Thinking about garage door replacement? I’ve got ten tips to help you make the right choice for your home!
Several weeks ago we replaced our garage door and I’m amazed at how the new garage door transformed the look of our home! My husband and I had never purchased a garage door before and since it’s a pretty big investment, I did quite a bit of reading and research before making a choice. I learned a ton about garage door replacement along the way so have put everything I now know together to share ten tips for choosing the right garage door for your home.
2. Know the Pros and Cons of Natural Wood Versus Steel or Aluminum Garage Doors
The most popular garage door material is steel. Steel doors can be insulated to be more energy efficient than wood doors and they are lower maintenance and generally less expensive than wood doors. Aluminum doors are typically the least expensive type of garage door and the most lightweight (and thus easiest to lift manually) but also the most prone to dents. However, aluminum has the advantage of being resistant to rust and corrosion, giving it an advantage in coastal regions. Natural wood doors need to be repainted or restained every few years and they can be quite costly compared to steel and aluminum doors. However, the warmth and beauty that wood garage doors can bring to a home is undeniable!
2. Consider the Insulation Value (“R-value”) of the Garage Door
The higher the R-value of the garage door, the greater the insulation value and energy efficiency. If you live in a temperate climate, this may not be an important issue for you. However, if you live in a harsh climate, have finished living space above your garage, or plan to heat or cool your garage because you are using it for purposes other than parking cars (for example, a workshop or laundry area), the garage door’s R-value is definitely something to consider. Several years ago, we put a master bedroom/bath addition above our garage and the space has always been much colder than the rest of the house in the winter – our new garage door that has a much higher R-value than the old one has made a significant different in the colder temperatures. The negative of getting a garage door with a high R-value is the cost – generally, the higher the R-value of the door, the higher the price. So your need for a well insulated garage door needs to be weighed against the extra cost.
3. Choose a Garage Door Color that Coordinates with Your Exterior Home Colors
Take time choosing your garage color whether that be by selecting one of the standard prefinished door colors or painting/staining your door a custom color. Most garage door manufacturers offer their garage doors in several fairly standard color options. If one of the standard colors matches well with the rest of your house, perfect! A prefinished door is the way to go if you can find a color that works for you because it’s virtually maintenance free. However, if none of the colors offered by the manufacturer work well with the exterior colors of your home, consider painting it. To make the painting job easier on you, you can request to have the door delivered to your home prior to installation so that you can paint the individual sections of the door before it is hung. Be sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions for how to prep your door before painting, the type of paint to use (use of oil based paint may void the warranty), and restrictions on painting with dark colors.
4. Don’t Underestimate the Visual impact of Adding Windows to Your Garage Door
My old garage door didn’t have windows so initially I didn’t consider this option when selecting a new one but after using Clopay’s Door Imagination System (see tip #6), I could see for myself what an amazing difference the addition of windows would make to the overall look of my home. Now I’ve become a believer that the vast majority of the time, the most attractive garage door for your home is going to be one with windows. These two homes from Clopay’s “Before and After” Pinterest Board are other great examples of the difference that windows can make:
5. Select a Style of Garage Door that Complements Your Home
Obviously, you don’t want to put a contemporary looking aluminum and glass garage door on a traditional Colonial home or a carriage style door on a contemporary home. Also, if your garage door will have windows, be mindful of the shape of the windows and the size of the window grilles that you choose. As examples, these three homes in the same community all have garage doors with windows that were thoughtfully chosen to complement the home:
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| The rectangular shape of these garage doors’ window openings and the division of the windows with square grilles mimic the design of this home’s large window (to the left of the garage doors) that has rectangular trim and square grills. |
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| The arched shape of these garage doors’ window openings and the division of the windows with square grilles mimic the design of the arched windows to the right and above the garage doors. |
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| The rectangular shape of these garage doors’ window openings and the division of the windows with rectangular grilles mimic the design of the large windows to the left and the right of the garage doors. |
6. Use an Online Visualization Tool
Most garage door companies have visualization tools that allow you to upload a photo of your home and change the design of the garage door to see how various designs transform your home’s appearance. For example, I uploaded this picture of my home with the old garage door to Clopay’s Door Imagination System:
When I tried out a carriage-house style door without windows it looked like this:
but with windows, the visualizer showed me that it would look like this (much better!):
7. Pay Attention to Decorative Door Hardware Options
Be aware that most garage door manufacturers have options for different styles of decorative door hardware and also that installing some of the hardware on the door is optional. For example, I chose a carriage-house style garage door but wasn’t fond of the look of the hinges or step plate (hardware on bottom center) with the style of my home so I chose to not install those pieces of hardware. I also changed out the standard lift handles for colonial handles that better suited my home.
