What Are Steel Garage Doors?
Steel is the most popular material for garage doors because of its durability and affordability. In fact, steel garage doors make up about 90% of the doors installed in the Atlanta market. Also, steel is a relatively lightweight metal, so it can be easily built, transported, and installed. This cuts down on installation, repair, and maintenance costs. In terms of construction, steel garage doors typically have a galvanized steel front and back. The exterior is primed and painted in a broad range of colors and styles. The priming also helps prevent sun damage and general wear from temperatures and weather. Inside the two layers of steel, you also have multiple insulation options. Overall, steel garage doors tend to be the best choice for getting the longest lifespan, lowest maintenance, and most style options for a new garage door.
How Much Do Steel Garage Doors Cost?
Steel garage doors start at $650 installed. This includes vinyl trim, an operator bracket, a strut, and new hardware for 8×7 base garage doors. However, garage doors come in many different sizes and levels of construction and quality. It’s not uncommon that we get calls from local homeowners seeking a garage door company to provide prices for new garage doors over the phone. Additionally, we provide in-person quotes, with no obligation to use us, where we can provide some price ranges. Most homeowners do not have experience buying garage doors because they typically last a long time. This causes an inflated or exaggerated idea of what garage doors cost. This is why we typically like to ask a lot of questions so we can narrow down your exact garage door needs and price range.
What Options Are Available for Steel Garage Doors?
Because manufacturers can easily shape steel into various styles, colors, and finishes, a new steel garage door has a broad range of design options.
Styles
In terms of exterior style, you select any variation you like from traditional, modern, or carriage. A traditional design will feature raised or recessed, long or short panels to give depth to your garage exterior. Similar to traditional, a carriage house surface will have raised panel options. However, carriage doors usually have hardware accessories like handles and hinges added to the exterior. Lastly, modern steel garage doors have a clean, simple exterior that follows a contemporary design. In particular, flushed panels and especially wide or thin panels are popular for modern garage doors.
Colors
The color of your steel garage door is widely customizable. In fact, most manufacturers offer dozens of color options to match any home’s exterior. From standard white to bold black or red, you have the ability to personalize your new garage door’s color to any vision.
Windows
To finish off the design of your steel garage door, windows are a great option. Available in numerous pane and glass finish choices, your window openings are also widely customizable. From eight-paned openings to a standard wide pane, you can select the window style that will best complement the design of your garage door. You can also pick the placement of the windows on the door. From the typical horizontal configuration to a more modern vertical design, you choose the window placement.
What Are Insulated Steel Garage Doors?
Because the Georgia climate fluctuates so dramatically in the summer and winter, we always recommend insulated garage doors. Insulated garage doors upgrade the energy efficiency and noise control of your garage with a layer of polystyrene or polyurethane insulation. Polystyrene insulation comes in solid, foam-like blocks. It can either be attached to the back of a steel garage door, creating a two-layer insulated door, or inserted between a steel front and back for a three-layer insulated door. Polyurethane insulation is a foam-like substance that’s injected inside the door and hardens. This type of insulation is only available in a three-layer insulated garage door which features a steel front and back.
There are four options for insulation when replacing your garage door. The first is what we call a pan door with no insulation (0 R-Value). This is our cheapest garage door to install. The second is a pan door with exposed insulation inserted on the back side. We call this a double-layer garage door. The third option is a triple-layer garage door, 2″ thick with polystyrene insulation. The fourth option is a 2″ thick polyurethane-insulated garage door. Choosing an insulated steel garage door is a great upgrade for your home. It adds to your home’s value as well as increases the energy efficiency and noise control of your garage.
Most steel garage doors can be found in 2″ or 1 3/8″ thickness. There aren’t any advantages to installing a 1 3/8″ thick door, so we do not typically offer these since most standard steel garage doors come in 2″ thickness.
What Are the Sizes of Steel Garage Doors?
Popular garage door sizes are (width first) 8×7, 9×7, 8×8, 9×8, 16×7, 18×7, 16×8, & 18×8. There is no “standard” size garage door so make sure you allow one of our technicians to measure your garage door frame before installation.
How Long Do Steel Garage Doors Last?
Garage doors come in many different levels of quality. Low-quality garage doors typically have dramatically shorter life spans. In every scenario, it’s important to understand how garage doors are built. Garage doors are broken down into many different parts. Everything is supposed to be built for a minimum of 10,000 cycles. Most people are familiar with garage door springs because they break right at 10,000 cycles. However, things like rollers, hinges, and bearing plates also start breaking down around 10,000 cycles. Additionally, most garage doors are dented by cars or damaged by malfunctioning garage door openers at some point in their life cycle.
If the door has the proper amount of struts, an operator bracket, and is installed properly, we estimate a new steel garage door should last you between 25 – 30 years, especially if it’s a three-layer construction. If it’s a one or two-layer construction, we estimate between 15 – 20 years.
However, all of this depends on how many times it’s opened and closed and how well it’s maintained. Lubricating the hinges, rollers, and bearings can help make it last longer, so it’s recommended to do an annual service on the garage door.
Overview
For a new garage door that is durable, low maintenance, and affordable, steel is a great option. The style is also widely customizable, allowing you to design your new door to complement the exterior of your home. For more information on pricing, brands, or construction, contact us today! One of our expert technicians would be happy to set up a free new door consultation.
Faux Wood Garage Doors
What Are Faux Wood Garage Doors?
