The below video quickly outlines the considerations for all of our popular garage door materials, from vinyl to wood to aluminum and glass, and more.
Today's garage doors can be made from a variety of materials, from steel to wood to aluminum and glass. Which material you choose will depend entirely on the following important factors:
- Budget. While this may seem like make-or-break option for most homebuilders and homeowners, you can actually make your budget stretch quite a bit when designing your garage door. Adjusting materials, design elements, size, and location can all impact the door's end price.
- Home Aesthetic. Since a garage door can often be up to 30% of a home's forward facing exterior, choosing the right look can go a long way. This can be as simple as an attractive color or as expensive as highly-customized wood garage door panels.
- Climate. Since garage doors do make up such a large portion of a home's exterior, it's important to consider the need for energy efficiency. Our Siouxland climate experiences extreme heat and extreme cold, with wind and plenty of precipitation, so we often recommend doors with more robust insulation, especially if garages are located near common areas of the home, or if the doors are facing south or north. The materials you select for your garage door will impact how much insulation will be available.
- Proximity or location within the home: Building off the "climate control" element, where a garage is located relative to the home's living place is also important to determining how it works in the overall house scheme. Will there be an "energy buffer" space, like a mudroom? Is there a bedroom adjoining or on top of the garage (where noise may be a factor)?
- Garage use. Will you be using the garage as a tool shed or workroom? Will you be exercising there? Will you be storing items that will need a relative amount of temperature stability?
- Maintenance. All garage doors require maintenance to keep them looking and working their best, and each material, from vinyl to wood, requires a different amount of maintenance. Understanding that maintenance is one thing to consider when you are deciding what kind of garage door to invest in.
These are just a few items to consider when thinking about which material your new garage door should be. Our design consultants can help you work through these topics to help you make the best decision.