Did you know that garage door replacements add significantly to your home value? Contemporary garage doors are not just an aesthetic upgrade to your home or business. Modern garage doors increase your curb appeal to both customers and prospective buyers. Studies have suggested that a new garage door can add up to 4 percent on top of the value of your home.
If you’re not sure what type of garage door to choose for your upgrade, this post is for you. By the time you’re done reading, you’ll know everything there is to know about the modern garage door industry.
Before we dig into what types of garage door styles are available, let’s look at the bigger picture. We already know a new garage door can increase your home value, but what are the other benefits and things you should consider?
Safety First
According to Yahoo News, upgrading your current garage door to a modern design increases the safety rating of your home or business. Even just looking more secure can ward off potential intruders.
Depending on where you live in the United States, it’s not just people you’ll want to secure your home from. Having a strong garage door can stop unwanted intruders. Bears are a pretty serious example of a dangerous intruder. But upgrading your garage door isn’t just about what’s outside.
A poorly maintained garage door can pose a serious risk to those living inside your home. Every garage door is heavy and can cause a significant injury if it is not operating correctly.
If your garage door is simply not operating properly, then it is probably a great time to replace it with a new one! However, choosing a contemporary garage door is not the easiest task.
Picking the Right Style for You
When choosing the perfect garage door for your home or business, there are many factors to consider. You can start by asking yourself some easy questions.
Are you doing a full renovation? Are you just focusing on a garage upgrade? Do you need your front door and garage doors to match?
Do you have preferences for openers? How do you want the door to open? These questions and more will inform your final decision.
Your budget should also be part of your decision-making process. However, the return on investment for garage doors is fairly consistent — and good! So even if you don’t want to spend a lot now, just be secure in knowing that you’ll make back almost everything you spend in a future valuation on your home or business.
Commercial
Commercial garage doors come with far more practical questions than aesthetics. The first question for your commercial garage door upgrade is how often you’ll use the door.
Depending on the usage, you can establish the key features you need. If your door faces the street or is easily visible, it needs to look clean, classy, and sturdy. Just the appearance of security is enough to dissuade some thieves from attempting to break in.
If you plan on using the door frequently, something sturdy and easy to use is key. Having a busy entrance and exit can add wear and tear to your garage door.
Another key consideration for commercial buildings is local and state codes. There are specific rules for buildings in your local area. The design, construction, and ongoing maintenance for your building depend on how these codes dictate design, upkeep, and functionality.
Knowing the precise installation requirements for your commercial garage door helps you choose the best option for you. There are also national requirements for commercial buildings, so be sure to get a comprehensive breakdown of your building’s needs.
Fire codes, disability access, and speed of opening and closure are all typically nationally dictated building codes for commercial buildings. You should be able to easily look up the ones that apply to your business.
Again, budget is somewhat important in choosing a commercial door. However, if you buy a cheap door, you’ll end up spending a fortune on maintenance. Save time and money by getting something high-quality!
Residential
Choosing the perfect garage door for your home is not a one-size-fits-all decision. The existing architecture of your home dictates the best range of options for you.
Your garage door replacement could show upwards of a 94 percent return on your investment. The reason for such a high return on your investment is curb appeal.
When compared to other home improvements, a new garage door typically has the highest rate of return. Some kitchen remodels can add an average of 72 percent return. Decks only give a 66 percent return on investment.
A garage door is one of the first things that a prospective buyer sees when touring your home. The exterior aesthetic of your home is your curb appeal. Curb appeal is a term used to describe the general attractiveness of a house.
Other than security, there are fewer codes to abide by when choosing a residential garage door. The most important factors are usability, safety, and aesthetics. Let’s dig into these next!
Residential vs Commercial Garage Doors
When it comes to style, there are so many different types of garage doors available. Modern garage door prices vary significantly from residential to commercial doors. However, with a high return on investment, you shouldn’t worry about spending to stylize your home.
There are so many nuanced details in modern garage doors styles. Depending on what you need, it’s worth having a deep discussion of your options with an expert in the field.
Here are some general garage door styles to consider in the meantime. It’s always good to know what you like before starting your search with a professional!
Carriage
A carriage-style garage door is arguably one of the older designs but is making a real comeback. Rustic, classic, timeless, these are all words used to describe carriage-style garage doors.
Carriage-style garage doors were first introduced to modern society in the 19th century when most people used a horse and carriage as their daily mode of transport. Just like modern garages, people would store their carriage and horse in their homes.
