Designing your Garage Door
- 1. Architecture
- 2. Styles
- 3. Type
- 4. Panels
- 5. Material
- 6. Options
- 7. Estimate
Designing a Custom Garage Door
Step 6. Choose Options
Insulated vs. Non-Insulated?
- If you use your garage for storage, thermal insulation may be important.
- If you have a garage workshop or tend to do projects in that space, you will want to consider insulating your garage door.
- Insulated doors tend to be thicker and resist dents
- Choose R-value between 4-17. The higher the R-value, the greater the insulating properties.
- Styrene foam insulation
- More on Insulated Garage Doors
Choose Color
Most manufacturers offer a choice of colors but you can paint a door the color of your choice with latex paint.
Choose Window-Type
If adding windows, choose the location of the windows and the design bevelite, etched or decorative trim
Add Decorative Hardware
- Pulls
- Latches
- Hinges
Garage Door Opener
- Ceiling Mount
- Wall Mount
- More on Garage Door Openers
Features
Safety Features
- Pinch-resistant panels
- Temper-resistant bottom fixtures prevent the accidental release of the powerful spring load
- More on Safety
Other Features:
- Polymer hinges with no metal-on-metal moving parts
- Between section seals to reduce air infiltration
- Spring-tensioned polymer or nylon rollers for smooth, quiet performance
- High tensile strength steel for dent resistance
- Bulb-type bottom seal for an added barrier against wind and rain
- A full-length bottom weather seal to ensure protection against wind, rain and dust.
- Rigid galvanized steel center stiles for strength
- Sturdy rail and stile construction and rabbeted section joint for added durability.
- Extension springs
- On either side of the track, often used on lighter doors and single car garages
- Torsion springs
- Typically one or two along the wall above the door opening for heavier doors and 2 or 3-car garages.
- The torsion spring distributes the weight of the door more evenly, particularly with a very wide extremely heavy door. Torsion Spring Cycles are 25,000, 50,000, 75,000 or 100,000. To determine what cycle you need, take the average # of times the garage goes up and down each day and multiply it by 250 days and then multiply it by 10 years. Average life of garage door is 10 years.
- Galvanized torsion springs – Resist corrosion. Last 50% longer than other types of springs.
Designing your Garage Door
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Garage-Doors offers a quick and easy quote form for consumers to use when they wish to request an estimate for their garage door.