Customer Input

Adrian, a customer in Australia found DDM Garage Doors online while in search of garage door rollers.  With permission, I relay what he had to say after ordering and receiving the parts:

Hi Jean, Jim and Team at DDM, I received the parcel on Saturday (took about 10 days). All was in order and have installed the rollers with no problems. All up cost me about 20% of what I would have paid if purchased in Australia. Thanks to all of you for your assistance and prompt service. Will be sure to recommend you to my friends and colleagues.

 Much appreciated from a very satisfied Australian Customer!

 Regards,

 Adrian

If you’re down under, and you need parts and a good deal, do what Adrian did.  Here’s how to order; just click the hyperlink at the order page to send e-mail (the preferred way to contact us from overseas). While international shipping timing is not guaranteed, we’ll do our best to get you the parts in a timely manner.

Whether you live or work in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, or anywhere in between, have a look at rollers, hinges, cable, fasteners, and more – for residential and commercial applications – at our garage door parts page.

So you’ve seen our page on how to install garage door torsion springs…

In the process of digesting all the information, customers sometimes make an assumption that is dangerous.

When installing two springs, using two bushings or bearings sounds reasonable – it seems to make sense.  Two springs, two bushings?

Actually, using two bushings causes the stationary cones to seat improperly.  This can lead to the breaking of the cones.  Breaking cones on a spring with tension can release a massive amount of energy, possibly propelling tools or hardware with deadly force! (see the red text at our torsion spring replacement page).

If you have a slotted spring anchor bracket with a bearing/bushing, don’t add a second one.

And if you have a bracket with the bearing inside already, you don’t need a bushing or bearing.

 Sounds contradictory, but it’s based on the function of a bearing or bushing:  to protect the shaft against rubbing on the center bracket.

High Lift Kit

The number of customers calling us to help convert their garage doors to high lift track systems has grown considerably over the past year.  Our ability to process these has always benefited from the input of our great technical staff headed by owner Dan Musick.

DDM can spec kits for various dimensions of lifts, roofline pitch situations, and even commercial and vertical lifts.  By navigating through the issues garage owners face, we’ve gained a familiarity with customers’ needs and priorities in the process of assembling special lift kits.

But recently, one of our fine customers who called to spec a high lift kit made us aware of a garage forum thread online.  At this forum, participants share knowledge about where to get the best parts and prices to handle garage remodeling projects such as high lift conversions.  From this thread, we have discovered that customers have been recommending DDM enthusiastically as a source for high lift parts, to their friends and forum-mates.  For this, we are grateful.

Knowing we are known in the online community is an inspiration to continue to pursue excellence for the glory of God as we get the job done with high lift kits~

High lift or vertical lift?  The answer is up to you.

I receive numerous calls every week from customers who want to raise the lift of their garage doors.  Here are some considerations:

You may want a vertical lift system if your garage has at least the door’s height plus 18″ of room above your door’s original height AND…

a. You don’t mind changing to a shaft-mounted opener.

b. You want to lift high-profile vehicles to head height or greater using a floor jack

c. You have high shelves of items nearby in a garage or warehouse

d. You want a high lift greater than  54″, and find cost savings on your kit over a commercial high lift (call us to price the kit and springs).

e. You simply want the track system completely out of the way in your garage area.

Best candidates for a regular high lift are those who

a. Have shorter, often residential garage ceilings

b. Don’t mind having a shaft-mounted opener

c. Need the track system out of the way for lower car jack systems

d. Want to save money over a vertical lift system

e. Dislike having serviceable parts very high in the garage

Whatever you choose, give me a call at 1-800-383-9548 to discuss your garage door lift situation, and we can work it out for you.

Customers needing garage door springs and garage door parts are giving a lot of positive feedback about their experience with DDM lately.

I answer the phones for DDM on a daily basis, and I also receive a fair share of emails.  I’m very pleased that so many of our satisfied customers contact us simply to relate how well their springs are working, how thorough the repair tutorials and instructions were, and how all of us at DDM contributed to their overall satisfaction.  Some offer–without being prompted–to refer us to friends, co-workers, and acquaintances.

We at DDM Garage Doors want to sincerely thank all our customers for their loyal support and business, but of course, give all the glory to God for enabling us to work well together for all whom He has given us to serve.

As we look to the future, we’ve put a new link on each page of our site to help invite others to our business.  It is called Google +1.

