A Homeowner’s Guide to Purchasing a Garage Door
A garage door represents a significant, long-term investment for your home, typically lasting for decades. While the prospect of selecting a new garage door can be exciting, it can also feel somewhat overwhelming. It’s crucial to take your time, evaluate your options thoroughly, and ensure you possess all the necessary information to make an informed decision.
In this comprehensive guide to residential garage doors, we’ll walk you through the essential considerations before making a purchase. From the more enjoyable aspects like color and style, to practical concerns such as insulation and security, we’ve got you covered.
Is It a Worthwhile Investment?
Boosting Home Value
Replacing your garage door offers a remarkable average Return on Investment (ROI) of 102.7%. When potential buyers are considering a home, the garage influences 80% of buyers’ decisions. Furthermore, 70% of realtors agree that a new garage door can accelerate a home sale.
Quality Where It Matters
On average, a garage door is opened and closed approximately 1,500 times per year. Visually, garage doors occupy up to 30% of an average home’s exterior.
Potential Cost Savings
An insulated garage can lead to significant savings for homeowners, potentially reducing annual heating and cooling costs by up to 20%.
The Aesthetic Appeal of Your Door
One of the most challenging aspects of the process is choosing the specific garage door design. The abundance of options and customizable elements allows for extensive personalization, making it difficult to narrow down choices. However, once your decision is made, you can simply relax and observe experts install your ideal door!
Discovering Your Style
Select a residential garage door that aligns with your personal taste and complements your home’s architectural style. Since the door is likely to be a part of your house for over two decades, choose something you’ll be consistently happy with. Alternatively, if you’re acquiring a new door to assist in selling your home, opt for a design that will appeal to a broad range of potential new owners – perhaps a more neutral option than you might choose for yourself.
While hundreds of distinct garage door styles and designs exist, we categorize them into two broad stylistic groups:
Timeless Classics and Country-Chic
These styles are perfect for subtly enhancing your home’s aesthetic. They offer a fresh look and effortlessly elevate your home’s exterior.
- Pro Tip: Align your door with your home’s architectural heritage. Timeless classic garage doors are an excellent match for ranch, Cape Cod, and craftsman home styles.
Modern Marvels
Ideal if you’re seeking a sleek, crisp, and minimalist design. Modern residential garage doors can serve as a bold statement piece or seamlessly blend into your home’s exterior.
- Pro Tip: Modern doors perfectly complement mid-century modern, contemporary, and industrial home styles.
Selecting a Color
Look for brands that offer a wide array of garage door color options as standard, providing ample choice. Some brands also include artificial wood tones within their main collections, offering an alternative to solid colors, such as black garage doors. These meticulously imitate popular wood types and, when well-executed, appear remarkably realistic.
If you desire something truly unique, some brands provide custom color options. However, always inquire about the cost implications, as custom colors are often more expensive.
- Pro Tip: If your garage faces south, light, neutral, earthy tones will typically last longer than bright colors, which are more prone to sun-induced fading.
Need assistance in finding your perfect color match? Consider these questions:
- What is the primary color of my house? You have two main approaches here: choose a garage door color that either contrasts with your home’s primary color or matches it. We generally recommend a contrasting color unless you are aiming for a monochromatic effect. Try to avoid mixing warm and cool tones.
- Do I want my garage door and front door to match? We often suggest coordinating your residential garage door with your front door to create a harmonious aesthetic. However, if your garage is located far from your front door, not visible from your home’s frontage, or you enjoy experimenting with color, feel free to mismatch them!
- Can I observe the color in various lighting conditions? Selecting the right color can be challenging, especially when Browse online. It’s always preferable to see the color in print on a sample or in person on an actual door, as digital screens vary and do not consistently display colors accurately.
Nonetheless, for initial inspiration, online Browse is a good starting point. Begin by looking at product listings, then delve into product reviews featuring customer photos and explore social media – this allows you to view the doors on diverse homes under different lighting conditions and times of the year.
When you’re ready to proceed, request color samples or visit a showroom. While a showroom may not have every possible color on display, you can gain a sense of the tones you prefer. Once you have samples, you can hold them against your home’s exterior in varying light to make your final decision.
Free Color Samples Available: Choose up to three colors from our collection, and we will mail samples to you free of charge. Request your samples now.
Exploring Glass and Hardware Options
Decide whether you would like windows in your residential garage door. Consider how you intend to use the garage, what items you will store within it, its visibility from sidewalks or public areas, and whether you desire a source of natural light. If you opt for windows, think about the desired number, size, and shape, as well as the type of glass that suits your preferences. Typically, you’ll have a choice of glass panel lengths, straight-edged and curved shapes, and various glass types like tinted, frosted, and glue chip to obscure or distort views from outside.
