The choice of garage door types is enormous. They all have advantages and disadvantages, and not every garage door will suit every house. This overview shows the most crucial garage door types for choosing the right type for your garage.
Garage Door Types: Popular Classic or Space-saving Variant?
If a garage is built, it should visually match the residential building. What is often forgotten is the garage door, which should also harmonize visually with the house and the rest of the property. Homeowners, therefore, can choose which garage door type to install and may opt for the timeless classic or the space-saving and modern variant. Robust and versatile roller shutters are now gladly used.
The most critical Garage Door types at a glance
The modern world has long since arrived at the garage doors, and there is no longer just the door that can be opened via two wings. Therefore, if you have to choose a garage door, you should first get an overview of the most essential types of gates:
The classic swing gate
The swing gate is considered an absolute classic among garage doors. The one-piece gate wing swings forward and up but needs enough space for this.
This means that the area in front of the garage must always be kept free.
When opening, the door leaf slides under the garage ceiling, supported by lever arms and steel springs on the sides. Swing gates are now also available with an electric drive drive motor to open the door remotely from your car.
The term “tipping gate” is often used as an alternative to “swing gate,” but these are two completely different things. In the case of a tilting gate, the door is tilted inwards and cannot swing forward.
This also requires a lot of space but must be in the garage. It must be correspondingly lower so that the car still has space. So, if you have planned a small space for the vehicle, you must rely on a swing gate instead of the tilt gate.
Various materials are available for swing gates. For example, gates are made of wood, steel, or plastic. You can also get many different patterns so the garage door can function as a feature.
Smooth surfaces, herringbone patterns, or even irregular surface structures are possible, allowing almost all color ideas to be realized.
The popular sectional door
The sectional door bears its name because it comprises different sections connected by hinges. Roll holders guide these sections in a 90 ° frame. The sectional door takes up little space and is ideal, especially for small, cramped plots.
Sectional doors are available in different variants:
Sectional ceiling doors
Here, the gate is pushed directly under the ceiling. The height and width of the garage opening can be fully used, which is especially helpful for broader and higher vehicles.
Side sectional door
The gate is opened by passing it along one side of the wall, a mode of operation similar to the sliding door. Objects can be hung from the garage ceiling.
A sectional door can be operated manually, electrically, or by hand chain hoist. It is available in various materials and with different surface structures. It can also be designed in color to match the house and the plot. Sliding doors can be integrated. They have the advantage that opening the whole gate to enter the garage is not always necessary. This sliding door is usually lockable. Light cutouts can also be integrated, which is practical, especially for garages attached directly to the house and with no further natural light incidence.
The space-saving roller door
A roller door is assembled from various slats and rolled over the gate’s lintel. It is comparable to a roller blind. The individual slats slide up or down over guide rails to operate the door smoothly. A roller door is comparatively heavy, so more significant model variants are not operated manually but electrically. A tubular motor is used for this, which allows the garage door to move up or down at the push of a button.
Roller doors are very space-saving so that the garage can be used fully. A free space does not need to be kept so the gate can open. The garage’s ceiling also remains free and is available as storage space.
The conventional swing gate
A swing gate was once familiar and can still be found today where the house and garage should radiate a certain originality. However, the swing gate from earlier times can no longer be compared with modern variants. These have a standing and a walking wing and are electrically locked towards the middle.
In addition to this variant, however, the conventional design, which is closed and opened manually, is also still available. Swing gates are usually made of wood or metal; plastic variants are also available. In the classic version, they can be provided with a latch, which can be secured with a lock.
The disadvantage is that much space is needed in front of the garage to open the wings. Depending on the design, garage doors are cheaper than the previously mentioned variants. However, very high-quality wooden gates can also reach the four-digit cost range.
Which garage door is ideal?
If you are choosing a garage door for the first time, the question is undoubtedly which variant is the best. Should it be a gate made of wood or metal? Should it be the classic or the modern version? However, the appropriate garage door is relevant for a new garage building and may also be the case for renovations where a different type of door is to be installed. The answer to the question depends on whether a new gate should improve burglary protection.
Checklist For Choosing The Right Garage Door Type
The following aspects are essential when it comes to choosing the right garage door type:
- Do you want burglary protection?
- Manual or electric drive?
- Visual design (sections, slats, smooth surfaces, colors, etc.)?
- The amount of the available budget?
When changing an existing garage door, it is also essential to determine which type of door fits the current construction. If a swing gate has been used so far, installing a sectional door is possible, but higher costs may be incurred. The most favorable is the exchange for a gate of the same design. You are much freer if you want to provide a new garage building with a gate.
The Most Important Tips For Buying a Garage Door
If you want to choose a new garage door, you should first consider the overall look of the property: the garage and what the house is made of together should visually represent a single unit.
The following points should also be considered when it comes to choosing the right garage door:
Material
Although a high-quality material may initially increase the gate’s purchase price, the investment pays off in the long term. Renovations or an exchange are needed less quickly. A high-quality gate has a significantly longer service life and visually enhances the entire property.
Energy saving
Thermal insulation should be used if the garage is attached directly to the house. The garage door becomes a thermal bridge anyway, but this should not be larger than necessary.
Space saving
In the case of a cramped plot, the garage door should not take away even more from the already scarce space. A roller door is ideal; even the sectional door takes up little space. On the other hand, the swing gate is unsuitable, and the swing gate also needs more space. Depending on the type of construction, the space in front of or in the garage is no longer entirely usable.
Comfort
It can be unpleasant always to open the garage door by hand. If the gate is newly installed, an electric drive should be considered. This is all the more practical if access to the property is also possible via an electrically operated gate.
