Daily Archives: June 23, 2010

From Carriage House to Modern Day Garage

Did you know that the garage of yesteryear was often shared with horses and other domestic animals?

This stinky truth paved way for the need to build a separate vehicle storage room. And so, separate buildings were constructed to house vehicles such as cars and trucks. The building was known as carriage house. Since the garage is home to vehicles, the word was derived from the French word “garer” which means shelter. There was not even a trace of electric doors, and so as electric garage doors.

Time has whispered the need for carriage houses to be accessible. And so, garage was built in close proximity to the house. Since then, the garage has been an extension of the family home. This made it even accessible to use the car without literally leaving the household premises. Hence, the structural design of the garage goes with that of the house. Garage doors then were made of wood since the material is very much available. It is also cheap compared to some other processed materials. Wood is also a good insulator. The unfavorable attributes of wood; however, is that it is of high-maintenance cost and prone to destruction. Wood is weakened by external hazards such as weather and termites. This made it not advisable for use.

Steel was the answer to the low-durability of wood. This has modernized the materials used in making garage doors. It is a good insulator and energy-saving. Indeed, steel is a mighty name in the material for today’s garage door market.
Along with the discovery of using steel for garage doors, is the discovery systematic ways to improve the garage door operation. This is the discovery of electric garage doors. The old way was that using manual power. Optimum effort has to be exerted to open garage doors.

Thanks to the electronic door opener, through the use of simple machines and cables. Opening of garage doors became easier. A device was invented to control the garage door. The realm of electric garage doors opened up. Then the remote control door opener was introduced. It allows the driver to open the garage door by simply pushing a button. This type was powered by any of the following: transmitter-receiver mode; wireless mode; or rolling codes. This was more than the usual electric garage door features.

The journey from the carriage house to the official garage was long. There were series of breakthroughs to arrive at the present success of the garage door market. Through continuous research and development, there is still a long way to go for the garage door industry.

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