Signs you might need a new garage door
Your garage door is a combination of important function (a major entrance to your home) and style (for many American homes, the garage door represents a significant part of the street view of the house). Consequently, you might feel you need a new garage door for reasons of either appearance or function.
Appearance. Style can be a very good reason for replacing a garage door. A new garage door can have a dramatic impact on the appearance of your home. Even if you have a garage door that functions perfectly, you may want to give a little boost to the curb appeal of the house, and a change of garage doors can certainly accomplish that. The variety of materials and styles available today make it possible to complement virtually any architectural style with that large expanse that is your garage door.
The more common reasons for getting a new garage door will relate to function, though, rather than appearance. That’s the case simply because there are so many functional issues to motivate you to shop for a replacement.
The first of the functional reasons is that your current garage door is broken, and it isn’t economical to fix it. “Broken” can mean a lot of different things. It can mean that a panel (or the entire door) has holes or discoloration or any other issue that makes it too unattractive to keep. It can mean that it won’t open or close at all, or does so inconsistently, or that it does so in such an erratic fashion that you fear that it will literally fall apart at any moment.
There are other functional reasons, though. They have to do with wanting or needing improved functionality. Your existing garage door looks okay and works okay, but you want more. Some of the areas where you might look for improved functionality are:
Insulation. There are many very well-insulated garage doors on the market today. This type of door can improve your utility bills by making the garage more of a buffer zone between the outside temperatures and the more comfortable temperatures just the other side of the door leading into the house. They also help the livability of the garage space itself. With more comfortable temperatures in the garage it is more likely that the living space of the home might expand into the garage, making it a candidate for a nice recreation area.
Safety. If you have an older garage door, a newer door can provide improved safety features. In the event of a malfunction bringing the door to the ground rapidly, anything or anyone under it could be hurt badly. Among other things, a new door may include a mechanism to prevent the door’s falling down, closing suddenly.
Security. A new, stronger garage door with a new opener with updated security features, can add significantly to the security of your home. Older garage door openers have a fixed code that is transmitted from the remote control to the opener each time you enter. Devices are available that allow a burglar to “capture” the code that your remote just sent to the door opener so they can use it for later entry. Most new garage door openers have “rolling codes,” sending a different code each time it is used.
Home Value. All of these factors combine to make a garage door a relatively simple way to add value to the price of your home. An attractive door that is well-insulated, making it possible to use the garage comfortably as a recreational space, while adding to the security of your home does not just improve the appearance of your home – it increases its value.
A broken garage door is an obvious sign that it needs to be replaced. However, there are other times in which you might want to replace your garage door that aren’t so obvious.
