The days of standard, plain, and uniform residential garage doors are over.
Homeowners now have a variety of options when it comes their garage doors. There are now many to the style and material options. This may seem overwhelming however it allows homeowners to match their garage door with the overall look of their home and have unique needs met.
Beginning with traditional steel, an affordable and durable option for a residential garage door is a classic option. However, the plain white repeating square pattern, although still popular and stylish, is no longer the only steel option. For example, you can have a steel garage door modeled after a carriage house door to match your homes exterior décor. Or if your house has more of a countryside aesthetic you might want a steel garage door that appears as though it is made of wood.
Having a steel garage door is beneficial for many reasons with the most obvious being that steel is strong. A strong garage door is important for the security and protection of your home against the forces of nature, such as storms, which can cause damaging debris to pound against your home and may destroy garage doors made out of weaker materials.
Another benefit of steel for a residential garage door is that although very strong, it is a malleable material and so there is a wide variety of styles that can be fashioned from steel. You can choose different patterns, colors, and styles that are easily made out of steel while still providing your home protection against people and nature.
For those who are concerned about the state of the environment, steel is also recyclable material so when your garage door reaches the end of its life, it can be recycled and used again. One drawback of traditional steel is a lack of insulation but there is a solution for that as well.
Improved and Insulated Steel Garage Doors
Garage doors can now come in insulated steel which provides all the benefits of an insulated steel garage door while also including insulation which can improve the practicality of a garage significantly. These insulated steel doors consist of two layers of steel with polyurethane foam in between which significantly helps maintain the temperature within your garage as well as minimizing outside noise.
This is especially useful for anyone who intends to utilize their garage for ulterior purposes such as; a home office, a gym, a storage space, an art studio, an extra bedroom, the list goes on and on. As most homeowners are aware, garages are usually significantly hotter than the rest of the home during warm months and cooler in the winter months.
The drastic and unbearable changes in temperature can make the use of garage space difficult which makes an insulated garage door a smart investment. In addition to the thermal regulation provided by insulated steel doors they also provide noise reduction which can be crucial for a residential garage door. Street noise usually makes its way into residential garages through the spaces between garage door slats.
Insulated steel garage doors eliminate that problem due to their secure seal. If the garage has been turned into a multi-purpose room this is obviously an ideal improvement. However, the garage does not have to be used for any other purposes for the insulated steel garage doors to be a great benefit.
For example, it allows for regulation of the temperature inside the garage which for anyone that has gotten into their vehicle that was parked in their garage overnight and wondered how it could still be so hot or so cold, insulated steel garage doors are a great solution.
Aluminum Garage Doors
If cost is of great concern, then aluminum garage doors provide great option. Still durable and able to be styled aluminum garage doors can come in all the variations that are available in steel. Aluminum is an easy to work with material which allows for the garage doors made out of aluminum to come in a variety of different designs.
The affordability of aluminum also comes from the fact that it easier to manipulate than steel and can result in dents and damage easier than steel. However, it is still a sturdy door that will protect your belongings and family against nature and other unpredictable events.
Another great aspect of an aluminum garage door is that there is the option of an aluminum glass garage door which provides many benefits to the overall protection of your garage space and minimizes the amount of maintenance required. This is because of the corrosion resistant properties found in aluminum that drastically reduce the amount of upkeep necessary to keep the garage door looking its best.
For families that are too busy to have to worry about possible rust or corrosion on the garage door and instead want it to just last, worry-free, for many years this is an ideal material.
In addition to the low maintenance qualities of aluminum the glass aspect allows light to filter into the garage making it brighter and more useful space. This adds not only a new sense of sophistication and openness to the inside of your garage but also adds a sense of modernity to the exterior of your home. The aluminum glass garage doors can add the finishing touches to a home with a residential design and standard aluminum garage doors provide a less expensive alternative to steel doors.
Fiberglass Exterior
One of the rarer materials used for residential garage doors is fiberglass. A fiberglass residential garage door has many benefits but the most well known is how low maintenance they are to take care of. The biggest asset of having fiberglass residential garage doors is their high resilience to corrosive effects, even those of salt water making it an ideal material for beach houses.
However, fiberglass garage doors are also a great option for any residential home since the resilience to corrosion makes it easy to maintain and it’s still made out of durable material to keep your residence safe. They are also more lightweight than steel and can be fashioned into the various styles and designs desired to customize the exterior of a home.
There are many things to consider when deciding what type of residential garage door is best for your home; strength, durability, noise, temperature regulation, required maintenance, etc. But one thing that remains consistent throughout the different materials is that they can be fashioned to the needs of your family and your personal style.
After considering how you want to utilize your garage and what form of garage door is optimal all that’s left is picking the custom style you’re most happy with, and being happy with your garage door is the most important part.