Designed with heavy-duty wood and industrial-sized iron hinges, the door would swing forward to allow the horse and carriage inside.
Now, carriage-style garage doors offer a timeless aesthetic to any home remodel. Carriage doors are customizable to any size of home or business.
Carriage doors no longer have a manual hoist. Almost all carriage garage doors come with a motorized option, opening on their own with a clicker.
Slabs or “Up-and-Overs”
Slab doors are arguably one of the sleekest garage doors available. Designed with an up-and-over mechanism, slab doors offer an overhanging section that offers space for sunbathing when open. They run parallel to the ceiling and are best for homes with driveway space.
Slab doors are versatile, stylish, and made from one solid slab of material. In terms of aesthetics, let your creativity run free with a slab door. Most families go for a minimalist approach.
Slabs often fit perfectly into existing garage door mechanisms. If you’re putting in a whole new system, a slab may be the best choice too.
The cost of slab doors tends to be lower due to the single material used. Slabs have fewer moving parts and are therefore easier to install. If you’re looking for practicality and design simplicity, you can’t go wrong with a slab garage door.
The only downside to slab doors is the potential maintenance. However, so long as you keep up with your door, you shouldn’t have any catastrophic failures.
If you can’t find any other designs you like, customizing a slab garage door is best. You can match a slab door with any other design features in your home or business.
Regional and Historical Influence
Carriage garage doors may have historical influence, but that doesn’t mean you should limit yourself or your home to this one style. Garage door aesthetics are broad. Regional and historical styles are typically timeless.
Timelessness means a greater return on your garage door investment. American and European aesthetic influences can create charm for a cookie-cutter home.
While they look older, regional and historically influenced garage doors work with the same modern mechanisms as any other style of a garage door. Modern garage doors might be “in” right now, but trends circulate quickly.
In design, there’s a general rule that trends come in 20-year cycles. What is fashionable today could easily become outdated by next year. However, it will come around again in 20 years.
If you’re not planning on upgrading your garage door again for 20 years, go with something uber-modern. If you want to maintain your style indefinitely, try a regional or historically influenced style.
Regional styles also work well for businesses that depend on a certain degree of tourism for sales. The quainter and more in-keeping with local aesthetics of your garage door, the greater your curb appeal!
Raised-Panel
Raised-panel garage doors are what most people picture when they think of a garage door. The individual panels are either square or rectangular. Windows typically line the upper panels.
Raised-panel garage doors offer diversity in style. You can pick a color, material, and even the mechanisms to raise the door. The number of panels and windows is also up to you.
The overall chic is fairly standard for the American home. The panels offer texture and depth to the design.
If you’re concerned about windows, they are easily tempered in raised-panel garage doors. Thanks to modern safety features, raised-panel garage doors are heavier and more secure than those made in the last century.
Some homeowners don’t like how busy raised-panel doors appear. However, they add a distinctive vibe to otherwise plain home exteriors. It’s really a personal style choice!
Materials Available for Contemporary Garage Doors
The top-three materials used for contemporary garage doors are aluminum, steel, and wood. Choosing the perfect garage door for your home or business is certainly style-orientated. Material choice is part of that style decision.
Beyond that, the material of your door is highly dependent on your location, the maintenance required, and your budget. Your personal preference is most important when making a decision. But here’s some extra information for you to consider.
Aluminum
Aluminum withstands many, many years of weathering and wear and tear. Aluminum is typically slightly more expensive than other materials, but for good reason. These are the best long-term investments for home and business owners.
Aluminum is naturally resistant to the elements that cause rust and corrosion. It’s the most widely used material used to make aircraft because of its strength. However, aluminum isn’t that heavy!
Did you know that the first aircraft was made of wood? If not properly treated, wood rots. Now, 80 percent of aircraft are made from aluminum because it’s the best material for everything, ever (kind of).
Sure, you’re not planning on flying on your garage door. But don’t you want something lightweight, durable, UV resistant, with minimal upkeep required? Aircraft are one of the most complicated machines we’ve created, why not use some of aerospace’s expertise in your home or business?
The other great thing about aluminum garage doors is their compatibility with many features. Glass paneling and windows are easy to install.
The only downside is that you can dent aluminum garage doors. If you have children at home, they may ride their bikes into your door.
In parts of the United States prone to extreme weather events like hurricanes, you might also have a few random objects flung at your door. Chances are these minor dents and scratches are easy to fix!
