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Styles and Materials of Garage Doors
Styles of Garage Doors
Today, the two most popular types of garage door: tilt-ups and sectional roll downs. There are other specialty doors that command a higher price such as carriage house doors.
Sectional Roll Downs
The roll down doors are broken into at least four sections, attached by joints, and put on rollers. This allows them to be rolled up on a track that puts them parallel to the ceiling.
- A distinct advantage the roll down model has is the door only ever occupies the area of the doorway and right next to the ceiling,
- you don’t need to move your car when you open and close it.
- You also have more headroom in a garage with a sectional door, and many people feel that a sectional is easier to open and close.
Tilt-ups
The tilt-ups are attached by metal hinge arms and simply tilt outwards to allow access to the garage. Tilt-up doors are generally 25-30% less expensive than roll downs.
Swing Garage Doors
Often used for barn-style garages.
Construction Materials for Residential Garage Doors
Steel Garage Doors
- One of the more durable and popular materials for garage door construction.
- Low Maintenance
- It will not warp or bend, and usually the paint will last a very long time.
- Steel can be fashioned into many textures and made to resemble wood.
- Steel doors do offer excellent insulation, as many are built as two steel panels with some form of insulator between them.
- Measured by its gauge, the lower the gauge steel the thicker, 24 gauge steel is thicker then 26 gauge steel.
Aluminum Garage Doors
- Lighter then steel which makes it easier to open and close if you don’t have an automatic opener.
- Low Maintenance
- More susceptible to denting than steel.
- Aluminum usually costs about half of what steel does.
Wood Garage Doors
Tilt-up doors are the easiest variety to make from wood, as it’s one solid board. When a sectional door is made out of wood, it is usually a panel door that is composed of a wooden frame being made into sections and panels being inserted afterwards.
- Easy to paint
- Appearance grade wooden doors are available. These stained doors maintain the look of wood but can be as much as 25% more expensive.
- Popular for their natural look.
- Generally require the most maintenance and require care that includes regular repainting and refinishing.
Fiberglass Garage Doors
- Fiberglass doors are aluminum frames with fiberglass panels.
- A fiberglass door weighs about as much as an aluminum door.
- They are not very good insulators.
- The fiberglass can weather with age and can possible break in especially cold weather.
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