A garage door is an important and visible part of a structure. Therefore, you need to take care to select a door that is both functional and aesthetically appealing. The basic types are single panel garage doors, sectional garage doors and roller garage doors. Knowing about all three types will help you decide which is the best for your needs.
A single panel garage door is basically just a big rectangular panel that swings up. An advantage is the simplicity of design. A disadvantage is that you can smack the door into your vehicle if you don’t park it far enough back when you are opening the door. There is some special hardware to be installed with a single panel door called track hardware which will give it less of an arc when opened outwards, but you still need to be very carefully where you park in front of the door when opening it.
Sectional garage doors are the most common type of garage doors installed today. They are made up of at least three separate panels which slide up the door track without having to open outwards. This means you can park your vehicle wherever you want relative to the door when you are opening it. An advantage to this type of door is that they take up very little space.
Roller doors are usually made up of many sections of corrugated steel. Sometimes the sections are made up of fiberglass. Advantages include being easy to lift since they generally have a spring inside the rolling mechanism. Many roller doors are filled with polyurethane foam for extra insulation. This cuts down on heating costs. These doors are more common on larger industrial structures than in residences.
Once you’ve selected the type of garage door you want, there are safety factors to consider. With panel doors, there is a risk of fingers or objects getting pinched between the different sections of the door as it raises or lowers. This is a risk especially around children. Safety concerns with all doors include the risk of torsion or expansion springs snapping and the risk of the garage door hitting a person, animal or object.
Windows and wood panels are one way you can personalize a garage door (although not roller doors). Panel styles also differ, and painted panels in particular stand out.
More and more people are using garage spaces for purposes other than storage. An example would be converting a garage into a children’s room as the family expands. Another would be using a garage as a workshop. Therefore, insulation of garage doors is becoming more of a priority, especially in colder regions. Select a garage door with weather seals between the panels. Also, look for a bottom seal to keep out rain and moisture.
Finally, when a garage door is installed, have a professional do it if you aren’t comfortable working with dangerous high tension springs. Make sure it lowers all the way to the ground. Otherwise, you’ll be dealing with drafts and losing money to heating costs.