Purchasing a garage door is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and experience for most homeowners, as a good door will withstand the test of time. In contrast, a poorly made one would need replacement or more expenses on keeping it in good shape or repair…

Let’s think of garage doors as a chance to crank up the curb appeal, enhance security and add aesthetics to our homes. It makes sense to put in a little effort and research before choosing a garage door for your home – remember, in the long run, it will be worth it.

Thankfully, we have taken it on our shoulders and worked hard for homeowners who plan to buy garage doors. This blog explores the various aspects of garage doors that one must consider before deciding and why one must avoid investing in cheap garage doors in all circumstances. Let’s begin.

1.    Pick the Right Company

First of all, to have everything done as you want, you need to pick the right company, so it is not a bad idea to check the company’s online reputation on platforms like Google Businesses, TrustPilot, Facebook, HomeStars, etc. If the company doesn’t care about its online reputation – believe me, it will never care about your needs, your project, or the quality of the product. Of course, you can forget about after-sales support and warranties. Be sure that you won’t be the next one who shares a bad experience.

Take a look at the website of the company, is everything clear and looks good? Does this company looks professional and will keep its promises?

What does communication look like? If the company has no time to prepare a detailed and professionally looked estimate for you, they may not have time to work on your project.

Don’t hesitate to ask additional questions to ensure you get what you want.

2.    Garage Door Design Is The Key

Appearance and curb appeal of your house is usually overriding concern and factor for homeowners when buying a garage door, right? They play an essential role in your house’s exterior appeal as they take up 80% of the front of the house. At the end of the day, some homes look great with any type of garage door design, while others look great with a specific garage door style.

The style and design are the most personalizable of all the features, depending on your preference. The options are endless, from Traditional and Carriage-House to Contemporary.

But this wasn’t the case historically when homeowners only had two color choices of White and Almond with only short and long raised panels. Luckily, today you can find unlimited options ranging from steel garage doors having flush panels to carriage-house and aluminum garage doors that make a dramatic statement.

So, it’s recommended to extensively research and explore the designs, paint, shutter style, and stain options to ensure that the selected garage door complements your house’s architectural style. After all, choosing the right garage door is vital for increasing your home’s value.

Some companies have additional tools, which allow you to do the virtual design of doors with the picture of your house, so you can have fun with your family trying all possible and impossible variants & choose the right one!

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3.    Garage Door Material Matters

When it comes to garage door material – our mind keeps popping up with many questions like ‘Will my door be able to endure the daily wear and tear?’ Or, ‘Will it stand up or require frequent repairs?’, ‘How much annual maintenance would the garage door require?’. All of these concerns are directly associated with the materials used to manufacture the garage door.

When you choose the material, it is important to know your budget; wooden as well as aluminum fully-glazed doors are premium, and you can expect prices 3-5 times more than traditional steel doors.

Undeniably, it’s hard to resist the craftsmanship and elegance of a wooden garage door, but they require additional care, painting or staining expense, and other extra maintenance costs.

You can find the biggest range of variants in steel doors. Reliable brands use galvanized steel and provide from 10 years to a lifetime warranty on painting. So you don’t have to worry about rust, expensive maintenance, or redoing the painting; just be sure you are buying a galvanized garage door.

Vinyl or fiberglass doors are not common, and you will not find many variants.

4.    Concerning High-Lift

If you have a high ceiling and would like to utilize that space to park two cars or ATVs in one parking stall or if the garage is used as a gym and warm time the door is open you definitely should concern to order doors with a High-Lift. When you get the entire setup while ordering a door it will be definitely cheaper than doing such an upgrade after the installation is done since we can offer you the correct springs and garage door opener, and the installation will be done right from the first time. We faced the situation when just an 8-inch high lift changed the game!

5.    Garage Door Insulation

With today’s high energy expenses, garage door insulation plays a significant role in controlling costs.

Bear in mind that the thermal properties of insulation are referred to as R-value, where a higher R-value means that the door has better insulation properties and produces lesser noise.

Another thing to consider is that garage doors usually come with two types of insulation: foamed-in-place polyurethane and polystyrene; both have their own pros and cons.

We hardly believe that insulated doors are the best choice for any household doesn’t matter if you have an attached and finished garage or a detached garage without insulation that doesn’t need to be insulated. I will try to explain to you why.

