Discover how the right garage doors are the key to enhancing curb appeal and can have a major impact on your home’s appearance and value.
Sectional Garage Doors
There are many types of garage doors to choose from - the five most common are sectional, roll up, side sling, up and over, and tilt-up retractable. You also must decide on the door material, finish, color, and special options like windows, insulation, and hardware you want to use.
If you’re feeling a little overwhelmed already, there’s no need to fret - we’ve created a breakdown of the different garage door types to help streamline the process and teach you a thing or two about each of them to make things easy.
Sectional Garage Doors are the most common types of garage doors in the United States – you probably have one of these on your home as well. As the door opens and closes, wheels at the edge of each panel roll inside a vertical track on each side of the door opening.
The hinges between each panel section bend over a curved portion of the track. This feature allows the door to sit parallel to the ceiling when completely open or in line with the walls when completely closed.
A pair of high-tension springs above the opening are attached to cables that operate the door and hold it from drifting down when only partially open.
These doors are typically made from steel, are low maintenance, and can be customized to include window inserts, hardware, textures, and colors. They come in both insulated and non-insulated models.
Roll Up Garage Doors
You'll probably find these more in commercial applications than residential, but roll-up doors are a no-frills design option built for areas with limited ceiling space. This style is made with 2"-3" steel slat sections that roll around a drum above the door opening.
Roll-up or coiling doors are built to withstand heavy usage and high-performance units can be built without springs or enclosed to prevent rust, corrosion, and freezing. Due to the heavy-duty nature of the roll-up model, the upfront costs are higher than a sectional design.
Side sliding garage doors
Side sliding garage doors operates just like the name implies—by bending to one side of the garage and sitting parallel to the wall. These were among the first operating styles, and were originally used for garages with little headroom.
They run along lower trolleys that are flexible enough to work with slight slopes in the floor or ceiling. Slide to the side doors do not require balancing springs and have a built-in retractable motor for automated operation without the need for a ceiling-mounted operator.
Up and Over Garage Doors
Like side-hinged styles, the tilt-up canopy garage doors don't have sections - they’re made of one solid piece. They have a pivoting hinge mechanism, so they can tilt up into the garage. The canopy-style door sits parallel to the garage ceiling and extends past the front of the house when the door is open.
Tilt-Up Garage Doors
Tilt-up garage doors are a type of door that is built as one piece. In order to open and close the garage, the door is pulled back on a pivot before being lifted onto a track in the ceiling of the garage. These are most commonly ordered when someone wants to match a door on an older property
