Choosing the right material for your garage door means that you won’t be regretting your purchase for the next decade. The most popular doors are made of steel and aluminum. Wood doors offer a classic look while fiberglass is a newcomer to the garage door scene. The best material for your garage door is the material that best meets your needs best.
Steel Garage Doors
Steel garage door are one of the most popular options when it comes to garage doors. Part of the reason is because panels made of steel tend to be "jack‑of‑all‑trades", offering good functionality without excelling in any category. The other main reason why steel is frequently used is cost effectiveness. Compared to other type of garage door materials and their benefits, steel provides great value.
Steel is also a versatile material which is easy to customize, allowing you to create a wide variety of aesthetic looks using vinyl coverings that do a great job mimicking the look of wood. It’s also easy to paint steel doors different colors, matching with the rest of the home.
Despite its versatility and cost‑effectiveness, steel does have some downsides which should be considered before purchasing. First of all, regardless of the thickness of steel, this material is a very poor insulator, allowing heat and noise to easily escape.
Consumers also need to watch out for the type of steel that’s used to build the door. When panels are made of thin, 28‑guage steel, they’re very easy to dent, which can lead to rapid rusting and deterioration of the garage door. The best doors tend to be at least 24‑guage while a 26‑guage door (on both sides) tends to be the minimum thickness for a decent quality door.
If you notice that the price of your steel garage door is unusually cheap, there’s a good chance that the panel is made of thin materials.
Wood Garage Doors
Usually the most expensive of all the garage door materials, there’s no substitute for the raw beauty of natural wood properly processed and treated. Wood is a natural insulator, reducing the need to add thick insulation to the door. Depending on the type of wood you choose, the panel may exhibit a level of toughness and durability similar to a steel door of medium thickness. While not as versatile as steel, wood may still be fashioned into a multitude of designs, including windows as part of the panel.
The main issue with wood is the cost of building a garage door with this material. Beautiful shades of stain‑grade wood, such as mahogany and redwood, are considerably more expensive than steel, aluminum and PVC fiberglass. Low cost wooden options, like hardboard panels of painted wood, don’t have the same beauty, durability or insulation of solid wood. Wood also requires frequent maintenance to ensure that it lasts as long as possible, including refinishing the door to prevent rot.
Aluminum
Similar to steel doors, aluminum (with polyurethane injection core) is a metal that provides an affordable option for a panel that provides a versatile range of end products. Aluminum, as steel door too, may be painted to achieve a desired look or covered with vinyl to approximate the look and texture of wood.
Another advantage that aluminum has over other materials is the fact that it’s very light, making it easy to open and shut manually. Finally, aluminum does not rust, so this product is the best if you’re living in high salt air conditions.
Unfortunately, aluminum doors are easy to dent or even break, compare to steel or wood doors.
Fiberglass Doors
One of the newer garage door materials available to consumers are fiberglass garage doors. These types of panels are lightweight and very customizable, allowing you to implement innovative designs. In coastal areas close to large bodies of salt water, fiberglass has more protection against salt than aluminum, wood or steel, all of which oxidize and rot in salty sea mists.
While fiberglass does work well in coastal regions, it tends to be one of the weakest garage door materials, especially during cold winters, which increase the likelihood of the panel cracking and shattering while frozen – something that won’t happen in warm weather climates.
The other big issue with fiberglass is its weakness against the sun. UV radiation dulls the color of fiberglass doors through the bleaching effect of strong sunlight.
Consult An Expert Before Choosing a Garage Door
Experts who are familiar with Garaga’s extensive collection of garage doors and openers will help guide you to the solution that’s best for your household, whether you’re interested mostly in aesthetics or energy savings.
Garaga remains the industry standard for durability and reliability, as we have sold over 1.7 million quality garage doors since 1983.
You can click here to get a free quote, or click here to start by building your perfect garage door! You can also call us at 717-901-4056.
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