ENERGY TAX CREDIT--BAILOUT INCLUDES GARAGE DOORS

BAIL OUT INCLUDES GARAGE DOORS!

Wow, it's just come to our attention that the $700 Billion Dollar Bailout includes garage doors! How cool is that to know?

Here are some key points you need to know: Tax credits in 2008 are available for insulated garage door purchases.

• The extension is part of the Energy Improvement a Extension Act of 2008, signed into law by President Bush on October 3, 2008. (H.R. 1424)
• Applies to an insulated garage door installed on an insulated garage qualifies for the energy tax credit, as long as it is part of the taxpayer's principal residence, has a U-factor equal to or less than 0.35, and has a means to control air filtration at the door perimeter. (Same criteria as previous.)
• The maximum amount that a tax payer may claim from all of these tax credits combined is $500 over the lifetime of the tax credt (2006, 2007, & 2009). (If a taxpayer already claimed the full $500 credit in 2006-2007, no further tax credits are available.)
• Manufactures should be encouraged to provide a Manufacturer's Certification Statement (or its equivalent) that proves the product is eligible.

(Above information collected from Door & Access Systems Manufacturerers Association DASMA)

The Invention of Garage Doors

C.G. Johnson

(Inventor of the Overhead Door and Electric Door Opener)

With such a historic election this past month it got me to thinking about the history of what I do for a living. I work for New England Overhead Door, Inc. in Hopedale, MA.

For over 10 years now, I have worked as an administrative assistant in the overhead door business. And I’ll be honest; before I started here I didn’t even know what an overhead door was. My family had always referred to them as garage doors. Who knew they were one in the same? I certainly didn’t.

So again, it got me to thinking about how and why garage doors were invented. And to tell the truth, I found it quite interesting.



While today, garages are mostly used for storage of vehicles or other necessities of life, outbuildings as they were known in the early 1900’s were used for storing a horse and buggy. They were often also called carriage houses.

In the early days of cars, many chose to store their car and horse and buggy together. However, those with cars in the early days were those of an affluent society and shall we just say, storing a horse and buggy with a car was just shall we say a stink. Hence came the need to store cars elsewhere.

Today’s modern day parking lots were actually the first garages, but with only one level. People would pay $15-$20 a month to store their cars in a heated garage that was maintained by the owner. This system worked for a time, but then there became too many cars for the garages to handle.

People began looking for options closer and/or more convenient place to store their vehicles. The carriage house had worked before, if only they could get rid of the smelly horses.

“In 1921, a young man named C.G. Johnson invented the upward lifting garage door and changed the course of the garage door’s place in history.” * C.G. Johnson was the founder of what is known today as Overhead Door.

See his picture above.

And five years later, this same gentleman invented what is known as the first electric garage door opener to assist those who had a hard time lifting the heavy wooden door.