Steel garage doors are manufactured to look like wood and they're quiet and energy-efficient.
You might have the neatest, cleanest garage in the neighborhood. But if you have a sub-par garage door, it won’t matter how tidy the inside is. Think about it. On many homes, the garage door is the largest feature on the front of the house. If it’s unattractive, doesn’t fit the style of the home or is in obvious need of repair, the garage door becomes an unsightly blemish that can affect the value of your home.
If you’ve made the decision to improve your curb appeal by creating a garage door *statement*, you can either install it yourself or hire a professional to do it.
Do-it-Yourselfers Beware
If you’ve never installed a garage door before, it involves more than just putting new panels in. Garage doors are the largest and heaviest moving objects in most homes and are controlled by a combination of cables, pulleys, rollers and tightly wound springs. Improperly installed, a garage door can cause serious injury. So, if you opt to do-it-yourself, read everything you can and follow the manufacturer’s installation instructions to the letter.
If doing it yourself isn’t your thing, then contact experts like Overhead Door Company of St. Louis, which has been in business in St. Louis for more than 80 years. They specialize in all things “door,” from garage doors, entry doors and patio doors, plus all the ancillary parts and accessories. They have two showrooms, one in St. Louis, the other in Swansea, Ill., so you can get ideas and see all the options available that meet your needs and budget.
Speaking of budget… It’s good to have an idea of what you want to spend, but Mark Wegmann, Residential Sales Manager, recommends not to base your decision solely on price. He says, “In 90% of households, the garage door is the first choice of entry into the home. On average, that door will open and close up to 10 cycles a day. Just like a car that has to be maintained or it will fall apart, the same goes for the garage door.” Buying quality lasts and will be easier and less costly to maintain over many years.
Deciding what type of door to install is the fun part. Overhead Door is the leading residential garage door manufacturer and installer for standard and custom designs made of wood or steel. Here are just three examples:
EcoBuilt Garage Doors (Green Doors): These doors feel and even sound like wood, because they‘re made of 81% Douglas Fir. Overhead Door recycles unused Douglas fir from mills and fuses it with exterior grade resins and wax to form a hard working homogenous door panel. Specially formulated to resist moisture, these door panels actually outperform wood in tests of weather and time. These doors are SCS certified with 88% recycled content.
Courtyard Collection Series Collection: These doors are made of a steel blend and feature the look of wood. But they’re energy efficient and quiet because they’re insulated. This series has a durable two-coat painted steel exterior and interior finish that resists rust and corrosion. The Courtyard Collection doors are all made from 50%+ recycled steel content and the insulation doesn’t contain any ozone-depleting chemicals.
Ranch House Collection: The natural beauty of wood and expert craftsmanship comes together with an exquisite new line of custom wood garage doors. This collection offers an extensive selection of custom or semi-custom styles in a choice of premium selection of exotic woods.
To make sure your new door fits perfectly, your garage door must be measured properly. Overhead Door does this for free as part of its estimation process. But through the magic of digital imagery, the estimator can also show you exactly what your home will look like with a variety of garage door choices. It’s just like trying out a new digital hairstyle before the scissors starts cutting! Only this is a much longer-term decision making process! Not only will this imagery help you eliminate bad choices, it’s also neat to see how much nicer your home will look before you’ve paid a dime. I can’t think of a better way to guarantee you won’t get buyers remorse over a design choice!
Energy Tax Credit
Because your government believes every homeowner should have a beautiful, functional and energy-efficient garage door (well, at least the energy-efficient part), it’s offering up to a $1,500 energy tax credit if you purchase a certified garage door for the 2009 or 2010 tax years. The tax credit applies to insulated garage doors that are installed on insulated garages, as long as the garage is part of the homeowner’s principal residence. Having an attached garage is not mandatory. You can learn more about the tax credit at www.energystar.gov. Of course, restrictions apply, so call Mark to see if your home qualifies.
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I took note of the caution about do-it-by-yourself.These doors look like wood, because they’re made of 81% Douglas Fir.These doors are SCS certified .Government also supports the buyers as the tax credit applies to insulated garage doors.