Non-insulated garage doors are cheaper than insulated ones to buy but way more expensive to own.

Since we not only install garage doors but also offer garage door repair services, we know that most garage door panel repair problems come from them not being properly insulated. This time we see many cases when they are bent by their own weight and cracked, so the owner has to reinforce them or replace them.

• Insulated doors are quieter when you open and close them. Thanks to them, your garage and house are quieter since the Thermo insulation absorbs vibrations and doesn’t allow noise to come into your home!
• Insulated doors are cleaner since they have a nice and smooth surface inside, reflecting the light and making your garage lighter, which could be a significant advantage when you use your garage as a workshop.
• When you see the R-Value of about 6, be careful and don’t mix up with garage doors, which have just an outside layer of steel and insulation inserted into a non-insulated door. These doors are as weak as the non-insulated door, also noisier, and not as clean as insulated doors with two layers of steel.

Both garage doors are insulated, but not the same at all!

Weatherstripping (Stop Molding)

When you have an insulated door, it is essential to have weather stripping (stop moldings), which allows you to utilize all advantages of your insulated garage door. It covers all holes to prevent cold/hot air from coming inside / outside and pests from coming to your garage. Hardware stores and some cheap companies don’t offer a year of weatherstripping and will spend more on it for the era as well as tiny pests will come to your garage throw the gaps in the back and at the top of your garage door.

Windows

There are many options for windows that companies can offer you. First of all, you should consider single pan or sealed insulated windows.

If you plan to use your door where it is really cold, it is also a good idea to have insulated sealed windows – so check what you are getting for your money.

The cheapest option is a clear non-sealed window, which will work well for the top garage door panel, but if you’d like to have it stacked on site, it is better to have something non-transparent like frost or obscure windows.

Dark-tinted windows are still transparent, so you have to consider if it works for you.

6.    Opt For Beefier Springs

Springs allow your door to operate efficiently and smoothly. Most manufacturing companies choose torsion springs in their garage doors, which are coiled springs placed on top of the door. The garage doors with torsion springs provide nearly 10,000 cycles – which isn’t much when you think of it and come to an average lifespan of almost ten years.

Some hardware stores still offer the old-style cheap lifting system with extended springs, which makes your door a bit more dangerous with the wrong installation, as well as the door with extension springs works not as smoothly as with torsion springs.

You can also consider getting high-cycled springs for 25,000 or even 50,000 cycles, which is cheaper to buy together with the door and will save you significant money on the repair.

6.    Rollers

To prepare for a more attractive estimate, some companies try to save on the quality of the parts, so check if you are getting quality rollers.

A good quality roller makes the operation of the door smooth and reliable is made out of nylon and has bearings.

The wrong choice is cheap – just a piece of plastic rollers on a steel stem is not as reliable as rollers with bearings or steel rollers, which makes your door noisy.

7.    Choosing the Best Garage Door Opener

Read more in our next article…

8.    Terms And Conditions

How much worth is your peace of mind?

Warranty costs money, isn’t it?

So be sure to compare the same conditions to get a long enough warranty.

And, of course, you will have a warranty only if the company is still up. Sometimes, paying cheap is not in your interest because if the company charges incorrect numbers it will be out of business, just disappear as well as your warranty.

Delivery

Check if delivery is included, so you will not have to pay anything extra.

Uninstallation and Disposal

Are uninstallation and disposal included, or do you have to deal with it yourself? If you are good at doing it yourself, you can save something.

Cleaning

Check the estimate if the company will take care of all packaging materials and clean up the garage after the installation.

Insurances

Check the credibility of the company, if the company has liability insurance as well as the Work Compensation Board. And you will not get in trouble.

Conclusion

Undoubtedly, purchasing a new garage door for your home is a difficult decision as it not only enhances your house’s value and elevates curb appeal but is also a hefty investment. It’s not something that one should rush into blindly; instead, one should evaluate the available options and choose a garage door that perfectly blends in with the architectural look without neglecting your home’s insulating energy.

You should compare Apple to Apple to make the right decision based on logic. This way, first of all, you need to have precise information, and investing a bit of time researching garage doors is vital as you don’t want your investment to go down the drain.