Your garage door is a big part of your home’s overall design. It’s a great place to inject some style and personal flair.
Choosing a residential garage door requires considering factors like climate, maintenance preferences, and insulating value. Here are six different types of doors: Contact Garage Doors Newcastle now!
The material of a garage door has a major impact on its style, durability, and overall performance. It must be chosen carefully to ensure that the door is a good fit for the home and provides all the features homeowners want, such as security, insulation, and aesthetics. Wood garage doors offer a classic look and natural beauty to your home’s exterior, are easy to customize with windows, paint colors, and unique grain patterns, and provide superior insulation. However, they also require regular maintenance to protect them from the elements and avoid warping, rot, and insect damage.
Steel is an affordable option with many design options, making it a popular choice for modern homes. It is lightweight, durable and offers excellent resilience in different weather conditions, including coastal areas prone to salt-water corrosion. Steel can be insulated, boosting energy efficiency and helping regulate the temperature of your garage. It is not a natural insulator, so additional layers of polyurethane insulation can be added to enhance energy efficiency.
Fiberglass is a light, stylish material that works well for coastal locations and warm climates, but it doesn’t stand up to cold climates and can become brittle in the sun. It can also lose its colour over time if exposed to direct sunlight for long periods of time.
Vinyl composite garage doors are made of a cellular PVC material that is extremely versatile and looks like real wood, but does not require the maintenance of traditional wooden doors. It is a highly customizable material that can be routed, milled, cut and shaped to meet any design needs. It is also resistant to moisture, rust and warping, but does need wiping down a few times a year.
Wood composite garage doors are a great compromise between the natural beauty of wood and the durability of alternative materials. They are constructed from recycled wood fibers and a robust resin, creating a product that closely mimics the look of real wood while providing improved strength, resistance to rot and insect damage, and longevity. They can be insulated, boosting R-values by as much as 20.4. Clopay’s LIMITED EDITION series of wood composite garage doors is available in a range of overlay and panel designs, window shapes and sizes and cladding materials including Clear Cypress and Mahogany. They include the safety features of a Clopay Safe-T-Bracket and WINDCODE reinforcement for high wind load applications.
Insulation
Insulation is a critical component of any garage door. It regulates the temperature in the garage, reducing energy loss in colder climates and preventing heat from escaping in warmer ones. It also reduces noise transmission, making the garage a more comfortable place for use as a workshop or living space. In addition, insulated doors are denser and more resistant to dents than non-insulated models.
Insulated garage doors can be made of polystyrene or polyurethane foam, and they are available in a variety of R-values. The higher the R-value, the greater the insulation. R-value ratings are based on thermal transference, and are measured on a single section of the door. In contrast, U-factor ratings take into account the entire garage door system installed, including framing, siding, and materials, which provides a more accurate picture of energy efficiency.
The type of insulation you choose depends on the way you use your garage, the climate in which you live, and your budget. In general, higher R-values are recommended for attached garages in colder areas. Polystyrene foam, commonly referred to as styrofoam, is an affordable choice that is moisture-resistant and versatile. It is often used in a sandwich construction between two steel layers of a garage door, but it is not as energy efficient as foam injected polyurethane.
Polyurethane is like liquid styrofoam and has the highest R-value of all insulating materials. It is injected between the steel layers of the garage door and expands to fill all crevices, bonding to the door and enhancing its durability. This type of insulation is also more effective than a layer of fiberglass, which can become compressed or wet over time, significantly lowering its R-value.
Another option is reflective insulation, which consists of layers of foils with polyethylene bubbles in between. It blocks radiant heat and can increase the R-value of a garage door by up to 10%. When choosing a reflective insulation, keep in mind that it will only improve the energy efficiency of your garage if air leaks are sealed in other places, such as door gaskets and window weatherstripping.
Security
A modern, secure garage door is a great deterrent to burglars, but a determined attacker will find other ways in. That’s why you should reinforce your home’s doors and windows to match the level of security in your garage, and use safes for valuables. Also, keep tools like ladders and hammers locked up in your garage or an outside shed with a lock to prevent them from being used to break into your home.
Whether your new roller garage door has been designed to the highest security standards or you are upgrading an older model, it is essential that you take care of its maintenance to ensure ongoing safety. Keeping your door in good condition, free from obstructions and making sure it’s properly aligned with the sensors is crucial to its operation.
Make sure to use an opener that uses rolling-code technology; this type of system updates the door code with each use of your remote, so the old code can no longer activate your door. This makes it much harder for thieves to hack into your garage’s opener.
If you have a side-hinged garage door, which opens from a hinge on the side of your home, consider adding an extra security layer by replacing the handles with keypad locks. It’s a small investment that will greatly improve your door’s security.
Don’t forget to add motion-activated flood lights near your garage door and windows. This will shine a literal spotlight on anyone scoping out your home with the intention of breaking in. It will also keep intruders from hiding behind shrubbery to gain vantage points. Finally, remove any landscaping that can provide cover or conceal a person from surveillance cameras and other security systems around your home.
Style
There are many garage door styles on the market, catering to different needs and aesthetics. Residential doors prioritize curb appeal and seamlessly integrate with home architecture, while commercial doors are designed to offer heavy-duty functionality and enhanced security features. Both types can be customized with windows, decorative hardware, and paint colors to complement exterior aesthetics.
One of the most common garage door style options are panel doors, which feature symmetrical raised panels and a clean, understated appearance. These doors can be crafted from wood, steel, or composite materials, making them a versatile option for almost any type of home. If you’re interested in a more distinctive look, consider steel carriage garage doors, which combine cutting-edge technology with classic elegance.
These garage doors are designed to mimic traditional swing-out doors, and can include ornamental detailing like handles and hinges to enhance their historical charm. They can be crafted from real or faux wood and operate as overhead doors for convenience. If you want to enjoy the look of these doors but prefer a more practical overhead operation, opt for a modern carriage-house garage door with a canopy gear system that partially retracts inside the garage.
Another popular option are wrought iron garage doors, which can add a touch of upscale design to your home. These doors can be customized with decorative ironwork, windows, and colors, and are available in a variety of shapes and sizes. These doors are typically more expensive than other types, but they provide exceptional quality and durability.
Sliding garage doors roll on a track from side to side, and are a great choice for homes that lack the space for a swing-out garage door. They’re available in both aluminum and steel, and can be painted or stained for a custom look. Sliding garage doors can be noisy and require an electric opener, and are less energy-efficient than sectional or roller garage doors.
Another type of sliding garage door is the bi-fold garage door, which folds in half and stacks on either side of the frame. These doors are quieter than sliding garage doors and don’t require a lot of headroom, but they can be difficult to open manually and may not be as energy-efficient.