8. Get a Wind-Rated Door If You Live In an Area That Gets Hurricanes
If you live in an area at risk for hurricane force winds, be sure that your garage door is a wind-rated door that meets local wind load reinforcement requirements. Approximately 80% of residential wind damage starts with wind entry through the garage door.
9. Get Warranty Details
Ask about the the warranty for your garage doors, as some manufacturers offer longer warranties than others. The length of warranty can also differ depending upon the specific type of door you choose.
10. Be Sure to Price Shop!
Once you’ve found the door that’s perfect for you, be sure to price shop. I had gotten the quote for the Clopay door that I ended up choosing from a local dealer but then saw that Home Depot was having a sale on Clopay doors that would have made my garage door less expensive to buy through them. I informed the salesperson that I was working with and they agreed to match the Home Depot sale price, saving me a few hundred dollars.
While shopping for a new garage door isn’t the most fun you’ll ever have, it’s a big investment so it’s important to take the time to make the right choice. The impact that a new garage door can have on the appearance of your home is likely much bigger than you may expect!
Lindsay, Xo Lindsay says
Garage doors can change the whole look of the house! Those before & afters are fantastic.
Kris @ Driven by Décor says
I always love a good before and after! Especially love the before and after of the tudor home – so beautiful!
stephanie says
Excellent and very thorough post. WE replaced our garage door with a heavy wooden door with lots of windows and have been very happy! Love your choice of doors– garage doors are so important especially when they are the first thing you see when you pull up!
Kris @ Driven by Décor says
Thanks Stephanie! We’ve done a lot of work on the exterior of our home but never even gave a second thought to replacing our garage door to update it. I guess my run in with the garage door was a bit of a happy accident!
Linda {Calling it Home} says
Holy cow, I had no idea about hurricanes and garage doors. Great tip. I think it is such a hard decision. Your pic is lovely.
Designing Domesticity says
Pretty amazing transformations on some of those homes. A great garage door can make all the difference. Thanks for sharing, liz
Marty Wittman says
This is very good advice from a homeowner.
Now I’d like to add my own opinion, that of a self-employed, professional garage door installer.
I am the overhead garage door installer of my local town and area since 1997. I have done contract work for larger companies in my past. I stopped doing it because after a year of contract work, my experience with them was not good.
For instance, they would send one man in a truck loaded with three to four doors by himself with no help. We would be told to come back when we were done. I seen this many times, and it would flat wear a worker out. However, the one who really got the short end of the stick was the customer. Because when a worker is in this mode, he is not there for the customer, he is there to get the job done as fast as can be done, and get off to the next job so he can be home by five.
When choosing a door, or opener, you could go to a large business and get a lower price at first. However, the service isn’t always the same as you might get from finding someone local, who lives in your home town, and has years of experience and good references from people you know, who will do a much better job and give you better service.
I always ask my customers how they found me. Over the years, I have found that most of my business is by word of mouth, and that is the best you can get.
So you might get a cheaper price going to a larger company, but they will never beat the small local home town company in service.
Kris @ Driven by Décor says
Hi Marty,
Thanks for your valuable input! I went with a smaller local company for my garage door install and were very happy with them. Interestingly when they came to install my door, they told me that they would have also been the ones to install the door if we had ordered it through Home Depot! So I guess the moral of the story is that if you’re considering a larger company, you should get information about who would be installing the door – from what you wrote, I could see how that would make a big difference.
Marty Wittman says
Hi Kris,
This is what I meant by contracting out to a larger company. I still worked for myself, but also would install in my area for a larger companies. I do not do this anymore, because I do not work on someone else’s time, giving me the extra time to go the extra mile.
