Though they last a long time, every garage door’s days are numbered, just like the rest of us. You likely use your garage door several times a day, which adds up to nearly a thousand times a year. Naturally, the door and its opener wear out. Since you’ll rarely replace your garage door during the lifetime of your home, it’s an investment that should be done thoughtfully.

There’s more to buying a new garage door than cost and style. Should you purchase metal, fiberglass, or wood? Should you add insulation? What about windows? And who should install the garage door?

When it’s time to install a new garage door, here are a few tips on making the best choices for your home:

What Type of Garage Door do you Want?

First thing’s first: what are we even looking for? Installing a new garage door isn’t just about style, but that doesn’t mean style isn’t important. There are sectional overhead garage doors (the most common kind you see on homes), tilt-up garage doors, swing-out garage doors, sliding barnhouse-style garage doors, and carriage house-style doors. If you want to play around with different styles, try our Design Your Door module.

Choosing the Right Garage Door Material

• Wood Garage Doors: Wood can add an element of natural beauty, is readily available, and easy to customize. The catch is, wooden garage doors don’t last as long in wet climates (we’re talking to you, Sacramento and Seattle.) and requires more consistent care throughout the year than other garage door materials. However, solid-core wood doors are warp and rot-resistant, and insulate spaces well.
• Steel Garage Doors: Steel garage doors last a long time and are low-maintenance. Steel garage doors are galvanized, meaning they’re covered with an industrial-grade zinc coating that greatly increases their resistance to rust and corrosion. Steel overhead garage doors are also durable and impact-resistant. And even when you dent them, you can often repair a dented garage door panel yourself. Steel garage doors need to be insulated, though.
• Fiberglass Garage Doors: Fiberglass is a composite material, so it’s got several advantages over steel and wood. Namely, it can’t rust, corrode or warp. However, fiberglass garage doors absolutely need insulation to be effective at temperature regulation in the garage.

Deciding on a Garage Door Opener

Different garage doors need different garage door openers. The size, weight and style of your garage door, as well as the overhead and flank space, are going to determine which kind of automatic garage door opener system is right for your door. Regardless of the brand and load of garage door opener you choose, though, it’s always a good idea to install a door opener with “smart” features like remote operation, monitoring, and ability to integrate with your home’s security system.

Weighing Different Garage Door Costs

How much can you expect to pay for a garage door? Prices can vary tremendously, from about $400 for your bottom-of-the-line sectional overhead garage door, to $9,000+ for high-end models, including installation. For a 16 by 7 foot door, you can expect to pay between $800 and $1,500 for a mid-range model counting installation. Wood garage doors tend to be on the expensive end, whereas steel sectional doors tend to be the most affordable.

Choosing the Right Exterior Door Installer for the Job

Perhaps just as important as the specs of your new door is the actual installation of the new garage door and opener itself. You need a local, trusted exterior door installer and servicer who reliably sends out skilled, friendly, licensed and insured garage door technicians. They’re not too difficult to suss out – Google and Yelp reviews can tell you a lot about a company.

For New Garage Door Installation, or Garage Door Spring Repair, Call SACS

If you need a new garage door, or other maintenance such as garage door spring repair or rebalancing a door off track, call SACS GARAGE DOOR REPAIR. We serve Folsom and the Greater Sacramento areas, as well as Bellevue and the Greater Seattle area.