New Garage Door Installation
When you are thinking of updating your home, don’t forget about the garage door. This feature is often overlooked as homeowners tend to view the garage more as a utility feature, not as something that can be attractive. However, a new garage door installation will not only increase the value of your home, but it adds significant curb appeal as well.
Steel garage doors are the most common and are what most homeowners are used to seeing. These are not the only options, however. Today, garage doors come in a variety of materials and styles. Some garage door companies will even customize your garage door to suit your style and needs.
Garage Doors Materials
There are a variety of materials to choose from when it comes to garage doors. While most materials can be customized to suit your needs, some are easier than others and vary in price and durability
Steel Garage Doors
Steel is the most popular garage door material. These doors tend to offer the best deal as they are affordable, highly durable, and low maintenance. The traditional steel garage doors most homeowners are used to seeing are the classic raised panel style. However, as steel doors are easily customizable, there are a variety of other style options. You can even have them made to look like the old carriage style doors. Another benefit of steel doors is that they can be insulated if you are trying to keep your garage temperature controlled or want to prevent hot or cold air from leaking into the house through the garage.<
Aluminum Garage Doors
Aluminum garage doors are also fairly common. Like steel doors, they are affordable – often more so than steel doors, and they are also low maintenance. The draw of aluminum doors is that they are lightweight and don’t rust easily. However, as they are a lighter material, they are not as durable as steel and can dent easier.
Wood Garage Doors
Wood garage doors can be a beautiful addition to the home. They offer a higher level of elegance and design than other materials and can easily be customized to suit your needs or style. Wood doors don’t dent as easily as aluminum or even steel, but they require a lot of maintenance and don’t hold up well in wet climates. They are also costlier than aluminum and steel and are not as good at insulating the garage.
Vinyl Garage Doors
Vinyl doors are another affordable garage door option. They are slightly more expensive than steel but are highly durable. They hold up well against dents and don’t rust as easily as steel doors do. Because of this, vinyl doors are also very easy to maintain. The negatives of vinyl garage doors are that they don’t insulate as well and can have a cheaper look to them.
Fiberglass Garage Doors
Fiberglass garage doors are a little different in that their framework is usually made of steel or aluminum, but the panels are made of fiberglass. They are lightweight like aluminum doors and hold up very well against dents, rust, and corrosion. Fiberglass can also be easily made to mimic other materials, like wood, but is much more affordable than wood doors.
Different Garage Door Styles
After deciding which material will best suit your home and the region you live in (some materials don’t hold up as well in certain climates), the next thing you’ll want to decide on is the style.
Traditional Paneled Garage Doors
The most common style of garage doors is the raised panel design. The panel style is the standard design that most basic garage doors come in. It offers a clean, classic look and is typically the most affordable option. The panel design can vary from squared panels to elongated rectangular panels, and can also be a solid door, or you can have windows installed.
Carriage House Garage Doors
Carriage style garage doors get their name from the period before cars were invented. They were originally made of wood with iron hinges that allowed the doors to swing open to allow the carriages to enter. This classic design can give a home a more vintage aesthetic but does not necessarily have to be made of wood. If you want the look, but need something more affordable and durable, steel or even fiberglass are great alternatives.
Modern Glass Paneled Garage Door
If you want to go for a modern look, glass garage doors are a great option. When made of insulated glass, they can help regulate the temperature in the garage. They are also very aesthetically pleasing and allow natural light to enter the garage, which is great if you are using it as an additional living space, studio, or workspace.
Farmhouse Style Garage Doors
The farmhouse design is similar to the carriage house style, except the doors look more like what you might find on a barn in the country. This type of design can also mimic wood using more durable materials like steel or fiberglass.
The Four Main Types of Garage
So you’ve picked out your material and your style, but what type of door do you want? There are a couple of different types of garage doors – meaning the functionality or mechanical design of the door. Depending on the material and style you want, you may be limited to the type of garage door you can have installed.
- Sectional designs are the most common type of garage door. They consist of panels that are held together by hinges. These hinged panels allow the door to bend as it moves up and slides on a track along the ceiling of the garage.
- Tilt-Up garage doors are made of one solid panel that swings out before it starts sliding up and back along a track in the garage.
- Sliding garage doors are a little different. Instead of moving up, they slide to the side on a track that runs parallel to one of the garage walls.
- Side-hinged designs essentially operate the same as any other door in the home. They are held on by hinges and swing out and open.
Call Legacy Garage Doors
For over 20 years, Legacy Garage Doors has been providing quality garage door installations to property owners. Our family-owned and operated business offers the best in custom and standard garage doors. Call us today for all of your garage door repair and installation needs!
