase in these (types
of crimes) in surrounding towns, and we’re starting
to see more and more here.” Lexington (Mass.) Minuteman,
May 1, 2008
3 Cars, $100,000 Stolen. Nebraska police
warn of a “new crime trend” in which “a
group of men are stealing garage door openers from cars parked
outside.” The break-in occurs days later when no one
is home. One victim had three cars stolen and more than $100,000
in other losses. KMTV-3 (Omaha, Neb.), April 3, 2008
Police Issue Warning. After a spree of Missouri
home burglaries, police warn, “If you park your vehicle
outside, make sure you take your garage door opener inside.”
Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader, May 18, 2008
Early Morning Hours. In Wisconsin, a rash
of burglaries occurred in the early morning hours from April
26 to May 10. Police say, “Suspects enter unlocked vehicles
and use the garage door openers to enter garages and residences.”
Green Bay (Wis.) Press Gazette, May 10, 2008
Late-Night Assault. In this Connecticut
case, the burglar targets a woman, not property. Police say
a burglar grabbed a remote control from an unlocked car to
get into a house at midnight and attack a woman inside. The
Hartford (Conn.) Courant, Jan. 17, 2008
Editor’s Note: We’ve previously reported
about the growing problem of GDO break-in burglaries. Door
dealers can provide a distinct service by urging customers
to keep their remotes locked up and by selling mini-remotes
and open-garage-door monitors.
The Foot-in-the-Photo-Eye Trick
Source: “Man Sought in Garage Attack,” WRTV-6
(Indianapolis, Ind.), April 29-30, 2008.
This harrowing report tells the story of a 28-year-old woman
who comes home at 2:00 a.m., opens her garage door with the
remote, and pulls her car inside. After trying repeatedly
to close the door, she then notices a large hooded man standing
in the garage doorway.
“(He) stuck his foot out (blocking the photo-eye beam)
so my garage door wouldn’t go down,” she says.
The man points a silver semiautomatic handgun at the woman
and tells her to go inside. She instead screams and runs out
of the garage past the passenger side of her car. He gives
chase but eventually leaves. Police say the woman’s
actions may have saved her life.
Editor’s Note: This is the first I’ve heard
of a photo eye being used by an attacker. At the same time,
the photo eye probably saved her. If the door had closed,
she would’ve been trapped.
Door Guy Tries to Reclaim Garage Door
Source: Matt Calman, “Housing Row Flares After
Contractor Takes Back Door,” The Dominion Post (Wellington,
New Zealand), April 28, 2008.
What do you do when you get stiffed by a customer? In New
Zealand, police were called to a housing development when
a garage door installer tried to take back one of his doors.
He claimed he was owed $50,000.
The development originally planned to build 500 homes but
scaled it back to 90. The developer, apparently in financial
trouble, owes about $40 million.
The door guy, frustrated and near retirement at age 64, went
to an unoccupied house, removed the garage door, loaded it
on a trailer, and waited for police to arrive. He said he
had installed the first of 12 doors a year earlier and was
never paid. He said his terms and conditions “state
quite clearly” that the doors are his property.
“We don’t want to be cowboys,” he says,
“but … we are hurting and no one is listening.”
The police asked him to place the doors inside the garage
until the issue is resolved. The matter appears to be headed
for civil claims court.
Editor’s Note: Hmm. What do your terms and conditions
say? Can you reclaim a door if it’s not paid for?
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