How To Choose A Garage Door For Your Home

Ready to choose a garage door for your home? Finding the perfect fit isn’t always an easy task. Your garage door is one of the biggest aesthetic features of your home. So when looking for a new garage door, it’s important to shop around and find the perfect fit.

Here are the most important factors to consider when choosing a garage door:

Visual Appeal with your Home

The first thing to consider when choosing a garage door is visual appeal with your home. Lots of garage doors can look beautiful, but do they fit in with the color scheme and look of your house? All too often when homeowners replace their garage door, the new one sticks out like a sore thumb. Luckily, many garage door manufacturers have special tools you can use to see how a new garage door will look on a photo of your home.

One of the biggest factors to consider is color. Most garage doors come with a variety of color options, so you can make sure the door color matches with the rest of your home. If existing colors don’t work, you can always have your new door painted a custom color. Most garage door installation companies are more than willing to paint a door for you before installing it.

Cost

Today there are so many different types of garage doors to choose from. It’s easy enough to find a style and design that looks amazing with your home. But just because a certain style fits your home’s aesthetic doesn’t mean it will fit your budget.

Different garage door materials and styles can have vastly different prices. Here are some guidelines:

• • Aluminum ($500-$2,000) — Rust-resistant and good for humid climates.
  • Steel ($500-$3,000) — Lots of different color and insulation options based on your needs.
  • Vinyl ($700-$2,000) — Vinyl garage doors are made of a variety of materials, making it easy to reduce cost and weight if needed.
  • Wood ($1,000-$5,500) — Beautiful, though can require a lot more maintenance depending on your climate.
  • Composite Wood ($750-$6,000) — Looks like real wood but has much less risk of rotting, warping, cracking or shrinking like real wood.

If shopping online, most garage door service websites make it easy to browse options based on price. You can also explain your budget to representatives to get help finding a door in your price range.

Choose a Garage Door with Insulation

One of the most commonly overlooked factors when choosing a garage door is insulation. Having a well insulated garage door can greatly improve your home’s energy efficiency. Having a poorly insulated garage door could increase your heating bill by hundreds of dollars every month.

How much insulation you really need depends on several factors. If you live in a warm climate, then you might not need to worry about insulation at all. If you live in a cold climate and plan to use your garage as a workshop, then strong insulation is essential. More insulation is also valuable to heat rooms on the second floor of your house that are above the garage.

Well-insulated garage doors tend to be more expensive. But the higher price is worth the investment in the situations mentioned above.

Garage Door Windows

When looking for the right garage door, most people don’t even consider windows. What they don’t realize is that windows can have a huge impact on the curb appeal of your garage door.

When choosing windows for your garage door, you’ll need to consider size, shape, number, position, and type of glass. Your garage door windows also need to look right with the windows on your house.

The windows on your residential garage door can use tempered, clear, solar bronze or insulated glass. There are also a variety of shapes to choose from, such as long, arched, rectangle, cathedral, williamsburg, etc.

Many garage door manufacturers (such as Wayne Dalton) offer different window options based on the type of door:

You’ll want to choose a window style that brings the most natural light into your garage as possible, while looking aesthetically pleasing on the outside.

Longevity and Repairs

Another important factor to consider is how much you’ll need to invest in garage door repairs after installation. Some types of doors have more longevity than others. For example, natural wood doors are prone to warping, cracking and general wear. They look amazing but only if you have the budget to repaint or restain them once every few years. Aluminum doors, on the other hand, are resistant to both rust and corrosion. They might not look as aesthetically pleasing, but they definitely last longer and require fewer repairs in the long run.

Your Garage Door Opener

Most garage door replacements require a new garage door opener as well. However lots of people don’t consider the cost of a new garage door opener in their budget. Depending on type, an automatic garage door opener can run $100-$300. If it’s WIFI-enabled, there are also smart home accessories to consider, as well as the cost of installation itself.

Most garage door installers also sell openers. They can easily install both at the same time if you think ahead and pick out your new opener in advance. Otherwise you’re stuck hiring two different installation services, increasing costs and time to complete the project.

Picking out your garage door and opener at the same time with the same company also helps you ensure they’re both compatible with each other.

Wrapping Up

Choosing a garage door is one of the most valuable home improvement projects you can invest in. Whether you’re hoping to sell or just looking to improve your home value, replacing your garage door is a smart choice. The right garage door can increase your home’s aesthetic and curb appeal. It can also help reduce the cost of heating and repairs.

Consider these factors before picking out a garage door to ensure you get the most value out of your investment long term.
We can help you choose a garage door! Please contact us for a free consultation today.