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Is your garage door sagging and cracking, almost impossible to lift, or just generally falling apart? If it is, maybe now is the time to replace it with a new one that's easy to operate and maintain. Not only can a new garage door provide safe, secure, easy access to your garage, but --as one of your house's most visible elements-- it can renew and refresh your home's appearance.
Types of Doors
Two kinds of garage doors are available: tilt-ups and sectional roll-up doors. The tilt-up type is a single panel that pivots out and up. A sectional roll-up door is made of four or more horizontal sections, hinged together and mounted with rollers to tracks at each side so the door can roll straight up and back.
Though most tilt-up doors cost from 25% to 35% less than their sectional counterparts, a sectional door is generally favored because it's safer and easier to operate, can be opened even when a car is parked directly in front of it, and allows substantially more headroom in the garage. Because sectional doors fit behind rather than within the opening, they are more weather tight, and they are more secure because they can't be pried open from the sides.
Both types are made from a variety of materials in flush, raised-panel, and recessed-panel designs and can be purchased with options such as windows and electric operators.
Selecting a Material
Garage doors are made from wood, steel, aluminum and fiberglass. Though each of these has its benefits, wood and steel garage doors are--by far--the favorites.
Wood Doors. Wood is preferred more for its natural look, affordability and easy tooling than for its durability. Because wood expands and contracts and can warp or crack as it weathers, it demands regular maintenance--repainting or refinishing every couple of years.
The easiest to build and most affordable type of door is a tilt-up wood door. In many cases, it can be built right in the driveway by applying a skin of exterior plywood--usually 3/8-inch thick--to a frame of Douglas fir, spruce or a similar softwood. Or the frame and plywood can be covered with siding to match the house. This type of flush construction is quite strong, stable and affordable: for a 16-foot by 7-foot flush wood door, you can expect to pay from $400 to $700.
Sections of roll-up wood doors may have either flush or panel construction. Flush sections are made by fastening a plywood panel over a wooden frame, like a small version of the flush door described above. For panel doors, manufacturers fit several separate, rectangular panels into a wooden frame. The skeletal framework is built of fir or some other common softwood; panels are made from a variety of materials.
Panels for a door meant to be painted may be flat surfaces of plywood, hardboard, or they may be three-dimensional raised or recessed panels. Cladwood, made from composites with resin-impregnated overlays, or wood look-alikes like Masonite's SureWood raised panels are commonly used for the three-dimensional variety. Cladwood composite panels come with a 20-year warranty but most wood doors are warranted for only 1-year). Installed, an average-sized (16 by 7-foot) paint-grade sectional door normally costs from about $800 to $1000.
Appearance-grade wood doors--those meant to be stained rather than painted--have solid wood panel inserts. These doors may be all cedar, redwood, or may have softwood frames with oak, mahogany, or other hardwood panels. When buying one of these, be sure to find out whether the panels are made from a single, solid piece or made from several widths edge-glued together (the joint between glued-up lengths may show).
Appearance-grade wood doors are the most expensive garage doors available. One with redwood panels will run you about $1500; an all-cedar or an oak-paneled door may cost $2000 or more.
Steel Doors. Steel garage doors are much stronger and more secure than wood, aluminum, or fiberglass ones. Thanks primarily to new technologies in embossing metals with wood-grain patterns, and new durable coatings, today's steel doors rival the look of wood without the maintenance headaches. Steel doors won't warp, crack, delaminate or fall apart because of weather. And, because most are made of hot-dipped, galvanized steel that is vinyl clad or given a baked-on polyester finish, they don't rust or require repainting as often as wood doors. Most warranties guarantee the door won't rust for as long as you own the house, but do not protect against fading. On the downside, steel does dent and can be difficult to repair.
Premium-quality garage doors have cores of rigid polystyrene or polyurethane foam insulation. Not only does this insulation help keep the garage warm in winter and cool in summer, but it makes the door lighter, quieter and easier to operate, and less likely to sag or warp over time.
You can usually discern a steel door's quality both by its thickness and by the thickness of its cladding. A premium door is often a full 2 inches thick, filled with insulation, and clad in 24-gauge steel. Less-expensive doors are usually thinner and made of 28 gauge steel (the lower the number, the thicker the metal).
Doors may be single skin, with a frame that shows from inside, or double skin, sandwiching the foam insulation between panels on both outside and inside. The double-skin construction is much more durable and is attractive from inside the garage.
Weatherstripping is another measure of quality. The best-made doors have a full-width vinyl bubble weatherstripping along the bottom edge of the door that conforms to the floor. They also have rigid-vinyl end caps along the sides of the door panels, a vinyl top cap and weather seals between each section.
Styles imitate those of wood doors: flush, recessed panel and raised panel. You can also get metal doors with a horizontal, ribbed design.
For an average-sized steel door (16 by 7 feet), expect to pay from $750 to $1200 installed.
