Quick Decision Guide for Replacing Your Overhead Garage Door

We don’t pay garage doors much attention, but they enable our daily activities, provide home safety, impact our home’s energy efficiency, and enhance curb appeal.

Replacing a garage door can be a significant expense, which is why we’ve created this decision guide.

It can help homeowners find a suitable and cost-effective garage door when it’s time to replace theirs.

Need garage door replacement in the North Atlanta area? Contact Balanced Garage Doors to get a quote.

Choosing Garage Door Materials & Styles

We recommend that homeowners give thoughtful consideration to the many local garage door brands, options, styles, features, and colors available.

Where door construction materials are concerned, steel doors tend to rule the garage door replacement market because they’re much less expensive than doors constructed from wood or aluminum and glass.

Steel Garage Doors

Steel doors have become popular because of their cost advantage and their durability, strength, ease of maintenance, and a large selection of styles, finishes, window configurations, and hardware choices.

The average manufactured stock steel door frame is made of 24- to 25-gauge steel. Some manufacturers use a thinner 27-gauge steel thickness for their standard door. Choose carefully, as thinner steel walls are prone to dent more easily.

Although thicker-gauge steel doors of your favorite style, options, and color can be custom-ordered, this may delay installation time depending on the manufacturer’s production schedule.

These are typical steel overhead garage door style specs:

Wood & Faux Wood Replacement Garage Doors

Many homeowners like the traditional charm of a wooden garage door. Natural wood is the most customizable of all garage door materials due to its carve-ability, offering unlimited artistic design and stain options to complement your home.

Another advantage is that blemishes incurred from the weather are easier to repair.

Wood overhead garage doors are built in a layered construction with R-values starting around 6. They’re usually a custom-order choice where the frame can be constructed using various materials. The most popular exterior panel choices for garage doors are oak, cypress, hemlock, and mahogany.

The primary disadvantages of natural wood overhead garage doors are cost, and over time, they can be susceptible to insect damage from termites and carpenter bees, in addition to moisture damage that can cause swelling, warping, and rot.

Faux wood overhead doors are steel or fiberglass paneled doors with a faux wood finish. Faux wood finishes provide popular visual appeal and, at the highest levels of quality, can give the appearance of an actual wood garage door.

The perfection of simulated wood finishes provides both aesthetic and lower-cost options.

Aluminum & Glass Garage Doors for a Modern Look

Aluminum and glass overhead doors are popular for modern and contemporary home designs. If glass is an integral element of your home’s aesthetic look, then an aluminum-and-glass door will be your best choice.

Every door manufacturer offers a selection of aluminum-and-glass doors with different designs and tempered insulated glass panel options.

Panel sizes can be customized to meet a homeowner’s design requirements. Aluminum panels in lieu of glass are also an option. However, keep in mind that aluminum is softer than steel, so the panels might be more prone to weather damage.

Aluminum door frames and panels are available in powder-coated and anodized finishes. The combination of aluminum and glass makes these doors virtually maintenance-free. Since salt is the corrosion nemesis of aluminum, aluminum doors are not recommended for coastal areas.

What To Consider When Buying a Replacement Garage Door

In our opinion, this list of considerations is a good starting point when shopping for a replacement overhead garage door.

Increasing the R-value of Your Garage Door

R-value measures your garage door’s resistance to the flow of heat and insulation effectiveness.

Therefore, if you have an interior room above the garage that’s more sensitive to heat and cold than other rooms in your house or use the garage’s interior as a workshop or for hobbies, you might want to consider a garage door with a higher R-value.

Manufacturers offer multi-layer door construction options regardless of the construction materials used that allow a shopper to customize an R-value appropriate for their climate and needs.

Depending on door construction materials and the number of layers, R-values for overhead garage doors can range from 5.7 to as high as 20.4.

Choosing a Garage Door Brand

Which manufacturer to buy your replacement garage door from is another consideration.

Most replacement garage doors installed in homes in the greater Atlanta and North Georgia area by local garage door repair companies are manufactured by the retail trade under brand names such as Amarr, C.H.I., Clopay, Door Link, Wayne Dalton, etc., and come with excellent warranties. Any garage door company can install and repair them.

Requesting Free Estimates on Garage Door Replacement

It’s always best to get at least two or three quotes from garage door companies that offer both quality labor and product warranties.

Where garage door replacement estimates are concerned, almost every garage door repair company provides a free onsite inspection to discuss your options and door installation requirements.

During the onsite inspection, expect recommendations to include replacing a few existing parts of your garage door system. Depending on the door’s age, an installer’s new door warranty might be contingent on replacing the door track.

Many older extension spring systems don’t have safety cables to prevent springs from becoming a dangerous projectile that can cause damage and bodily injury when it breaks. Upgrading an old garage door opener will save money in the long run and offer the latest smart door technology features.

Choose Balanced Garage Doors for Expert Garage Door Replacement

Balanced Garage Doors technicians are local pros at helping homeowners determine the style, features, and construction quality of a replacement garage door that best satisfies their needs and budget.

Call 770-880-0376 today to schedule a free onsite inspection and estimate.

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