Through a Google account, satisfied customers can click +1 to give us a “vote.”  People using Google to search for garage door springs or parts can see the +1s, and they’ll be inspired to trust us to get the job done for them as well.

With this feature, we’re confident that more people than ever can benefit from our products and services this year and beyond!

Garage door weatherstripping is not just for sealing anymore…

Sure, seals from the top down keep the garage free from energy loss, outside elements and animal life, but now they make a great color-coordinated addition to doors with an oaken appearance-a trending door style.  A fine customer of ours gave us the pictures and ideas.

Above is the oak-looking door with its black exterior hinges and handles.  Click to enlarge if necessary for full effect.  Below, is the top seal’s positioning for creating a linear, color-friendly trim to the oak-looking door.  Keep in mind–you can also use top seal for the sides, as shown.

Do you want to add this look to your oak-style door?  Check out our top and side seal selection at the link above.

Everybody wants sunshine.  It warms the ground, makes plants grow for food and beauty, facilitates outdoor activities, gets children playing, and generally cheers the soul.  It is majestic,  “like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion” (Psalm 19:5).

But a photo eye for a garage door opener actually prefers the shade.  That’s where the bathroom tissue core above comes in.

Customers nationwide have paid hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to rectify pesky sun-related problems with garage door opener photo eyes. Any sunny location and/or region of the country is susceptible.  However, one of our customers has come up with a relatively simple, yet largely effective means of preserving the photo eye on a garage door opener sensor.

Shown below is a basic sensor assembly, then the core implemented as a shade for the eye.

This ingenious device is low cost , made from readily available material, and is even green, as it provides a post-use for what otherwise would be discarded immediately.  So give it a try–

On a garage door, right?  Of course, we sell them for doors, but actually, we’re getting reports that some of our customers have found some interesting alternate uses for extension springs, some practical, some humorous.

At Dartmouth, they are being used to support antenna wires.

The perfect idea for this time of year:  A pumpkin launcher.  One such setup took first prize!

Andrews Air Force Base just ordered several of our biggest springs, possibly to balance a platform.

And someone sent kids on a lake boat launch powered by extension springs!

From time to time DDM Garage Doors hits upon ways to assist our customers with cost savings when they order garage door springs or other parts.  One such experience came recently when one of our customers ordered springs. We had him consider converting from longer 1 3/4″ springs to shorter 2″ springs, while maintaining mechanical integrity.   This saved the customer over $6.00, as the 2” springs fit in a large flat rate box.

We will be back with more ideas to help you save on garage door parts.

DDM Garage Doors recognizes and appreciates La Grou Distribution for its business and loyalty over the years.

Chicagoland warehousing and distribution services from La Grou roll on since 1964.  Notable among La Grou’s logistics prowess is many years of helping facilitate the summer favorite, “Taste of Chicago,” which sees millions of visitors annually from the US and even abroad.

La Grou counts DDM Garage Doors a friend in their ongoing drive to supremacy in the distribution warehousing market.  Aided by DDM’s parts and training, the garage doors of the Chicago area-based food distribution firm have been consistently and effectively maintained through this mutually beneficial relationship.

Building manager Roy O’ Donnell of La Grou Properties, which oversees the West Chicago facility, first found DDM’s supply catalog in the mid-1990s, and gave Dan Musick a call.

Dan initially came out and trained Roy’s staff in the maintenance and repair of their 48 sectional and overhead doors.  The distinctive and careful training approach worked well for the technicians.  Since then, armed with the trusty catalog, Roy ably does job estimates and orders garage door tracks, cable, springs and more parts on a regular basis, thereby keeping more doors in shape for longer periods.  This is no small benefit, given the number of garage door repairs that may crop up in a busy dock environment.

Also compelling for Roy is timely and accurate parts order fulfillment.  Eventually, other La Grou locations began purchasing parts from DDM, and receiving them via transfer from the West Chicago facility in addition to direct ordering.  And all has been received in a cost-effective way that encouraged repeat ordering and a trusted business relationship.

But most important to Roy is the personal angle.  He remarks that Dan “put a face with the name.”  This refers to the thorough in-person training and follow-up Dan provided to help keep La Grou’s garage doors smoothly operational.

And indeed the forging of this business relationship has furthered Dan’s passion for the garage door industry, and helping people in it.

Here’s to La Grou as we both roll into the future!