Spring is the time of year when homeowners start thinking about spring-cleaning – and you know how this goes – with spring cleaning spring home renovation. One of the easiest spring transformations you can give your home is to replace your garage door. In fact, now is the time if the harsh winter months battered your garage door’s structure.

Below are some things to consider before choosing the best garage door for your home.

Does It Have Style?

When you’re replacing the existing garage doors, the choices can be a bit confusing since there are so many options. First, you need to think about the style of the new garage door. For example, styles like the Avante collection, created with contemporary aluminum and glass, work great with modern homes. The Canyon Ridge collection, which features the texture of natural wood in a style that is reminiscent of carriage house doors, is a great compliment to a traditional style home.

To Insulate or Not Insulate?

In a climate like the one in Missouri, you’ll need to consider a new garage door that is insulated to protect the items inside. Whether your garage is attached or not, you want to keep the garage insulated from the harsh cold of winter as well as the warmth of summer. Customers often choose insulated doors because they provide energy efficiency especially for a garage that is attached to the home.

What’s It Made Of?

When choosing a garage door, it’s important to consider what materials it’s made from. Every door we sell at Martin Door is built to last. In fact, our Clopay doors are constructed with hot-dipped galvanized layers as well as baked primer and topcoat. Your garage door will not need repainting every year and many of our collections – like the Clopay Classic collection – are available in three, two or one-layer construction with an Intellicore and vinyl backed insulation.

Can I Afford It?

Expensive garage doors are not necessarily better than more inexpensive options. For those working with a limited budget, Clopay offers a variety of collections guaranteed to be easy on your pocketbook. Like more expensive doors, they too will provide long-lasting durability and energy-efficiency for extra to the homeowner.

The garage door you choose for your home should match its design and style – all while being affordable, energy-efficient and durable. Ready to tackle that spring home improvement project? Martin Door and Window has a huge variety of garage doors and one is sure to add curb appeal to your home.

Roy “Skip” F. Bornmueller started working at Martin Door & Window in 2000, after already having a long career in the garage door industry. Skip got his start in 1979 at Maplewood Mill Garage Door Company as a service man, where he repaired garage doors. He then went on to Raynor Door as a door installer, when the company bought Maplewood.

After three years with Raynor, he held positions at Cox Brothers Garage Door Company and Bi State Loading Dock, eventually purchasing the Overhead Door Division of Bi State Loading Dock and renaming it Bi State Overhead Door.

Skip sold Bi State Overhead Door about eight years later and went to work for Birdsong Door as a Service Manager until 2000, when he came to work for Martin Door & Window as a commercial salesman.

“Skip has always had an old school work hard, work ethic,” said Jack Kaelber, VP at Martin Door & Window. “He has been a great asset to Martin Door & Window for the past 16 years. Skip’s knowledge and comradery will be truly missed.”

Born and raised in St. Louis, Skip graduated from Afton High School in 1964 and attended Meramec Community College before enlisting in the United States Navy in 1966.

He served two tours in Vietnam on the USS Comstock and returned home three years later to begin his career. In 1969, Skip married his wife Becky. Today they have two adult children, 4 grandchildren & 3 great grandchildren.

Skip’s last Day at Martin Door and Window is August 31. He’s looking forward to tackling as many hobbies as possible once he retires.

Congratulations on your Retirement, Skip! Everyone at MD&W wishes you a happy, healthy, fun filled retirement filled with family and friends.

Fall is a popular season, and it’s easy to see why. Fall brings the beautiful changing of leaves, the start of football season, and promise of holidays just around the corner. While it’s usually necessary to bundle up a bit when you go outside this time of year, you shouldn’t have to do this in your own home.

If your home seems drastically colder than it was last fall, or your heating bill is more expensive, it may be time to trouble shoot and get your home ready for winter with new products. Ready for fall home improvement? Check out these products from Martin Door & Window to get your home ready for the last few months of the year:

• LiftMaster garage door openers keep your door running in the coldest months and can even be controlled from a smartphone.
• New insulated garage doors can keep your garage warmer on those chilly fall mornings.
• Entry doors will give your home a unique look for the upcoming holidays and keep in the warm air.
• Replacement windows can enhance the appearance of your home, reduce heating bills and even eliminate outside noise.

Remember: Now is the time for fall home improvement so you don’t end up with extra costs and difficulties come winter. These simple and relatively low-cost additions can give your home that look you want for the upcoming holidays, and make your home a cozy and relaxing place for the cold months ahead.

In mid-May Martin Door & Window had the honor to attend the Clopay Leadership Conference in Sonoma, CA. The event is held every year for Clopay’s top selling Clopay authorized dealers. This year, Martin Door VP Jack Kaelber and his team attended the four day conference, where he met with other top garage door companies from across the world.

“It was an amazing opportunity to surround myself with people from all over the world who are in the same business,” said Jack. “I heard different points of view and approaches that really helped me see things from a new perspective. It was truly a life changing experience.”

Throughout the week Jack and the team attended business seminars on topics including social media, marketing and product line expansion opportunities. The week culminated in an awards ceremony honoring Clopay dealers for achieving sales and service in their markets.

In addition, the Martin Door crew had an opportunity to visit San Francisco, see the trolley cars, sample fantastic wines at Sonoma wineries, and captured some great photos of Alcatraz.

“I simply cannot say enough about the opportunity,” said Jack. “It was one of the most rewarding weeks I’ve had – both personally and professionally.”