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Selecting a Garage Door 101

If you’re looking to enhance your house’s curb appeal, a good place to start is with your garage door. When it comes to the aesthetic of your home, especially if you have a front-facing garage, a good-looking and properly functioning garage door is a must. If yours is beat-up or barely works, it’s time you invested in remodeling your garage door. Here’s the 101 on selecting the perfect one for your home.

Types & Styles

Garage doors open in four basic ways: swing out, swing up, roll up, slide to the side. If you need to keep the ceiling clear, swing-out carriage-house doors or sliding barn doors are your best bet. If not, you can go with the most popular option: roll-up. You’ll need about 14 inches to allow for the door’s headtrack, otherwise you can get a low-headroom track.

The style you choose should suit the type of home you have. For example, if you have a Craftsman bungalow, you might want to opt for something that looks like the swing-out doors found on garages behind early Craftsman home. Many styles include glass panels on the top row which allow light inside and looking nice from a street view.

Common Garage Door Materials

• Wood: Wood doors have a certain charm and authenticity that other mimicking materials may lack. They are sturdy to bumps and knocks, but may need to be refinishing frequently, especially in you live in a damp climate.
• Steel: If you want low-maintenance and inexpensive, tough steel is the way to go. The downside is that bare steel rusts and will need quick retouching, and steel also dents. You can minimize risk by choosing a steel door with a fiberglass overlaying, which would just need to be retouched when the color fades.
• Aluminum: The inexpensive version of aluminum doors is being replaced with heavier-duty versions that are dent-resistant and rustproof, but also more expensive. The less expensive version is a good choice if you have an extra-wide door since its light weight will be less of a strain on the operating mechanism.

Insulation & Energy Savings

An insulated door is more durable due to its sandwich construction, and the enclosed back panel adds a more finished look. However, the insulation won’t save energy unless you heat your garage as a whole as well.

If you look at you garage door and see discoloration, dents, or drab, it’s time you replace it. Don’t settle for the same look everyone on the block has – get a custom door from Garage Door Center in Fairfield.

Are you ready to take your home’s curb appeal to the next level with a custom-manufactured garage door? If so, call 203-255-3033 today and schedule an appointment to meet with us at our Fairfield showroom!