Garage doors are one of the most underrated appliances in a home working to provide security, shelter, and style to your home. With a wide range of materials available, it may be difficult to choose what is best for you. If you’re a homeowner seeking a durable, low maintenance, and customizable garage door, then steel may be the right choice for you.
In this article, we will take a deep dive into steel garage doors and the many different design concepts to choose from.
Types of Steel Garage Doors
It’s no surprise why steel garage doors are one of the most commonly installed garage doors. Their strong, rust-resistant, and low maintenance qualities are just a few of the many benefits steel garage doors provide. Not to mention the many types and styles of garage doors.
Steel garage doors are most commonly offered in two types of door styles, sectional garage doors, and carriage house garage doors.
Sectional Garage Doors
One of the most popular garage door styles installed on residential homes across the country is sectional steel garage doors. Sectional garage doors are simple, effective, and can easily be customized to complement any home style. Some of the customization options to choose from when designing a sectional garage door include:
- Windows
- Colors
- Textures
- Decorative Hardware
- Insulation
- And more
How Do Sectional Garage Doors Work?
Sectional steel garage doors open and close on a high tension spring system such as torsion springs. These springs work with a pulley system allowing the doors to easily open and close. This system allows the garage door to be connected to an automatic garage door opener like LiftMaster allows the door to open and close on command.
Once the command is given the spring system will begin work to raise the sectional garage up and overhead.
The simple but effective design of sectional garage doors is made up of 4 to 5 horizontal panels. Each panel is connected to the others with hinges. As the garage door opens, the panels rise vertically, gliding on tracks placed on each side of the garage door opening. The door rolls along the curved track the hinges allow the door to bend between each panel until the doors come to rest overhead.
One major benefit of sectional steel garage door doors is their ability to open and close without additional space as they do so vertically within the overhead door space meaning they will never extend beyond the doorway. This benefit provides homeowners with extra space inside the garage as well as directly outside the garage door.
Carriage House Garage Doors
Carriage house garage doors are considered to be one of the old styles of garage doors available. Traditionally carriage house garage doors were made out of wood and swung open. Today’s carriage house garage doors are manufactured to offer the same old-world charm with modern touches and functionality.
Today’s modern carriage house garage doors are manufactured in a variety of materials including steel. These steel garage doors provide great security and durability, similar to that of sectional garage doors.
Steel carriage house doors are great for homeowners seeking the traditional look of wood carriage house doors without maintenance.
Benefits of Steel Garage Doors
Steel Garage Doors Save Space
As stated above, steel garage doors are appealing to many homeowners for their ability to save space due to their innovative design allowing the door to hinge back as the door opens.
Energy Efficient
Steel garage doors are a great choice for homeowners seeking an energy-efficient door. With a variety of customization options, homeowners can choose to insulate their steel garage doors to help cut down on energy costs. Steel garage doors are offered in a variety of insulation options, providing each customer with the efficiency they need. These insulation options include:
- Single Layer Insulated Garage Doors
- Double Layer Insulated Garage Doors
- Triple Layer Insulated Garage Doors
We will go into the different types of steel garage door insulation later in the article but for now, know that steel garage doors have the ability to keep your garage cool in the summer and warm in the winter. These doors are highly beneficial to homeowners in extreme climates.
Durable
Steel garage doors provide great durability that makes the doors long-lasting and resilient. Steel garage doors are naturally resistant to mildew, warping, and insect infestations and are highly resistant to extreme weather conditions such as high winds and rain, and minor impacts to the door such as basketballs.
Low Maintenance
One of the most appealing aspects of a steel door is the low maintenance that they require. In general, steel garage doors require little to no maintenance. However, it is recommended that homeowners regularly wash their steel garage doors and refinish them every five years to keep them looking their best and operating efficiently.
Security
Steel garage doors are considered to be one of the most secure garage doors on the market today. The construction of their panels, tracks, and rollers are highly resistant to intruders providing homeowners with great protection and peace of mind.
Customizable
Steel garage doors offer great flexibility allowing homeowners to customize their doors to best fit their wants and needs. Some of the customization features for sectional steel garage doors include:
- Insulation
- Panel Design
- Windows
- Colors
- Finishes
Steel Garage Door Design Options
Steel garage doors provide many customization options including panel design. Finishes, textures, insulation, windows, and decorative hardware. Choosing the right design options will help any homeowner complement their home’s character and maximize their home value.
Steel Garage Door Panel Designs
Steel is a great material due to its ability to be easily stamped and molded into just about any design a homeowner would like including flush panels, short raised panels, long raised panels, and carriage-style panels.
Flush Panels
Flush panels provide a clean and sleek style that is neither raised nor recessed. These panels provide no depth but instead are smooth across the entire door. These steel panels complement homes with a contemporary, modern, architectural style.
Short Raised Panels
Short raised panels get their name from their short panels stamped across the garage door giving the door great depth and style. Short raised panels are one of the most common garage door panel styles and the one you are likely to be familiar with.
Long Raised Panels
Similar to short raised panels, long raised panels get their name from their long raised panels. These panels are great for two-car garage doors as they offer great symmetry and depth to the garage door design.