Regarding hardware, its prominence depends on the chosen door style. However, it’s generally advisable to match it with your front door’s hardware to complement your existing aesthetic.
Determining Your Door’s Opening Mechanism
Several different options exist for how your garage door will open. Your choice will depend on personal preference, available space, and the angle of your driveway.
- Sectional: Consists of horizontal door panels that move and stack vertically.
- Canopy: An “up and over” door that forms a canopy when fully opened.
- Retractable: An “up and over” door that fully retracts into the garage space.
- Swing: Doors hinged at the side that open outwards.
- Roller: Composed of a set of metal slats that form a roll as the door opens.
Many door types also offer electric opening capabilities. If you prefer automatic operation over manual, consult a dealer about your opener options.
Practical Considerations
Choosing a Construction Material
Garage doors are commonly constructed from:
- Steel
- Wood
- Fiberglass
- Aluminum
Each of these garage door materials presents its own set of advantages and disadvantages. For instance, wood is an excellent natural insulator but is prone to warping in hot climates. Steel is strong and durable but lacks inherent insulating properties. Make your material choice based on your budget, local climate, and desired level of maintenance.
- Pro Tip: While wood is a beautiful material for a garage door, it requires more maintenance than other options.
Considering Insulation and Windload
If your garage falls into one or more of the following categories, we strongly recommend opting for an insulated garage door:
- Attached to your house
- Used as a recreational area rather than solely for storage
- Used to store items susceptible to damage from significant temperature fluctuations
- Used for operating noisy machinery or playing musical instruments in densely populated areas
- Located in a climate that experiences non-mild temperatures year-round
Doors are typically insulated with either polystyrene or polyurethane. The door’s ability to resist heat loss is quantified by its R-value. A higher R-value indicates superior insulating properties for garage doors. However, you don’t necessarily need the highest R-value to achieve reliable insulation. For example, a lower R-value may suffice if you have a detached garage or live in a climate that doesn’t experience extreme seasonal temperature changes.
If you reside in an area prone to high winds and hurricanes, such as Florida or Texas, your garage door must adhere to regional building regulations to demonstrate its capacity to withstand specific windloads. Always verify this with your garage door dealer to ensure you are acquiring the most suitable door for your home and location. Purchasing a door that fails to meet regulations could lead to its failure during severe weather, potentially causing further damage to your home.
Measuring Your Doorway
While some doorways conform to standard sizes, many will necessitate a custom-sized door. To obtain a more precise quote, it’s advisable to take initial measurements of your doorway. Don’t be concerned – a door expert should conduct a final measurement before you finalize your purchase, but your preliminary measurements provide a useful starting point.
To take your measurements, measure the width and height of your doorway from the edge of the doorframe. Add an inch or two to your width measurement, as you need a half-inch or one-inch overlap on each side to ensure a proper seal when the door is closed. It’s also beneficial to measure the head height (the distance between the top of the doorway and the ceiling) as this will help determine the types of tracks that can be installed.
Security Considerations
All residential garage doors offer a degree of protection against criminal activity, but it’s worth considering security aspects during the design and usage of your door. Here are some key points to remember:
- If you plan to store valuable items in your garage, consider adding an alarm system.
- If you opt for an electric opener with a remote control, avoid leaving the remote in your glove compartment. Instead, bring it inside the house after each use.
- If you desire windows in your garage door, choose tinted or frosted glass to obscure the view from outside.
Where to Purchase Garage Doors
It’s wise to shop around before making any final decisions. Large general merchandisers and hardware stores will stock a good variety of door brands but typically sell only the door itself, with installation provided by a separate company. Smaller, local dealers also carry a good selection of doors and will often handle the installation for you. Furthermore, they are garage door specialists, meaning if you have specific questions or wish to explore various options, a local dealer is more likely to provide the detailed information you need.
Your Garage Door Buyer’s Guide Checklist
Here are the crucial questions to ask throughout your purchasing journey:
- Which door materials are best suited for my location and climate?
- Do your garage doors comply with local regulations regarding windload?
- What type of insulation, if any, will work best for my needs?
- What track and opening options do you offer?
- What services are included? (e.g., installation, aftercare)
- Do your doors come with a guarantee?
- What is the estimated arrival time for your doors?
We trust that these questions, along with the information provided in this guide, will assist you in finding your perfect garage door.