You've decided to give the house a new look by replacing your garage doors. Now, how do you go about it? There are so many options out there you need to do a bit of research before you drag out the ladder and take down the old doors. Here are a few tips to get you on the right track.
Materials
These days you can find new doors in a wide variety of price points and materials. While wooden doors were once the only option, now they're the priciest and usually not worth the money. Check out manufacturers websites—most offer wood composite, steel, and aluminum and you'll need to consider where you live when you pick out a material. If you're in a humid area go with aluminum—it doesn't rust. If you're in a high-wind environment steel might be your best option. Wood doors require a lot of maintenance—otherwise they rot.
Design
You can design your garage doors just like you designed your house. Take a good look at your neighborhood and see what other garages look like—are they white paneled boxes or are they hard to distinguish from the actual house? You don't want to be the only house on the block with dreams of being a stone castle—blend in a bit.
The internet is a good place to start shopping—you can download images of millions of garage doors for ideas, or go to manufacturers websites where you can upload pictures of your home and test drive all the colors and styles you can imagine. Once you've settled on a general idea, the local home improvement center is a good place to start shopping, as many door vendors are represented there. You can pick up samples there, too.
Installation
There's a good chance the price you were quoted includes installation, which means the unhinging of the existing door as well. That's the good news. Cleaning out the garage so the new doors can be installed is not part of the price quote and you probably couldn't afford it if it was. If you decide to DIY, make sure you have a lot of time, a buddy, a couple of ladders, and a full charge on the electric screwdriver. Read the instructions several times and be sure you understand them, otherwise don't try to install garage doors yourself.
Now you are just a garage clean out away from new garage doors. Take your time and install them, or call a garage door sales company, either way you will love your new doors.
