If the garage door goes up and comes back down, most people tend to forget about this part of the home. If you live in a community that has a homeowners association, however, someone might take notice of smaller details, such as chipped or faded paint, an unapproved paint color, dents, scratches, or broken windows. Many HOAs encourage garage maintenance, including painting. If you want to avoid violations or fines, though, it’s important to contact a professional garage door company to handle the details for you.
Becoming Familiar With HOA Guidelines
A primary function of an HOA is to create and enforce rules intended to maintain a residential community. Maintaining a community often includes preserving the original architectural and aesthetic theme of the area. The rules help ensure one or even a handful of properties doesn’t stand out too much from the others.
Each HOA is different, so it’s essential to read through your HOA’s handbook and keep a copy close by any time you plan on making changes to the exterior of your property. Many HOAs also require you to receive approval before commencing the work. While your HOA will have unique guidelines, you can usually expect the following regarding garage door painting.
Approved Colors
You may love the idea of a brilliant shade of blue or green to make your garage door pop, but your HOA might not. It’s likely your HOA has provided you with a list of approved paint colors or makes one available on their website, in their office, or even at your neighborhood hardware store. Be sure to share this list with the garage door company you work with so they can help you choose a color or colors that will complement the rest of your home. Choosing from this list will help speed along the HOA approval process and allow you to get started on your specific paint job that much quicker.
If you have your heart set on a shade that you can’t find on your HOA’s approved list, there could still be hope. Some HOAs allow homeowners to deviate from the list but require swatches to be painted so they can get a look at the color on your house before approving or rejecting it. We recommend using these small sample patches even if HOA guidelines aren’t an issue. After all, you want to ensure you really love the color before you’re stuck with it.
Appropriate Designs
Unfortunately, you probably can’t just ask your talented artist friend to paint a beautiful mural on your garage door. Along with paint colors, you’ll want to have a design in mind that you can submit to your HOA for approval. A solid coat covering the entire door is usually simple enough. However, accent colors around the windows, on any hardware, or along the trim could give your HOA reason to pause. Even if all of your colors are on the HOA’s approved list, seek approval of your planned design before taking on any of these intricate details.
Proper Maintenance
The painting might be finished, but your work isn’t done yet. Garage doors require maintenance to keep them running properly and looking great. Your HOA likely wants you to keep your garage door in a presentable condition, but cosmetic damages are bound to occur over time. Make sure you work with a dependable garage door company that can come back to touch up chips or scratches and even repair dents and cover them up with a fresh coat of paint afterward.
Hiring a Dependable Garage Door Company
In the Indianapolis, IN area, Garage Door Doctor can help you sort through HOA guidelines and leave you with a refreshed garage door you’ll love for years to come. A paint job might seem simple enough, but hiring professionals ensures the project is completed right and delivers long-lasting results. This is especially important if an HOA is involved.
Outdoor paint jobs, like garage door painting, aren’t your typical paint jobs. To ensure complete customer satisfaction, our team follows a meticulous painting process.
Prep Work
The prep work may vary depending on your particular garage door type and its condition. Generally, we’ll begin by removing old paint with a wire brush, scraper, and sanding pad. Once we’ve got a clear, smooth base, it’s time to clean the surface of the door with soap and a wet cloth. To ensure everything is removed, we’ll give the door a rinse with a hose or pressure washer.
After the garage door has been cleaned and allowed to dry, the next step is to apply painter’s tape to areas that shouldn’t be painted. With expert hands, our team will tape off the trim, any windows, gaskets, handles, locks, or other hardware. It’s also important to protect the area in front of your door and the inside of your garage, so we’ll lay down drop cloths where necessary.
Primer
To ensure the paint goes on smoothly and lasts as long as possible, we’ll begin with a coat of primer. Using a paintbrush, our team applies the primer to each individual panel, the stiles and rails, and the edges of the garage door. The primer then needs to dry for 12-24 hours before painting can begin.
Painting
Once the primer is dry, we can apply the high-quality (and HOA-approved) exterior paint we’ve helped you choose. Following the same pattern as the primer application, we’ll carefully paint the garage door panels from bottom to top and work our way outward, cleaning up any excess drips as we go. After the first coat of paint has dried, we’ll apply a second coat to make sure there are no missed spots or uneven patches. This may require a 12-hour drying period between coats.
Cleanup
Following an inspection of our work to ensure everything’s completely covered as it should be, we’ll clean up the area. Our team will take the time to remove all painter’s tape, dispose of any drop cloths, and clean up all of their protective gear and equipment. And just like that, you have a garage door that looks better than it did the day it was installed and that’s HOA-compliant!
Call Us Today
Although garage door painting seems straightforward, it’s an easy project to mess up if you don’t have the experience or proper tools. Fortunately, we have the right equipment, know what kinds of paints to use, and can get the job in no time for you, all at an affordable price. We’ll be happy to help you sort through the details of your HOA restrictions as well.
At Garage Door Doctor, we offer a wide range of garage door services. Whether you require maintenance, repairs, an entire door replacement, or door opener services for your residential or commercial garage door, we’re the company to rely on. Contact Garage Door Doctor to learn how we can get your garage door in Indiana looking brand new.