Steel
Steel is easily combined with other materials to provide you with a strong and durable garage door for your home or business. In previous blog posts, we’ve described how steel is a great low-maintenance material.
Garage door manufacturers often use steel for garage doors because of the strength offered by this material. It’s highly durable. When coated properly, steel is almost entirely resistant to weathering.
It’s almost impossible to warp steel, and not even fire can break through! So long as you wash your steel garage door a few times a year, you should be good to go.
Another bonus of steel doors is that they’re typically made with a layer of insulation. Insulation protects your belongings from extreme weather temperatures and drafts.
If you want to use your garage as a workshop at home, this insulation can keep you warm in winter and cooler in the summer. Such temperature regulations at home also lower your energy bills!
For a business, a steel garage door is great for all times of the year. If your garage door opens into an operational area, you can keep the area cool in the summer and warm in the winter, too!
Wood
We’ve found that most wooden garage doors use timber from cedar, fir, mahogany, or redwood. As we said in previous articles, most wooden garage doors are manufactured utilizing plies, or “layers of wood.”
Wooden doors come in a range of shapes and sizes and are modifiable to any space. Again, wooden doors tend to be on the sturdy side.
The style aesthetic of the wooden garage door is beautiful. You can easily fit into regional or historical timelessness with the right niche of wooden design.
The curb appeal is huge with a wooden garage door. They’re also incredibly energy efficient, so you’ll save money inside and outside!
However, wooden garage doors tend to come with a big price tag and a lot of upkeep. The price tag is less about the material, but more about the installation process.
Wooden doors are more than usable as a style option for almost any type of modern garage door (see next section). Due to their weight, they can be harder to install and therefore come with a higher price tag.
Wood is also affected by weather more so than most other modern garage door materials. Hot summer months and direct sunlight easily warp the wood.
Rain can lead to serious issues with rot. Regular inspections and refinishing of your wooden garage door are part of the commitment you make by choosing this material.
Such weathering impacts the color of your door. You’ll need regular treatments to maintain the original aesthetic.
Types of Modern Garage Doors
Here at OGD™ we only work with the best and most reliable garage door brands. We have to ensure that you’re getting superior quality and longevity in your investment.
Picking your future garage door is as much about practical aspects as it is aesthetics. There are endless options of styles, sizes, and colors. What matters next is how the door works.
In the next section, you’ll learn about the types of modern garage doors for sale. Choosing garage doors that fit your lifestyle are key.
You can choose a mid-century modern garage door, but how do you want it to open? Let’s explore your options!
Sectional Overhead Doors
Sectional overhead garage doors are usually one large piece of material that tilts to open. The tilt raises the door parallel to the floor.
Some swing-out. Some don’t. How long is your driveway?
Depending on how much room you have, a sectional overhead door might not always be the best option for you. If you have plenty of room, a sectional overhead garage door is always an option!
Modern sectional doors are designed to seal well, making them highly secure. Finding the right size for your garage shouldn’t be a problem, as sectionals can be designed in almost any way.
The “sectional” aspect of an overhead door typically describes the aesthetic of the door. Most European and American sectional overhead doors are made of a few panels.
It’s the overhead element that you need to pay attention to. Working on a counter-balance system, an overhead door uses a weight to raise and close. The weighted mechanics either work in an extension or a torsion spring system.
An extension spring pulls the door open from the bottom of the frame. These springs stretch when the door is closed, and the tension is released when you raise the door to an overhead position.
In a torsion version, which is arguably more popular, the cables that attach to the door are at the bottom. The counterbalance weight equals the weight of the door, which is how such a heavy piece of kit pulls open.
Single Panel
Single panel doors are what you probably remember from your childhood. If you’ve ever lifted a garage door open by hand, it was probably a single panel door.
Most homeowners prefer single-panel garage doors to sectional doors because they are far simpler to use. Modern single panel garage doors don’t have to be manually operated, so don’t worry about that.
The simplicity of a single panel door is that it works almost exactly the same as a sectional garage door, just with far fewer parts. Single panel doors are easier to hang, too.
Installation of a single panel door is quick and seamless. Funnily enough, the design of single panel doors is usually seamless too!
Limitations of Single Panel and Sectional Overhead doors
The only downsides to single panel doors are safety, repairs, and space limitations. Older single panel doors and sectional overheads can sometimes fail terribly.
The spring and pulley system needs to be constantly maintained to ensure proper use. The last thing you want is for your door to break when you’re trying to open it in the rain.
