Choosing the Right Garage Door

Sectional garage doors are made out of a number of panels. As the garage door transitions from open to close, or close to open, the panels separate briefly as they slide up and down steel side tracks and into the garage ceiling. Sectional garage doors are typically made out of steel today, however wood versions were also quite popular years ago. Sectional garage doors provide excellent security, and are typically insulated. They can also come with glass panel sections.

Retractable Garage Doors As the name suggests, with retractable garage doors, a large section of the garage door initially swings outward when it is first opened. As the door continues to open it then retracts back into the garage ceiling. Retractable garage doors require a bit more space in front of them to allow room for the garage door to swing outward. Also, due to the location of the door pivot points the car needs to be positioned further into the garage to ensure the garage door doesn’t hit the car when it is opened. Retractable garage doors are available in steel, wood, ABS, and glass reinforced plastic (GRP). These types of doors are also extremely secure as they have several latches.

Canopy Garage Doors

Like retractable garage doors, canopy garage doors swing outwards when they’re initially opened, however not quite as much. As the door continues to open it then slides up and into the garage ceiling. Approximately a third of the garage door stays outside the garage when the door is fully open. There is no side tracks involved with this garage door type so installation is fairly easy. Also, as a result of no side tracks, this type of garage door provides a bit extra width for fitting cars into the garage. As with retractable garage doors, they are available in steel, wood, ABS, and GRP.

Roller Garage Doors Roller garage doors role up into the garage ceiling similar to a sectional garage door. The only difference is that a roller garage door is effectively one single curtain like piece. The garage door opens by the curtain like door rising vertically upwards and folding onto a spindle located near the garage ceiling. They are commonly constructed out of steel or aluminum and provide a high level of security. Side Hinge Garage Doors Side hinged garage doors open outwards and thus need several feet of space outside the garage to open up fully.

Side hinged garage doors look very similar to any other type of side hinge door. They are manufactured in steel, wood and GRP. They can be a secure garage door if security bolts are installed at the top and bottom of each section of the garage door.

So make sure to choose the right garage door type for your home and situation when shopping for garage doors. Besides the 5 different types of garage doors, there are also various textured surfaces, colors, styles, and insulation values to choose from.