Coming from a third generation carpenter, having quality craftsmanship, and a good name is extremely important in being successful working for one’s self.
The customer will never remember how fast you installed their door, but they will remember a smiling face and handshake, a kind and thankful attitude for getting the much needed work, and the quality of knowing that their door and opener lasted years after leaving their home.
Buying a door or opener really is not as simple as one may think. This is something you are going to spend good money on, something that reflex your family and home, you want quality that last, with service at its best. Something that is hard to find in today’s world.
Working for myself as long as I have, I do allot of work in research to find the best quality product for my customers that will fit into their budget.
As a small family business, we try to help our customers the best we can. We do not pull into their driveway timing ourselves to see how quick we can get the job done, but have been known to get our ladders out and go the further mile and clean the leaves out of the gutters for a little old lady whom latter paid us with homemade cookies she had just baked. True story LOL, worth it too, they were good!
With going with someone local, more than likely, it could be someone you see every day at your local grocery store or at Church. Helping your neighbor is especially important during these harsh economically times we have.
Marty
Bill says
Ahh, the good and bad of the Internet — this is the GOOD! I simply typed in “should I have windows in my new garage door” and the Internet took me to your great advice. No doubt after reading your advice and seeing the photos that windows will be in our new garage door! Thank you.
Kris Jarrett says
So glad you found it helpful – I am so glad we went with windows in ours – it made such a difference!!
Cathy Briant says
Today we replaced two mid-seventies wooden garage doors that were in disrepair. However when we purchased the house in the mid-nineties they looked great – nice row of 6 large windows at eye level. Since I like natural light I never realized how much I appreciated those windows until now. I wish I had reviewed this site before our purchase. We purchased steel doors from a local small business installer, however, the installer’s truck had a different name on it so he was probably a contractor. It seems everywhere I have looked since they were installed today – hindsight is 20/20 – all the steel and aluminum door windows are small, smaller than a panel section. Thankfully we still had them installed at eye level so we can still easily see out or in. However we got a curved insert design to match curved wood molding over the doors in the second tier down. Not sure if I like it yet. May take some getting used to or we’ll switch out the brackets – they’re just plastic inserts that snap in – to a square shape. However once you decide what level you want your windows placed in there’s no going back! I probably could have gotten what I really wanted the same nice old wooden doors with large eye level windows, but they would be custom and twice the cost. Operation is nice and smooth/quiet as opposed to the wooden doors. Well,l it will take some getting used to.
Tina Gleisner says
Liked your story about getting the local company to match Home Depot’s sale price & hope people realize the tremendous profit the box stores get with everything they sell. The dialog with the garage door installer was priceless, and a great example of why homeowners should find & use local companies/contractors for all their home projects … because they deliver better service.
Mike S says
I’m looking for new garage doors now and it’s a very frustrating experience. I have a rather plain brick house and the old doors (two bay garage) were (what I think of as ) classic wood-and-plywood doors, each divided into a 6 across by 4 down grid. The top level is full glass in place of the plywood.
I can’t find anything that matches this style any more. Everything I see is either Carriage doors or the before picture from Clopay. I don’t like the latter and don’t think the former match my house. I’ll probably end up with something like the author chose, however. To the author – three years on, how do you like the doors you chose? Thanks!
Shirley Hetherington says
I just replaced my garage doors, one double, one single. This time i went with windows across the top of both. It is getting close to November in the midwest here, and I notice how much colder my garage has become. I have the walls insulated and dry wall up. The doors are also insulated. But windows have made my garage much colder then what it was before the doors with windows.
Robin says
Thank you for the excelent tips on choosing garage door replacement.
Jay says
Don’t forget that windows make it easier for someone to break in if you don’t have a lock on the garage door!
Charlotte Baxter says
Thanks for sharing tips about garage door replacement. It’s really helping me a lot.
john P foley says
I am wondering if I should WIDEN our door when it is replaced.
From 8 feet to 9 feet so that larger vehicles will not have trouble.
We scraped a car twice in 40 years.