How to Choose the Perfect Garage Door

Transform your Curb Appeal with a New Garage Door

Replacing your garage door is one of the quickest and easiest ways to instantly transform your curb appeal. Getting it right is important and there are many aspects to consider. So as you get ready to upgrade, keep these helpful tips in mind.

One: What style Garage Doors do you want?

Firstly, you need to think about the kind of garage door you want.

A good start is to drive up and down the streets of your neighbourhood and have a look at types of garage door styles available and which ones appeal to you.

Here is a rundown of the different types of garage doors available:

Roller Garage Doors

Roller doors are compact, convenient and they look great without the huge price tag.

For garages which do not have a wide opening, roller doors are often the most suitable choice. However, as roller doors need headspace to allow the door to roll up to the top of the garage, so if this space is limited, you might want to consider a sectional or tilt door instead.

Roller doors can have a motor added, if required.

Tilt Garage Doors

Tilt garage doors are made from one piece of material. This operates on a spring hinge to allow it to go open up and over. There is one major benefit in having your garage door made from one piece, as it allows you to choose from a wide range of materials.

Space-wise the tilt garage door takes up the least amount of headspace which makes it perfect if you have a tight space overhead for your garage door.

However, the other consideration is to make sure you have enough room in your driveway to open and close the door.

Tilt doors can have a motor added, if required.

Sectional Garage Doors

Sectional or panel lift doors have several sections which are hinged together making the door like look one solid door which opens on a curve through a track system overhead.

The great thing about sectional doors is that the panels can be designed to match the look & feel of your home, which is great from a design point of view, plus they can be made out of a variety of materials and completed with a Colorbond or powder-coated finish.

If you have limited headspace in the garage, or if you have a small driveway, sectional doors would work well.

Sectional/panel lift doors can also be motorised, if required.

Two: What material should you have?

After you have worked out your list of garage door styles, you next need to think about materials, factoring in the pros and cons of each.

We offer the following materials:

Aluminium Garage Doors

Aluminium is always a popular choice for garage doors as it’s lightweight, durable and easy to maintain, however, it might cost a little more.

Being lightweight, if you were thinking about having large double-wide automatic doors, aluminium would be a good option as the motors would not need to do as much work as for a heavier door.

Steel Garage Doors

Colorbond Steel is another choice many homeowners go for – it comes in a wide range of colours and is also a very durable option. It is, however, heavier than aluminium.

Wooden Garage Doors

Wooden garage doors are always popular with great curb appeal. However, they can be more costly, require more maintenance and may need to be replaced more often than other doors. A “timber look” garage door may be an option.

Three: Design & colour of your garage door?

Once you’ve chosen the right material, it’s time to pick a design that will match the architecture of your home whether it is ultra modern or more traditional.

Also consider colour.

You can go beyond white or neutral-coloured garage door nowadays.

Colorbond Steel comes in a whole host of colours from neutral shades to big, bold colours.

Powder-coated finishes are also an option, designed to give extra protection as they are stronger than paint and won’t easily chip away.

Four: How do you want your garage door to open?

Now that you have narrowed down your garage door wish-list, you can think about how you want your garage door to open.

Do you want it to manually open it or do you want it to be automatic with a motor?

Detailed Garage Doors and Gates can supply motors for different types of garage doors.

Talk to us about motor durability, noise and how heavy your garage door may be.

Garage doors should come with safety features as standard.

For example:

Safety Infra-Red Beams

Our top recommended safety feature is Infra-Beams, these will stop the garage door and reverse if the beam is broken, such as if a child or pet runs out unexpectedly.

Wireless Entry KeyPad

This is a perfect feature for your children or when you are locked out – enter the garage without the remote using a pin code.

Emergency Key Release

For sectional doors – operate your garage door manually from the outside using a key.

Five: Get an in-person quote

Don’t order your garage door over the phone and insist on an on-site visit for accurate measurement and consultation.

At Detailed Garage Doors and Gates we will do this.

Every garage is a little different and we need to check details such as space available for opening, headroom and side clearance, and even help you make design decisions.

Replacing your garage door is one of the best ways to transform your home so it is important to do it right and & maximise the curb appeal to your home.