5 Important Questions to Ask Yourself When Choosing a New Garage Door

When purchasing a new garage door, the choice isn’t always clear, as it is something you only buy one to three times during your lifetime. To make it easier for you, here are 5 important points to consider before making that purchase.

1. What prompted you to purchase a new garage door?

By clearly defining your motivation, you can more easily orient your purchase decision, especially if you already own a garage door.

• Are you tired of painting it?
• Are you tired of the freezing temperatures in your garage?
• Are you tired of having to force it open?
• Are you tired of looking at it because it’s so dilapidated?

2. What are your plans?

Clearly determining how you will be using your garage will help you prioritize your selection criteria.

• Renovation? New construction?
• What is the location of your garage? Is it attached to the house or situated in the back yard? Will the level of insulation in the door be an important factor?
• Is your garage insulated or not?
• What do you mainly use it for? To park your car? For storage? Both? As a workshop? As a game room? The more activities you do in your garage, the more important insulation and weather‑tightness become.

3. Which selection criteria should be prioritized?

These generally fall into 3 categories:

• The functionality of the door: strength, durability, security, insulation, weather‑tightness, ease of maintenance, product and installation guarantees, the reputation of the manufacturer and installer, and the addition or replacement of an electric garage door opener.
• The esthetics of the door: the appearance of the product according to the architectural style of your home.
• The budget you’re prepared to allocate to your project. First of all, you should know that a single garage door may cost less than $1,000 and less than a front door with a stained glass window.

4. What types of garage doors are available on the market?

Basically, there are 3 types: wood, metal and fully‑glazed aluminum.

• Wood: these are of varying quality, from low‑end to solid wood doors. The quality is reflected in the price. The most desirable aspect of a wood door is its natural appearance and traditional look. However, this type of door requires regular maintenance to protect it from the elements.
• Metal: here, too, there is a range of quality in construction and insulation. These doors can be uninsulated or insulated (polystyrene or polyurethane) and of varying thickness. The most attractive feature of metal doors is that they require little or no maintenance, as they’re manufactured with fire‑glazed paint. With regard to the price: uninsulated doors are the most economical. If insulation and weather‑tightness are important to you, consider a 1¾" door insulated with polyurethane foam.
• Fully‑glazed aluminum: this style of door is used primarily on modern or contemporary‑style homes. It’s a very expensive door because of the large number of windows.
• Other materials? In a nutshell, there are also fiberglass doors (very sturdy and expensive) and PVC doors (dent‑resistant, but uninsulated or with minimal insulation).

5. How important is the appearance of your garage door to you?

If you’re looking to enhance the appearance of your home, esthetics should be a major consideration. Real estate brokers have shown that replacing your garage door with one that has an attractive design will enable you to sell your home more rapidly and get a better return on your investment.

In fact, each year, Remodeling Magazine shows that the ROI on a $1,000 investment is 84% after replacing your garage door.

You can also match your garage door to your front door by choosing the same type of windows. Most manufacturers offer a large selection of window options.

The choice of color is also important. If you can’t find the color you want in the choices offered by the manufacturer, you should know that you can get your door repainted at a speciality paint shop at an affordable price.

Another important consideration is the design of the door. Today, the choices don’t stop at classic rectangular patterns. You can opt for rustic motifs, clean lines or a plain model. The addition of decorative hardware can also give your door a distinctive look.

Last of all, customers often ask us if they should purchase a double door or two single doors. For questions of practicality (in the event of breakage) and design, we suggest the option of 2 single doors, especially if your garage is adjacent to your house. They give an overall impression of being less massive, so that your garage door doesn’t overpower the architectural style of your home.

Does that make things a little clearer for you? In conclusion, we invite you to watch this video, which will take less than 3 minutes of your time. It will give you a good summary of everything we’ve explained in this article.

You can rest assured that, at Environmental Door, we’ve been working with garage doors for more than 40 years. We’ll do everything we can to help you make a prudent choice when purchasing your next garage door. Call us at 616-453-0164.

For all your garage door needs contact us now. We serve Grand Rapids, Ottawa County and West Michigan areas.