November is Child Safety and Protection Month, an important awareness campaign that focuses on preventable injuries in everyday situations. But as garage door manufacturers, we take your child’s safety into account every month, every day—not just in November.
All of our garage doors meet the highest safety standards, and many come with extra built-in assurances for families with children.
Pinch-Resistant Doors
The most sought-after fail-safe—particularly by families with toddlers—is pinch-resistant panels available on many garage door models including Martin Door’s Cornerstone Premium Steel Door. These garage doors are outfitted with safety section joints that prevent little fingers from being caught between the panels and pinched as the door is opening or closing. This is an ingenious addition to the garage door construction hall of fame because this one advancement alone can prevent thousands of injuries (and yes, even amputations) reported each year by doors that are not pinch-proof.
Many of our garage doors come with this feature, so you don’t have to sacrifice style. You can choose the charming look of Carriage House Doors such as Wayne Dalton’s Model 9405 or Model 8670 with 30 different panel designs, lots of window styles, and black powder-coated hardware with a hand-hammered look. Or go with a stately Classic Steel Door—Wayne Dalton’s 9100-9605 series is a great option, while Martin Standard by Martin Door is the go-to if you’re looking for a sturdy basic garage door that protects little fingers.
Superior Door Balancing Mechanisms
Exclusive to Richards-Wilcox, TruBalance™ is a patent-pending drum system that reduces the load on your garage door opener for door balance that’s 87 percent higher than the industry standard. Why is this important? Because an unbalanced door is unstable, and causes excess strain on cables and springs, which could cause them to snap—and the garage door to come crashing down with great force.
The Classic Landmark and Premium Landmark garage doors are among two Richards-Wilcox doors equipped with this balancing system, but you’ll find that most of their models have it.
TIP: You can assess the balance of your garage door with this simple test. If it appears your door is unbalanced, contact one of our certified maintenance technicians to get it operating properly. While you’re at it, why not have a look at the dangers of an old garage door for good measure.
TIP: The garage door itself is not the only consideration when it comes to family safety. Don’t forget about the garage door opener, which can offer advanced locking mechanisms to protect the valuable contents of your garage and home—kids included.
As you can see, there’s no shortage of garage door styles that go the distance for child safety. And this built-in bit of safeguarding means parents have one less thing to worry about during their daily dance of getting everyone in and out of the house incident-free.
Looking to boost your garage door’s SPF (Safety Protection Factor)? Contact a Specialist at one of our eight locations across four provinces: Vancouver, Kelowna, Edmonton, Fort McMurray, Calgary, Saskatoon, Regina, and Winnipeg.