Maintaining your home is very important, and a key part of your home is your garage. As you might expect, the part of your garage that will most frequently need to be replaced is the door. Deciding to replace your garage door system can have a significant impact on how your garage looks and offer you a number of benefits. Below are 10 good reasons to consider replacing the door on your garage.
Home Value
Replacing your garage door can significantly increase the market value of your home. If you currently have a tired old garage door, putting up something new and modern will certainly help to impress any potential buyers. In addition, buyers are always pleased if you have put up a quality low maintenance door. You only have to ask any real estate agent to know that homes always sell more quickly when the attached garage is in good shape.
Appearance
A new garage door can significantly improve your home’s appearance. Modern garage doors come in a variety of colors, finishes and styles. With all of these options available, you can transform how your home looks to your neighbors. This is particularly the case if the previous door was worn out and out of date.
Cooling and Heating Costs
If your garage has living spaces above it or is being used as a work area, then you can significantly reduce your cooling and heating costs by installing a garage door with an R-16 insulation rating. This insulated garage door will act to keep the cool air in during the summer and the cold air out during the winter, and as a consequence will quickly help to pay for itself in savings.
Time and Maintenance
Another benefit to installing a new garage door system is that you should be able to significantly reduce the amount of maintenance you have to perform. Once you choose your prefinished garage door color, you will find that most of metal doors are extremely low maintenance. You will often have to do little more than use a little water and soap to clean them occasionally. The regular ritual of scraping off flaking paint and repainting your garage door will become a thing of the past.
Safe Storage
Having a new garage door installed also helps to protect your belongings from bad weather. Most people use the extra space in their garage to store the personal items that they don’t have room for in the house. However, in the garage with a poorly fitted or poorly insulated door, these items can suffer damage from extreme weather conditions. By selecting a new garage door with insulation and a barrier that prevents moisture and air from getting inside, you can help protect your valuables. You may also want to add double-fin rubber weather-stripping.
Increased Utility
One of the great things about adding a new garage door system is that you will get greater use out of your garage. Thanks to the fact that your new door will be well insulated and sealed, the space inside your garage will be a much more comfortable and enjoyable place to work in. As a result, you might decide to use your garage as a playroom for your children, a studio, and a workshop or simply as an air-conditioned storage area.
Storage Security
Another important benefit that you will get by upgrading your garage door is that you will improve the security of anything that you store inside your garage. Older garage doors that are made out of wood or metal that has no insulation are much easier for criminals to either simply break through for drill through than are modern metal insulated doors. While not absolute protection, they make it much more difficult for a potential thief to get into your garage, and as a consequence he is more likely to move on to the next house.
Limit Home Access
In addition to providing better security for your garage itself, adding a new garage door system also improves the security for your home as a whole. One of the easiest ways for thieves to break into your home is through a garage door. Many modern garage doors use new sophisticated coding systems that make it almost impossible for thief to generate the code that will open the door.
Personal Safety
A new garage door can also help minimize the risk of personal injury. Most new garage doors come with photoelectric detectors which sense when someone or something is attempting to come into or out of the garage while the door is in motion. At the moment that the sensor detects that the beam has been broken, the door will automatically go into reverse and open in order to prevent any potential injury or damage. It will also frequently be designed to turn on a light so that you can see what you are doing in dark conditions.
Insurance Benefits
Thanks to the fact that you will have improved the safety and security of both your garage and your home by adding a new garage door, you may be able to get insurance benefits as well, such as a reduction in your payments. Inform your insurer that you have done this so that you can get the maximum possible benefit.