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We Know: Types of Garage Doors
What types of garage doors exist?
There are two types of garage doors. One is a swing-up door, made from a single
panel that swings out and then up. The other type of garage door is a sectional
roll-up, which is the most common.
Sectional roll-ups are usually made with
at least four horizontal sections and rollers connected together and move on
tracks. The door moves straight up and then back. Sectional roll-ups are more
popular than swing-up doors because they are safer and easier to use, offer
better security, are more weather tight, and you can open them even if a vehicle
is parked in front of it. They are also more expensive than swing-up doors.
There is a wide selection of garage door materials from which to choose
Garage doors can have electric motors, windows, recessed-panel, raised-panel,
or flush panel designs. Though wood and steel garage doors are the most common,
there are several types of garage door materials from which to choose:
- Steel. Steel garage doors offer the best security and strength over
other materials. Today's steel doors can mimic the look of wood but without
the drawbacks of wood, such as warping, cracking or coming apart over time.
Steel doors may fade but they will not rust. Steel doors can dent and be expensive
to fix.
- Wood.
Some like the look of a wood garage door, and they cost less than steel. However,
wood doors are more affected by the weather, and can crack and warp. They
also require painting and other maintenance.
- Aluminum. As with steel, garage doors made with aluminum garage doors
can be made to look like real wood. However, they dent even more easily than
steel. Aluminum garage doors are very light and inexpensive compared to steel.
- Fiberglass. Fiberglass garage doors are built with an aluminum frame
and fiberglass sections. Fiberglass doors are extremely light, much like aluminum.
Those who live near the ocean like fiberglass doors because of their resistance
to salt air corrosion. They are also used to take advantage of natural light
because of its translucency. The downsides to fiberglass are that it does
not insulate well, it breaks very easily, and it yellows with age.
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