Aluminum Doors. Aluminum garage doors have enjoyed many of the same advances as steel--wood-grain embossing and durable finishes are typical. Aluminum single-piece, tilt-up doors are fairly popular because they are extremely lightweight, will not rust and are relatively inexpensive--from $400 to $700. Unfortunately, aluminum has a major drawback: it's very easily dented.
Fiberglass Doors. Fiberglass doors actually have an aluminum frame with fiberglass sections. Like aluminum, fiberglass is very lightweight. Other advantages of fiberglass are resistance to salt air corrosion and translucency--fiberglass doors are sometimes chosen for locations where light transmission is important or in corrosive ocean climates. For more standard uses, fiberglass isn't a very popular material because it is a poor insulator, it yellows with age, and it breaks relatively easily, especially when it's cold.
Options
A host of options are available through most manufacturers. For starters, you can order window sections for a decorative accent and to add daylight to a dark garage. Windows may be standard single glazing or --for insulated doors-- dual glazing. Some doors have snap-in decorative frames.
Torsion springs are another option for sectional doors. Though tilt-up doors utilize extension springs--the type that stretch and recoil, torsion springs--a shaft spring and drum assembly--are much better for sectional doors. Torsion springs distribute the door's weight more evenly and cannot break and fly off the way an extension spring can. Extension springs are cheaper but most dealers prefer to install the safer and better torsion springs.
Perhaps one of the most appealing options of all is the automatic operator. Today's operators have rugged motors with lifetime warranties and several other features:
* Photoelectric safety devices that will stop the closing door and reverse it to open position if an invisible light beam is broken by your car or--worse--a child.
* Miniature transmitters that fit on a key chain.
* Transmitters that operate only with a personal code you program into them.
* Multi-button remote controls that will operate appliances and lights in addition to the electric opener.
Where Do You Shop?
Most people find a dealer by looking up "Garage Doors & Door Operating Devices" in the Yellow Pages. Though some of the companies listed in your directory might manufacture their own doors--particularly wood doors--most buy garage door sections from large manufacturers. Some local dealers sell only one manufacturer's doors; others sell a variety of makes. It pays to do your homework before talking with dealers by contacting major manufacturers (see the resource guide BELOW), requesting brochures and product information so that you can compare features. Then contact dealers in your area.
Though some garage door companies have showrooms, most will send a salesperson to your home to discuss your needs, show you manufacturer's brochures from the lines they carry, measure your old door, and get your signature on the dotted line.
Some home centers sell a few makes of garage doors that do-it-yourselfers can install. If you buy a door to install yourself, be sure it comes with complete, easy-to-follow instructions. Also be sure the door includes an extension spring containment kit--without it, extension springs can be very dangerous.
Maintenance
No matter what type of garage door you buy, inspect it every year for loose or worn hinges, springs and other hardware. You can keep moving parts working freely by lubricating them occasionally with light household oil. For repair of springs or operators, it's usually best to contact a trained professional. Manufacturers of wood doors recommend you paint them initially on both the inside and outside and repaint the exterior surface every year or two.
Though they look relatively simple in construction, garage doors actually have many components, especially if they’re hooked up to an electric opener. Because of this level of complexity—and the fact that a garage door must stand up against harsh weather—a garage door may suffer from any of several problems.
The most common problem is that the door becomes difficult to lift and lower. This may be something that can be resolved with a few simple adjustments and basic maintenance, or it may be more serious. If the door is connected to an electric opener, the first clue is to disconnect the opener mechanism from the door by pulling the release cord or lever. If the door works fine manually, the problem is with the electric opener; in this case, consult your owner’s manual.
A door that seems unusually heavy to lift may have a problem with spring tension. For help with springs, call a qualified garage door contractor.
Problems with a garage door lock can usually be traced to a poorly-aligned lock bar. Fixing this is often just a matter of loosening a couple of screws, re-aligning the mechanism, then tightening the screws.
If you have a wood door, be sure to keep it properly painted or stained, both outside and inside. If you finish only the outside of a garage door, the door may warp and the moisture will subvert the paint, causing it to peel.
 Because a garage door is a very large, heavy, moving part, it’s prone to fall out of adjustment with daily use. When this happens, the door becomes harder and harder to lift and lower. The best way to prevent a garage door from growing obstinate is to maintain it on a regular basis and, when you notice a problem, to address it immediately before it has a chance to worsen.
The first line of defense is to lubricate the moving parts. As shown at right, apply penetrating oil to all rollers and hinges at least once a year. If you notice any loose screws, bolts, or nuts, tighten them so parts won’t fall out of adjustment.
To prevent binding, tracks must be properly aligned to guide the rollers. If one or both of the tracks needs adjustment, loosen its mounting bolt and use a hammer and a wood block to persuade it in the proper direction, as shown at left. Then retighten the bolt.
If you have a swing-up, one-piece door that sags in the middle when it’s in the raised position, you may be able to solve the problem by having a garage door contractor install metal reinforcing strips or rods across inner face of the door. Then again, it may be time to replace the door with a roll-up door.
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