You also don’t want to risk the overhead collapsing on anything or anyone. If you can ensure good maintenance, then don’t fear these potential limitations.
When it comes to repairs, single panel doors are typically more expensive than sectionals. If you ding or dent a sectional, you can replace that portion. In a single panel, you’ve got to take the whole thing off to get it back up to par.
Single panel doors take up a little more space than sectional, typically. If you’re a truck driver, you probably want to consider some other options if you also have a smaller garage.
Canopy or Up-and-Over Doors
Canopy garage doors are very similar to single panel doors. Like the others, they swing outwards as they open. If you’re working with a small driveway, then a canopy might not be the best option for you.
The other downside to a canopy or up-and-over doors is that the largest sizes are very heavy. The weight of a canopy garage door can put a huge strain on the torsion spring system.
If you’re working with a big space, you probably need to find a different style of door to meet your needs. However, there are fewer moving parts in a canopy, which makes them easier to fix!
They’re also incredibly easy to install. You can work with a single solid slab for the door, meaning any aesthetic is possible!
Roller Shutter Doors
If you’ve ever lived in a city, you know the distinctive sound of a roller shutter garage door opening and closing. The clinking noise is one of the most common sounds to hear early in the morning or late at night.
Roller shutter doors are a true American classic. They are typically made from horizontal strips of materials like insulated aluminum. As they raise, they wrap around a rotating drum.
Business owners and homeowners like roller shutter doors because they don’t swing out, they don’t take up too much space, and they’re more affordable than other types of garage doors. The only downside is the limitation on style.
If you plan on keeping your garage door open most of your business hours, then a roller shutter is probably your best bet. Contemporary roller shutter doors come fully mechanized, so you don’t have to manually open them anymore either!
Side-Hinged Doors
Nostalgia has made side-hinged doors trendy again. Have you ever seen a western movie? Side-hinged doors are just like saloon doors!
Wooden side-hinged doors are sure to add serious curb value. The other great thing about side-hinged doors is that both sides do not have to be the same size.
If you enter your home through the garage, you can have a smaller door on one side. Both sides open outward, so you’ll need some driveway space.
Installation of a side-hinge door is a cinch. They’re pre-hung! They’re also very easy to maintain.
All side-hinge doors are customizable too. While most people choose the side-hinge for the trendy aesthetic of a wooden door, glazing and insulation are customizable.
Side-hinge doors are essentially the original garage door. They might even be the original door style! These designs have lasted the test of time because they’re reliable, fashionable, and easy to use.
Garage Door Features
Contemporary garage doors can feature almost anything you want. You don’t have to pick from a catalog if you don’t want to. Everything from the size and color to the openers and windows are fully customizable.
When most people upgrade their garage door, they already have an idea of how they’d like it to look. Two practical aspects you should always consider are the openers and whether or not you’d like windows.
Openers
Are you still manually opening your garage door? Seriously? What are you doing with your life?
There is literally no reason you should be manually opening and closing your garage door in the modern era. The main reason for mechanical garage doors is safety. You don’t have to leave the safety of your car to open your home.
Manual doors are also easier for thieves to break into. All they have to do is pick a lock and they’re in your home.
Garage doors are now equipped with a rolling code that randomizes every time you open and close the door. Even if you have a key code on your garage door, unless it’s digitized and randomized every time you use it, it’s not secure.
Doors installed before 1993 also don’t have the auto-stop feature. This safety device stops objects (or people) from accidents. Modern doors can sense a blockage and stop before hitting it!
The second reason your garage door opener is important is modernity. You can click your opener from the warmth and safety of your car and smoothly roll into the space without a second thought.
Windows
There are many pros and cons to installing windows on your garage door. Ultimately the decision is yours. Most people like windows for the style and direct sunlight.
Some people think that windows are a risk for thieves. All of these opinions are valid. Having windows on your garage door is totally up to you!
The best thing about having windows on your garage door is how much natural light they allow into your space. Depending on how often you go into your garage, you could see some serious energy savings from using sunlight instead of an overhead light.
Customizing your windows adds an extra design flare to an otherwise sleek contemporary design. You could even have large, mirrored glass windows, so you can see out, but no one can see in!
Want to Know More?
There really are so many options when it comes to contemporary garage doors. The best place to start your upgrading journey is to speak to a specialist.
All you have to do is send us a message or give us a quick call using our contact form! We’ll be able to walk you through all of your design ideas.
