Your garage door is the largest part of your home’s facade, that is not the wall itself. The garage door is big enough to fit at least one vehicle through. In many cases, a garage door is large enough for two vehicles side-by-side. They can be as much as ten metres wide, which makes them a significant part of your home and a serious consideration. Though your garage doors are a serious consideration, they sometimes do not get the thought they deserve. In addition to being a design feature of your home, your door is going to seriously affect the heating and cooling of your home.
Heating and Cooling
The wall of your home is likely insulated, and that insulation prevents heat from traveling back and forth between the inside and outside of your house. You save money on your heating and cooling that way. However, your garage door can be a serious vulnerability. If your garage door is not properly insulated, it could be allowing temperature exchanges, which would compromise your insulation. Therefore, the insulation of your door is a serious consideration. In the past, most garage doors were made out of wood because it is a sturdy building material and because it is an effective insulator. However, that has since been supplanted by other materials. The most popular roller garage doors are made of aluminium, filled with an insulating foam. Aluminium is lightweight and durable. The insulating foam is also lightweight but blocks the exchange of heat. That makes it a much lighter door than a wooden door, and also much more effective as insulation, allowing you to save money on heating and cooling.
What about Wood?
As mentioned earlier, timber used to be the most popular garage door material, although it has since fallen out of favour. It has fallen out of favour largely because other materials are more effective and lighter weight. Also, timber is subject to rotting in the presence of the elements if it is not properly maintained. For those reasons, many garage door builders have cut down on the number of timber doors they produce. This is largely a good thing, except for the aesthetics. Timber is a great looking material that provides a warmth and familiarity to a home’s facade. If you are the kind of person who likes the look of wood, you should look for a garage door manufacturer that offers aluminium doors that mimic wood. You need to be careful, because many companies will promise to offer aluminium that looks like timber, but it just looks like someone painted faux wood grain on an aluminium door.
Only the best door companies provide you with realistic looking timber and great quality insulation. So, when you are looking for a new garage door, you need to consider the function of the door as well as the aesthetics. In both regards, aluminium is a great choice. It is lightweight and durable, and it can also be painted to look like anything you want. The options are limitless.