Garage Doors – A Beginners Guide | Roll up Garage Doors

Garage Doors – A Beginners Guide

by Silvie Carpenter

Many people would be quite surprised to discover how one of the most commonly overlooked features of many homes – the garage doors – turn out to be actually quite important. Garage doors can easily take upto 20% of the frontage presented by a property, which is a significant amount of visual real-estate and accordingly a key determinator of your home’s market value.

When considering replacing (or installing) garage doors there are a few points to bear in mind. Firstly the type of material which will likely be one of three main groups.

Metal garage doors are easily the most commonly found these days taking some 80% of the market in the USA and Canada. They are usually either steel or aluminium – steel doors being heavier but cheaper. Both types should be painted with outdoor metal paint but are otherwise relatively low-maintenance apart from the inherent problem that metal doors are prone to dent and buckle easily, which can affect both their appearance and operation.

Doors made from synthetic materials such as fibre-glass and vinyl have the benefit of being both lightweight and touch. They too can be painted (though are sometimes already pre-treated to a certain colour) and are on the whole better able to withstand general dents and scuffs than their metal counterparts. They can last ten or more years but the material will eventually degrade due to ultra-violet light.

Garage doors made from wood trace their lineage back to the very first garages and exude an enduring classic quality. Wood is naturally versatile, attractive and simple to maintain; it can also be either stained or painted so as to coordinate with other wooden architectural features like windows and main doors.

As you would expect for a wood based product, quality is determined by the type of wood used and also by whether it is a solid timber construction or manufactured from composites (compressed fibers and laminates). Needless to say then, the price is also liable to vary quite dramatically, but at the end of the day quality has its price and most folk are agreed that Wooden garage doors are best type available.

The second point to consider is where to buy your preferred type of garage door. There is little doubt that having your doors installed by professionals should bring you many years of faultless operation, and you would therefore be wise to request references, evidence of existing installations and generally check potential suppliers have been in business a while, have a good reputation and can provide decent warranties and ongoing support should any problems arise.

You can buy garage doors from larger DIY stores or general door and window businesses or from garage door specialists. Like many big-ticket items though (kitchens for example) how well your doors will perform and last will ultimately depend as much on the competence of the installers as on the garage doors themselves. A garage door specialist with experience of many different installations will be able to ensure that everything looks and works right from the outset and continues that way for years to come.

About the Author:

Before you invest in a new garage door, Silvie Carpenter advises that you read this additional article about wooden garage doors.