10 Reasons to Get a New Garage Door

There are lots of hesitations when it comes to purchasing a new garage door and/or opener. You may wonder if now is the right time, or if it’s worth the money. Here are 10 reasons why investing in a new garage door and opener this season would be in your best interest:

1. Curb Appeal

We’ve all been through those neighborhoods where all of the garage doors look the same. We may even live in one of those neighborhoods! Although there’s nothing wrong with monotony, a little curb appeal never hurt anyone. Many people focus on flipping the inside of houses, but the outside is just as important. A new garage door could add a lot of curb appeal to your home. Complement the color scheme of your home for a cohesive look, or opt for bolder colors to make a statement. Add some windows and hardware to create the popular barn door look. The options are endless!

2. Return on Investment

Going hand-in-hand with curb appeal, the better looking your garage door is, the more likely you’ll be able to ask for a higher price when selling your home. Most prospective buyers decide their level of interest based on the house’s exterior. When your house looks good on the outside, it will draw prospective buyers inside. A garage door replacement is one of the top ways to increase home value, according to Remodeling magazine’s 2017 Cost vs. Value Report. An estimated 76.9% of new garage door installation project costs can be recouped upon the resale of a home. This makes replacing your garage door one of the top home improvement projects when it comes to overall return on investment.

3. Safety

Upgrading your garage door can keep you safe in a couple of different of ways. For one, it could help prevent injuries, such as your garage door falling on you or your car. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), there are 30 thousand injuries caused by garage doors every year. With an average weight of 400 lbs per door, it’s important to ensure the safety of you and your family! All garage doors manufactured after 1993 would have a built-in safety reversing mechanism, as well as automatic shut-off systems. That being said, if you have a garage door older than 1993, it’s time to upgrade! If your garage door is newer than 1993, you will want to make sure the safety systems are working properly. Some studies done by the CPSC has shown that even newer safety mechanisms have trouble detecting children. Either way, it’s best to make sure your garage door is safe.

4. Efficiency

A huge trend amongst consumers these days is making sure the products you buy for your home are long-lasting and energy efficient. Because garage doors are the largest entry to the exterior of your home, it can lose the most amount of heat, creating a big problem for energy efficiency. To avoid this problem, make sure to get a garage door that has good insulation. Not only can insulation help with energy efficiency, but it also allows for quieter operation and increased overall door strength and durability.

5. Lower Utility Bills

Going along with efficiency, if you invest in a new garage door with a higher R-value, you will save money on your heating bills. That’s because the R-value represents the ability to slow the transmission of heat. A higher R-value has a slower transmission of heat, which means less heat escaping your garage in the winter and less heat invading your garage in the summer. Therefore, when it comes to R-values for garage doors, the higher the better!

6. Safe Storage

In the Midwest, we see some extreme weather year round. You want to make sure that garage door can protect you and your belongings during times of inclement weather. If the garage door is insecure and becomes compromised, all of your belongings inside of the garage could be at risk to damage. If you have an attached garage, the inside of your home could also be at risk.

7. Less Maintenance

When you get a new garage door, you’ll be surprised with how little you’ll have to do to maintain it. Metal garage doors are extremely low maintenance and won’t require much attention. Winterizing your door each Fall will be about all you’ll need to do to make sure everything is working properly.

8. Quieter Operation

Nobody likes a noisy garage door! New doors with a higher R-value are quieter than doors that are not insulated. Polyurethane insulation also adheres to the walls of the door and is an excellent sound insulator.

9. Wireless Smart Home Features

Often times, a new garage door will come with a new opener. High-tech features are now available with newer garage door opener models such as built-in wi-fi. This built in wi-fi allows users to have an app on their mobile device that controls the opener. If you forget to close your garage door, or you’re miles away and a friend or family member needs to get in without a code, you can easily open or close the garage door from you mobile device. You can also receive alerts when your garage door is opened or closed.