How to find the right garage door

We usually don’t think much about it, but your garage door plays a major role in your home’s overall appearance. The fact is, an unattractive garage door, or one that is in decline will make your property look rundown, and its value will drop. Especially if you use your garage as an office, spare room, or workshop, you ought to pay more attention to maintaining it. Start with a superior-quality garage door that’s solid and long-lasting. Bear in mind that the garage door is the biggest operating appliance of your household, so it is very important to keep it in tiptop shape. If you have decided that it is time to purchase an entirely new garage door, it is important to land upon the perfect combination of curb appeal, resilience, price, and acceptable maintenance requirements.

Which is Better: A Single-Panel Garage Door? Or a Sectional One?

If you are shopping for a brand-new garage door, there are virtually countless options. You may think at first that a sectional garage door is the standard, which is true nowadays. But there are myriad additional choices, such as the single-panel garage door - also called a swing door, or an up-and-over door. To find the garage door that’s right for you, there are a great deal of factors to consider.

Single-Panel Garage Doors

A single-panel garage door is a solid slab that slides up and into the space above your vehicle when opened. Even though it occupies a similar space as a sectional garage door does, it functions differently. Most single-panel garage doors are hung on a heavy-duty hinge system that is attached to the jam. Once this kind of door is fitted with its springs, the door swings easily, and a garage door opener is not even required. Or, sometimes, a single-panel door can be hung with a system similar to a sectional door, so that it can be attached to a garage door opener.

Pros

Simple. A single-panel garage door has relatively few parts, and thus it is easier to install. Furthermore, fewer parts mean there is less to maintain and fewer bits that could potentially break over the years.

Lower cost. A single-panel garage door is generally a lot less expensive than a sectional door, even when made from the same material. If you ever have to replace your garage door cables or torsion springs, your cost will also likely end up being more reasonable.

Variety. A single-panel door can be made of virtually any material you can think of, and you won’t have panels that clutter the overall look.

Do It Yourself. The single-panel garage door is ideal if you have an older home, because with minimal effort it will be easy for you to match its old-fashioned style with the style of your property. When you want to retrofit the garage door hardware that you already have, a single-panel door is the most uncomplicated choice.

Cons

Safety. A single-panel garage door requires extension springs, which, when they fail, can be very dangerous. If not properly maintained, these springs can actually go straight through a wall! They can cause serious injury and even death.

Space limitations. If you are in a tightly packed neighborhood, with space at a premium, you may feel uncomfortably confined. The extra area needed for a single-panel garage door to tilt up and down will be necessary in your driveway. Every time you want to open or close your garage door, you will have to remember to park farther back.

Maintenance. When a single-panel garage door malfunctions, it usually fails all at once. The whole door can fall down.

Sectional Garage Doors

Sectional garage doors are certainly more popular today. This type of garage door is hung on overhead tracks, and made up of four or more sections. These panels are held together along the edges with hinges, which also hold the rollers so they remain in place, allowing the garage door to close and open properly along its tracks.

Pros

Convenience. If space is limited at your property, a sectional garage door is your best bet. These doors do not have to swing out, so it allows for more space outside. Cars can be parked closer to the garage door itself.

More safe and durable. A sectional garage door stands up very well to extreme weather conditions. Without extension springs, and with your ability to operate this door automatically, it is less potentially hazardous.

Easier to repair. If a sectional garage door ever gets damaged in just one section or two, it’s a lot easier and less costly to repair it, because you can replace just the sections affected without much effort, rather than having to repair or replace the entire garage door.

Attractive options. A wide range of materials, colors, and finishes is available. Sectional garage doors of either steel or wood are both excellent options. Steel doors are more popular because they’re tougher, easier to install, and less costly. A wooden sectional garage door is generally great if you have a custom-built, more expensive house with an attached garage, and you prefer a more welcoming appearance.

Cons

A sectional garage door has a huge amount of small parts and springs, making installation more complicated. These doors are also typically limited to options which work well in two-foot segments, so it’s more difficult to fit them together properly to install.

Higher pricing. Depending on which customization options you choose, a sectional garage door is often more expensive than a single-panel garage door. Garage space is affected. Because of the tracks for this sort of garage door, it takes up a little more space inside your garage.