Faux wood garage doors are steel or aluminum doors that have been made to look like wood. This means they are manufactured in the same way as standard metal garage doors. At the end of the process, however, they are covered with a wood composite overlay. Depending on the manufacturer you choose for your faux wood doors, the application process will be different. Some brands print the wood image while others use a wood grain mold and paint the surface. This means there are a wide array of grain and color options to give you the natural wood finish that you want. Because manufacturers build faux wood doors with steel or aluminum, they can be outfitted with layers of insulation. This means that you can update the exterior of your door without sacrificing energy efficiency or noise reduction.
What Options Are Available for Faux Wood Garage Doors?
The style options for faux wood doors are just as broad as for standard metal doors. You choose from traditional, carriage, and modern styles in a wide range of wood grains and colors. If you want a traditional look, a walnut or dark oak raised panel door is a stunning complement to any home’s exterior. For a modern aesthetic, a flushed panel door with thin sections offsets the clean lines of a contemporary home. A carriage house faux wood door is arguably the most common design choice for homeowners. It has a classic elegance that has the variability to suit both historic and Farmhouse Modern homes. A broad range of window and hardware options are also readily available for faux wood.
In terms of wood grain and paint colors, your imagination is the limit of most manufacturers. You can choose any wood species you like from redwood to dark walnut to driftwood. The manufacturers make an incredible likeness to the natural color and texture of real wood. In the same way, you select any paint color you like to match the exterior of your home. An experienced new door salesperson from our company can help guide you through these options. They will even show you a digital version of the door on your home with our Door Vision app.
What Faux Wood Garage Doors Durable?
Unlike real wood, faux wood doors do not make you keep up maintenance to prevent pest or moisture damage. Because their interior is constructed of metal, they have all the durability of the steel or aluminum construction you choose. This means little to no denting or cracking for a door that will last you for decades.
What Are the Brands for Faux Wood Garage Doors?
Most of the garage door manufacturers we work with create faux wood doors. However, some brands and product lines do a better job than others of giving the wood an authentic look. We have examined all of the options and outlined our favorites below.
CHI Accent and Shoreline Series
CHI’s faux wood doors are manufactured with an exclusive full-color digital imaging process. They start by carefully selecting unique, textured wood tones and then digitally rendering them board by board. This makes every section of the faux wood door different than the others, achieving the look of real wood. They then use a special printing process to transfer the image onto a steel door. Lastly, they finish it with a special UV coating to prevent sun fading. This careful attention to detail creates the most realistic-looking faux wood door on the market.
Amarr Classica Series
If you are looking for a painted faux wood door, Amarr has a great collection. For standard or carriage overlay, they create a beautiful and customized door. The best part of this series is their over 700 approved Sherman Williams SnapDry colors. This means that no matter the exterior color of your home, they can match it or find a beautiful color to complement it. Additionally, you can choose to paint the door all one color or two tones with an overlay.
Hormann Aries Collection
Hormann’s commercial grade, aluminum-constructed faux wood doors are a durable and beautiful option. Because of their superior construction and insulation methods, this is one of the most durable brands. However, their color options are not as extensive. They focus on white or mahogany, walnut, and cherry tones in light or dark hues. If one of those choices suits your home and you want that great durability, Hormann is the brand for you.
Arm-R-Lite Faux Wood Finish
Arm-R-Lite specializes in full-view glass garage doors. With their new line of faux wood tones, you can now add unique framing to your glass door. Available on any of their hand-welded aluminum door, you choose the wood tone that you like from five beautiful options. What makes Arm-R-Lite’s faux wood line unique is its product quality guarantees. In fact, their finishes don’t fade in sunlight and are warrantied against defects for 10 years. This ensures that your new faux wood garage door stays beautiful for decades.
Clopay Gallery Collection
Clopay is one of the most reliable garage door manufacturers on the market. They deliver this same quality for their faux wood doors. Their neutral paint colors and wood tones are a lovely addition to any home’s architecture. Their faux wood doors stand out because of their many window configuration options. From plain arched windows to unique wrought iron, you choose the perfect windows to enhance the look of your new faux wood doors.
DoorLink Faux Wood Doors
If you are looking for a broad range of unique paneling options, DoorLink is your door brand. From raised to flush to carriage house paneling, you can choose from hundreds of different configurations. For the most authentic real wood look, we recommend walnut, driftwood, or oak. Their 24-gauge steel construction also ensures long-term durability for your beautiful new door.
Raynor Distinct Finish Wood Tones
Raynor has excellent wood tone options ranging from a dark oak mocha to grayed driftwood. They end-run the grains of wood in varying horizontal and vertical positions to create the most distinct, real-wood look. But what makes their faux wood door collection unique is their incredible range of color options. Partnering with Sherman-Williams, they offer over 1500 color options for your new faux wood doors. With that many choices, you can exactly match or offset the exterior of your home.
How Long Do Faux Wood Garage Doors Last?
You can expect your faux wood door to last as long as a standard steel or aluminum door. That means with the right maintenance your door can last up to 20 years or more.
Are Faux Wood Garage Doors Difficult to Maintain?
Faux wood has the same maintenance requirements as a standard steel or aluminum door. That means they do experience unavoidable fading over time from sun exposure, rain, and wind. However, compared to a real wood door that requires frequent upkeep, these doors are virtually maintenance-free. Also, they are not heavy like real wood so they don’t require special tracks or openers to function reliably long term.
Overview
If you love the aesthetic appeal of wood doors but don’t want the expense and maintenance, faux wood doors are a great option. If you choose the right brand, you can come very close to the look of real wood at a fraction of the price. They also have a broad range of customizable options from style to color to window options which would be expensive upgrades for a real wood door.
To learn more about the faux wood doors we offer, contact us at 678-960-3360 today or book an appointment online! One of our customer service representatives will be happy to schedule a free door new consultation with one of our experienced salesmen.
