Main Differences among Garage Door Types

Friends discuss possibilities, families explore options and everyone states a personal opinion on whether steel or glass garage doors will be better for the house. Aesthetics is the first thing we think about when the question of which doors to get arises. This is certainly a pleasant conversation. Though, the subject requires greater attention to technical details. Apart from deciding on garage door parts and opener systems, the need to decide on door types comes first. This is the main issue or the wrong decision will cause problems.

What door fits in your garage?

When we think of garage doors, our minds first go to their style, design, color and whether they should have windows or not. Although these are all important subjects, the main thing is to discover what fits in the garage. This is extremely important when the house is recently built and you need a brand new garage system. It's an easy decision if you already have a garage door, which just needs replacement and you haven't made any changes in your life that would require a door of a different size. Garage doors have several differentiations but the most important one is the way they open.

Some open outwards and some open upwards. This distinction is important and related to the space at your home. For this reason, it's critical to measure the garage well. In particular, you must measure the headroom – above the opening of the door till the ceiling, the sideroom – at the two sides of the opening, and the backroom – the ceiling from the opening to the rear part of the garage. If you think of getting a door which opens outwards, it's important to check whether there is enough space outside.

One-piece doors, like up-and-over doors, will need to extend outwards. Consequently, you will need space in front of the door for stopping your car before entering the garage. You will even need more space with swing hung doors, which open all the way outwards. Things get easier when you decide on sectional doors. They usually slide up and the most common version is the overhead door. Though, you will still need to know that there is enough space for its size. If the garage is too small for any of these types of doors, choosing a roll up garage door might be the only option since it occupies no space.