Garage door. How to choose? What should you look out for when choosing?

A properly selected garage door is not only a guarantee of safe use, functionality and durability, but also of a beautiful appearance and consistency with the character of the house. Above all, the door must be reliable and easy to operate. And if the garage is planned in the house, it should also protect against heat loss. You should therefore think about the choice of garage door when planning your house.

Garage door types

There are several types of garage doors on the market, which differ in terms of construction and opening methods: The most popular are overhead doors, swing doors, sectional doors and roller doors. Due to some disadvantages associated with overhead doors (e.g. the need for a certain amount of space in front of the garage, a lower level of security or less thermal insulation), as well as the growing popularity of sectional and roller doors, we will focus on the latter two types in this article.

Sectional garage doors

Sectional doors consist of segments that are connected by hinges and, when moved along guides, retract into the garage below the ceiling. Manually operated doors are equipped with an outer and inner plastic handle, a special lock with a cylinder on one side and locking latches. Automatically operated doors do not have external handles – they are operated with a remote control or keypad.

A great advantage of this solution is the construction based on a system of panels arranged in rails. The door hovers above the threshold and the segments slide along the rails and are concealed under the ceiling, which means that the door does not reduce the clear opening, or only slightly, depending on the type of rail used. This means that the door does not take up any additional space in the garage or on the driveway when it is opened, thus saving space. This makes sectional doors the perfect solution, for example if the garage is located directly on the street.

Another advantage of sectional doors is their thermal insulation. The sections are made of galvanized steel profiles and the sheathing is made of sheet steel with CFC-free polyurethane foam. These materials guarantee the longevity of the product and also reduce heat loss.

Sectional garage doors are also characterized by quiet and reliable operation, which is ensured by bearing rollers on adjustable hinges. And their popularity means that the choice of designs and colors is huge, so you can easily choose a door for homes with both modern and rustic architecture, for example.

Roller garage doors

Roller garage doors are also known as roller shutter or louvre doors. They are usually installed in garages where there is no space for the ceiling guides used for sectional doors.

They are constructed in a similar way to external roller shutters – the curtain of the roller shutter is rolled up in an aesthetically pleasing aluminum winding box in which the shaft with the motor is housed. The box can be installed both on the inside and outside of the garage. Wayne-Dalton roller garage doors are made of aluminum – they have 18.5 mm thick armouring filled with polyurethane foam.

Although the thermal insulation of the roller door is slightly worse than that of the sectional door, it also saves space in the garage thanks to the roller door rolling up into a box. These are the only doors on the market that have a built-in electric drive as standard. However, they can also be opened manually with a special crank in the event of an emergency or power failure. Their disadvantage, however, is that they are more expensive than sectional doors.

Garage door for two cars

If you are planning to build a double garage, you will certainly need to consider whether to choose one large door or two small doors. In this case, there are several aspects to consider, such as whether the garage will be part of the house or a separate building, how often you will use it and how much space is available on the driveway.

If the garage is to be part of the house, one large door will have a better heat transfer coefficient than two smaller ones. In daily use, however, two doors may prove to be a more advantageous solution. If you drive in and out of the garage every day, only one door is opened each time, which reduces heat loss. However, if the garage will be a separate building and its thermal insulation is not very important, it is better and cheaper to choose a larger door.

A single door is also a better choice if the driveway is short and narrow or the garage is offset from the entrance to the property and the length of the driveway does not allow for complex maneuvering. A larger door offers more freedom when driving in.

What are the most important features of a good garage door?

When choosing a garage door, you should remember that price should not be the main criterion for your purchase. Reliability, energy efficiency, aesthetics and good service are much more important. Here are the most important features you should look for in a garage door.

Safety for garage doors

Reliability and security are fundamental criteria. It is worth paying particular attention to safety features such as an overload switch, safety devices in the event of wire and spring breakage or a safe panel shape that prevents accidental finger crushing. It is also worth fitting your garage door with photocells for convenience and safety.

If the door is opened accidentally (e.g. by a child playing with the remote control), it will close automatically after a set time. The same closing mechanism (after a certain time from the interruption of the photocell’s light beam) means that you do not have to remember to close the door after leaving the garage.

We must remember that a secure garage door should be maintained from time to time. It is advisable to choose a specialist or a proven door manufacturer for preventive garage door maintenance.

Energy efficiency for garage doors

The most important criterion in the selection of building materials in recent times is how they can reduce the operating costs of buildings. For a garage door that is in the shell, it is therefore worth choosing a more expensive but well-insulated variant to save on energy costs for years to come. A one-off higher outlay will lead to considerable savings on heating costs in the long term.

Appearance for garage doors

Aesthetics is also a very important criterion when choosing a door – the door is an important element of the façade, often emphasizing and sometimes adding to the unique character of the building. In our range of garage doors, you will therefore find a wide selection of designs and colors that will allow you to match the choice well with the aesthetic concept of the building.

Sustainability for garage doors

To be sure that the door will last for years, it is worth choosing solutions from leading manufacturers who guarantee high quality. Manufactured from the highest quality materials and equipped with proven and stable structural elements, this is a guarantee that the door will last for many years and you won`t need to call anytime garage door repair.

Control system for garage doors

A properly selected, fast and energy-efficient operator provides maximum convenience for the door and guarantees comfortable use in various circumstances. The wide range of accessories for the garage door operator allows its functions to be adapted to the user’s needs and guarantees maximum safety and comfort when operating the door.

Garage door installation

The installation of the door should be entrusted to professionals. A poorly installed door can cause problems with smooth operation or lead to heat loss, which reduces the garage’s thermal insulation properties. It also makes the garage more vulnerable to burglars.

You are also welcome to put together your own dream composition from various joinery elements: Windows, doors, shutters and garage doors. With our offer, you can put together your dream design individually – from the choice of colors to the joinery material to the decorative elements.