Your Guide to Choosing Custom Garage Doors
A garage door is perhaps one of the most prominent
features of a house and the one that is used quite often. So you want to be
careful while choosing it. The garage door you pick could either add to or take
away from your curb’s aesthetic appeal. This is especially true for homes that
have the garage right in the center or front. For such homes, the garage door
has to be well-maintained and good looking.
The amount you spend on a new garage door would be
worth the value it will add to the overall appeal of your house. Standard
garage doors are made of wood, steel, copper or other metal, with a single or
double door. However, if you wish to install an aluminum heavy-duty garage door
or a customized, designer garage door, then you must be willing to spend some
extra money. But custom garage doors are absolutely worth the investment!
Garage
door styles
When you are looking for custom garage doors, you will
find that there are four basic styles that you can pick from:
- Garage doors that swing out
- Garage doors that swing up
- Garage doors that roll up
- Garage doors that are side-sliding
If you want the ceiling to stay clear, then sliding or
swing-out garage doors is a good option. They also lend a distinctive look to
the garage. Besides that, roll-up garage doors are also very popular among home
owners.
Before you buy a roll-up garage door, measuring the
space between the ceiling and the top of your garage door is important. With
standard tracks, you will require about fourteen inches of headroom. Besides
the standard tracks, you can also find tracks that are especially made for
custom garages or those that have cathedral ceilings or very high walls.
Common
materials used for garage doors
Here are some typical materials used for making garage
doors, both standard and customized.
Wood:
With wooden garage doors, you can enjoy the authenticity and charm that is
rarely matched by any other material. It is possible to make wooden garage
doors locally in different sizes. Wooden doors could be decently priced
(mid-range) or could be very expensive. This depends on the frame used, whether
it’s lightweight and foam insulation filled or set in hardboard skin. There are
also frame-and-panel garage doors which are made with durable mahogany, cedar
or redwood.
Steel:
If you wish to avoid too much maintenance, then metal, such as steel, would be
a better option. Steel is comparatively cheaper and yet quite tough. Steel
could rust upon exposure and might require touch ups and repairing of dents. You
could consider steel garage doors with fiberglass overlays. These are resistant
to rusting and dents. Fiberglass requires periodic repainting as the color
might fade over a period of time.
Copper: Copper is considered to be among the most efficient
and resourceful building materials in the market today. Copper garage doors look aesthetically
appealing, are durable and resistant to corrosion.
It is important to do an adequate amount of research
before finally selecting your custom garage door.