Short and long raised panels are great for any style of the home but are particularly popular in traditional homes.
Steel Garage Door Colors
Choosing the right color for your steel garage door can greatly impact your home’s overall curb appeal and home value. Steel garage door colors and finishes are offered in a wide variety allowing the homeowner to customize their door to be warm and inviting or a sleek, modern showpiece and everything in between.
Standard colors for steel garage doors include:
- Brown
- Sandstone
- Almond
- Chocolate
- Hunter Green
- Black
- Bronze
- White
If you’re craving the look of wood but would prefer to not keep up with the maintenance. Steel garage doors are a great choice as they can be stained to look like wood garage doors.
New garage door colors like Clopay’s newest color, Slate, are being added every year to stay up to date on all home trends.
The best way to choose the right garage door color for your steel garage door is to connect with a garage door dealer such as OGD® to send you samples allowing you to see how the color looks with your home at different times of the day.
Insulated Steel Garage Doors
The climate that your home is in greatly influences the level of insulation your steel garage door may require to keep your garage and home energy efficient.
While garage door insulation can’t make a garage door in a cold climate warm it will greatly improve your home’s overall efficiency by keeping your garage warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.
While insulated garage doors are great for energy efficiency they can also help significantly cut down on noise during operation by dampening the vibration as the door opens and closes.
When considering an insulated steel garage door one of the most important factors to consider is the R-Value.
What is R-Value?
The garage door r-value measures the thermal efficiencies and resistance to heat transfer. R-values are measured by calculating the thickness of the insulation ranging from 0-20. Steel garage doors with higher R-values are typically considered to be better insulated and more valuable.
It should be noted that an R-16 value does not offer twice as much thermal resistance as an R-8 garage door.
An R-16 value-rated garage door offers only 5% more improvement in Energy Efficiency vs. an R-8 Rated garage door. Therefore more is not always significantly better.
Single Layer Steel Garage Door
Single-layer or non-insulated steel garage doors are the most simple option available. Single-layer insulated garage doors provide the content of the garage protection from outdoor elements and intruders. Single-layer insulated garage doors while lightweight and durable are not great insulators and are best in mild climates.
Double-Layer Steel Garage Door
Double-layer insulated steel garage doors are manufactured with an outer steel panel backed by an insulated second layer typically made out of either Polystyrene or Polyurethane – the two most common types of garage door insulation.
Double layer insulated steel garage doors reduce exposure to temperatures and strengthen the garage door making them less susceptible to dents and dings.
Due to their ability to temperature resistance, double-layer insulated steel garage doors are great for mild to moderate climates.
Triple-Layer
Triple-layer steel garage doors are considered to be the gold standard for garage door insulation. These garage doors are manufactured with a steel front, middle thermal layer insulation, and steel back, getting the nickname “sandwich garage door.”
The heavy-duty steel on both the front and rear and insulation sandwiched between the two make this option exceptionally durable and energy efficient making these doors great for extreme climates.
Steel Thickness
Another important factor to consider when deciding what steel garage door to buy is the thickness of the steel on the door.
Steel garage doors are offered in a few gauge sizes most commonly ranging between 24-28. Unlike many scales the higher the number is not always the best when it comes to choosing the best steel gauge for your garage door.
A higher steel gauge range including 27-28 is often used for low-grade, low-cost steel garage doors.
While these doors will protect your belongings from outside elements, it is not uncommon for this strength of steel to quickly acquire dents and dings. Basically, as the steel thickness increased, the gauge number decreased.
Gauge 25-26 is considered builder-grade steel and is often used for mid-level quality and cost. This level of steel gauge protects the garage door from minor dents and dings but may not protect them from major impacts.
Gauge 24 is considered the highest quality size for steel on a garage door and is often the preferred choice among homeowners. Gauge 24 offers great resistance to impact preventing most dents and dings.
Choosing lower gauge steel for your garage door is a great investment that is sure to pay off for many years to come.
Steel Garage Door Costs
Steel garage doors are one of the most common garage doors installed on homes across the country and it’s not just for their strength or versatility. Steel garage doors are considered to be one of the most affordable options available for new garage doors.
On average steel garage doors without installation cost between $1300 – $4400.
Steel garage door costs are based on the insulation and steel layers.
Single layer steel garage doors also known as uninsulated garage doors range in price from $1300-$3,000.
Double layer garage doors also known as vinyl back garage doors range in price from $2100-$3800.
Triple-layer steel garage doors also known as steel-back garage doors range in price from $2199-$4400.
Homeowners should also consider that not all garage door quotes include labor and materials and should request a quote that includes this cost. It is best practice to expect an additional $200-$500 on their estimate for companies that do not include these costs.
At OGD® we are proud to provide upfront cost during estimation including all materials and labor costs.
Choosing The Right Steel Garage Door For Your Home
As you can see choosing a steel garage door for your home offers many benefits. Working with a garage door dealer such as OGD® will help you choose the perfect steel garage door for your home that is top-quality and sure to last for years. Give us a call at (844) 944-3667 or fill out one of our online forms to receive a free quote on your new steel garage door.
