The Doorman of South East Florida
Entry, garage doors make statement, help to recover value of a home
The entrance to your home is more than a door. It’s also a window to your personality.
For instance, a white door says that you like things neat, clean and organized. A yellow door says, “I have traditional values.” Meanwhile, a door with sidelights portrays the homeowner as sophisticated and elegant.
Just as the furniture in a home reflects a homeowner’s personality, so do entry and garage doors offer a clue about the people who live inside.
While entry and garage doors help provide privacy and security, they also play an important role in a home’s esthetics and value. With these doors making up about 30 percent of the front elevation of a home, how they look is important.
An upscale, exterior door can turn an ordinary entryway into a grand and elegant entrance.
“People don’t buy homes because the front door is functional, they buy because it looks nice,” says Jim Falzone, Jr., of The Doorman of South East Florida, 940 Clint Moore Road in Boca Raton.
A new entry or garage door is a home-improvement project that can pay for itself. According to a survey by Stratamark Research, when national real estate agents were shown “before” and “after” photos of homes with new, upscale garage doors, the agents increased their sale price of the home anywhere from 1 percent to 4 percent. That can be a return of as much as $8,000 on a $200,000 home.
For more than a quartercentury, this family-owned and -operated business has been beautifying and protecting South Florida homes with quality entry and garage doors. This Boca Raton company carries the largest selection in South Florida.
And, all are available at affordable prices. But, “the best prices don’t do any good if the product is inferior,” Falzone points out. “We use only the highest quality materials.”
It carries doors from such reputable manufacturers as Amarr, Clopay, Hurricane Master, Overhead Door, and Wayne Dalton.
All of its doors meet the strict Miami-Dade hurricane code.
The Doorman of South East Florida has many styles to choose from, ranging from carriagehouse doors to steel and textured-fiberglass doors with a wood-like
appearance. There are a number of design and color choices within each of those styles.
The new architectural trend is high-end finish doors. For instance, the Gallery Collection garage door by Clopay features a steel door with a wood appearance. This overhead door also has the look of a swing-out door, which is popular with homeowners these days.
Its ultra-grain paint finish is available in medium and dark oak and walnut wood grains.
Such high-end finishes have a more natural wood appearance. Some woodgrain-finish doors just have a grain running horizontally along the door. But the high-end finishes have both vertical and horizontal wood grains, which looks more natural.
The paint and finish are warrantied by the manufacturer, and t the doors carry the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval.
Wood-like doors have appeal in South Florida. While people like wood’s upscale look, real wood takes a beating from the area’s weather, making it impractical for South Florida homes. Woodgrain-finish doors provide a beautiful, durable alternative.
If your home’s entry and garage doors are at least 5 years old, now may be the time to think about replacing them with new, hurricane-impact doors.
Entry doors are opened and closed more than 1,000 times in a year; a garage door hundreds of times. As a result, entry doors can become dented, worn, rotted or warped. A garage door can get off track, springs can break, cables become frayed or motors can wear out.
The area’s heat and humidity can take a toll as well.
Whatever the age of your home’s entry and garage doors, it is recommended that they receive annual maintenance. The Doorman of South East Florida is “The Home of the $39.95 Garage Door Tune-up.”
For that price, the company will lubricate all moving parts; tighten loose nuts and bolts; and inspect rollers, hinges, cables, springs, the bottom rubber, the exterior weather seal, and safety sensors.
It’s a small price to pay to maintain an important part of your home.