Purchasing a garage door might seem like a simple task, but it is actually a somewhat expensive purchase that affects so many things about the way that your house looks and the way that you arrive at home and leave for the day. Your garage door, oftentimes, is the first thing you see in the evening and the last thing that you see when leaving in the morning. Get the right door and set the right tone for your day at work and evening at home!
1. Safety Features
Garage doors are basically super-heavy moving objects. It’s like the moat or drawbridge of an ancient castle. And if something goes wrong in the way that it functions, it can cause damage to pets, people, and cars. If you have small children or pets around the house it is absolutely essential to install motion sensors that prevent the door from closing all the way if something is detected in its path. Motion sensors can prevent the door from being nearly as dangerous. Another way to maintain the safety of your garage door is maintaining the motor and door, getting replacement springs, tracks, and motors when things get a bit old and rusty.
2. Security
Garage doors are an easy point of entry if they can be pried open. You’ll want to grab a door that is heavy and has a good locking mechanism at the bottom. The last thing you want is for the bad guys to be able to simply pry your garage door open. Obviously, this will be less of a concern in the event that your garage is not attached to the house. But if your garage has valuable objects or is attached to the house, you’ll want to pay special attention to doors that close automatically. Also, getting a smart home system that automatically closes your garage door when you leave might be a consideration.
3. Matching Motor and Weight
When buying a garage door and getting a new motor, you’ll want to make sure that you have plenty of power to get the door up and down each time without putting too much strain on the system. As long as you are getting a garage door company to help you with the purchasing and installation of all the parts, you shouldn’t have a problem here.
4. How the Motor Sounds
polyurethane insulation and nylon rollers. The garage door insulation dampens any vibrations that would normally be amplified by an uninsulated steel. And nylon rollers are simply quieter than metal ones. I
5. Buy Classic, Not Trends
You want to have your garage door for a while. It is the staple of your house. When looking for your ideal garage door, think about something that looks timeless and don’t fall for the latest garage door trend. Pay enough money so that you love your door.
6. Use Computers to Design
When thinking about how your house is going to look it can be helpful to get photos of the place and surroundings of the garage door so that you can compare them to new models that you are going to put in. Matching the color and lighting can be tough, but it gives you a way to put your house onto the computer and compare different models.
7. Cost from Door to Installation to Maintenance
It costs money to buy the materials, install the door, and possibly to maintain if things get dented or need to be replaced.
8. Get Good Springs
Simply increasing the cost and durability of the springs can really help extend the lifespan of your garage door. Since the springs seem so simple and are a thing that you can get for cheap, many homeowners take this as their cue to save a little bit of money in this department. But that little bit of money saved in the short term can contribute to much higher costs in the long run.
9. Technology
A modern garage door shouldn’t just lift with buttons on the inside of cars. As a safety feature it should lift with an app on the whole family’s phones. By getting a door that lifts with the touch of an app or can automatically sense when you’ve left, you’re getting a door that maximizes the safety and lifestyle of the whole family. You don’t even need to give kids a key when they can touch a button on their app to get into the garage, if your garage is attached to the house and left unlocked!
10. Consider Self-Installing… but really consider it.
Saving money where you can with DIY projects is obviously awesome. But installing a garage door is probably not the place to do it. After all, garage doors are big and heavy pieces of equipment. There are very few people that are really going to have the strength, number of people, and expertise that are needed to safely install a garage door. Plus, it can be dangerous if not installed correctly, because you are dealing with motors, heavy doors, and springs. It can injure people or cause extensive damage to your house or car if not installed properly! Leave the installation to the experts in most cases. They’ll be able to ensure that your door is installed safely and easily.
11. Get a Quote and Get a Budget
Before getting a quote on the garage door that you want to put in, you should start by creating a budget. Garage doors can last many years, so while you will pay for the cost in one big chunk you should factor the cost into your budget by spreading the cost around through 12 months or through a few payments over a few different years. It can sound way too expensive to put in a new garage door, but remember that once you put in a door it won’t cost that much year over year.
Then, identify the company that you are going to want to work with on the new garage door and get a quote from them. Most companies will provide the quote free of charge.
