Is It Time for a New Garage Door?

Your garage door is something you use every day. It protects your vehicles and other valuables. And yet, when it comes to home renovations, garage doors are often overlooked. But there are plenty of good reasons why you should replace your garage door. Of course, if your garage door has completely broken, you'll need a new one. But it may make sense not to wait, and here's why the time for a new garage door might actually be today!

Stop Wasting Money 

Garage doors and garage door openers—the mechanical portion that hoists your door—have an expected lifespan. If you've lived in your home for decades and haven't replaced your garage door, you may start running into some problems. Garage door openers can wear out, and cables can break. And a broken garage door can be dangerous.

Have you had to call out a technician to repair your garage door? Is your garage door making a lot of noise when it opens and closes? These are signs that your garage door is wearing out. You could keep pouring money into an old, broken-down garage door. Or you could invest that money into a new garage that will last for many years to come. And if you choose to invest in that new garage door instead of throwing money into an old one, you'll enjoy the following benefits, too.

Safety and Security

You may not think of garage doors as high-tech, but new garage doors have come a long way in terms of safety and efficiency. A garage door is actually quite dangerous. Garage doors are heavy, and a falling garage door can damage your car or cause severe injury. The opener mechanism includes springs under extremely high tension. If one of those springs snaps, it could cause severe injuries to anyone who gets in the way. But new garage doors are much safer.

For one thing, newer parts mean it is less likely a spring will break or that the door will fall on someone or something. But newer garage doors are also better able to tell when there is something in the way, avoiding a potentially crushing accident. And newer garage doors also increase your home security. Old doors and openers have two security flaws. First, they can be broken into. Second, some older garage door openers can be hacked. That little clicker that opens your garage door may not be so unique, and many criminals may be able to easily open your garage door with their own devices. New garage doors have updated security features to keep your home safe.

Efficiency Upgrade

You want your home to be warm in the winter and cool in the summer. And you know that it is important to keep your home sealed. That's why so many homeowners install weather stripping around doors and windows and make sure that vents and other openings in your exterior walls are well-sealed. But many homeowners overlook the role their garage door plays in their home's energy efficiency. The fact is that your garage can be a huge source of heat or cold for your home (depending on the season). It is just as important to insulate your garage as the rest of your home.

Old garage doors do very little to insulate your home. They are made of a single layer of material, often with cracks and openings around the edges. That kind of disregard for energy efficiency will show up in your heating and cooling costs. Newer garage doors are built for energy efficiency. Many are manufactured with multi-layer construction that includes insulation to keep your garage from getting too hot or too cold. And they have weather stripping to keep outside air out and inside air in.

Newer Designs

Times change, and so do styles. A garage door that looked really trendy thirty years ago may not be so on-trend in 2020. We're not suggesting that you need a garage door with some flashy modern design. But you can definitely improve your home's overall appearance with a relatively quick and inexpensive garage door replacement. Your garage door makes up a significant portion of your home's facade, so updating it is a quick way to make your home look fresh and up-to-date. The value you get out of a new garage door is really astonishing. Updating that much of the rest of your home's facade would mean installing new windows and doors, replacing siding, and even painting. Compared to what it would take to update the outside of your home, a new garage door is a steal!

Increased Curb Appeal

Installing a new garage door is one of the quickest and cheapest ways to upgrade your home's curb appeal and increase its value. It is rare for home renovations to increase your value enough to cover the cost of the renovation. In terms of ROI, no renovation hits even close to 100%—with one exception! For several years running, Remodeling magazine has rated garage door replacement as one of the highest ROI of any remodeling or renovation project. In 2020, the national average ROI on garage door replacement was 94.5%, and in some areas, it may be as high as 100%.

In addition to increasing your home's value, the increased curb appeal from a garage door can help in other ways. Part of the allure of curb appeal for realtors and people selling homes is that it represents the first impression a potential buyer gets from your home. If their impression is a positive one, it will color their opinion of the rest of the house. But if a home has low curb appeal, potential buyers will spend the rest of their tour trying to prove or disprove that first poor impression. And that is not the way you want potential buyers viewing your home.

Trusted Garage Door Replacement

If you are ready to reap the benefits of a new garage door, you need to find a garage door company you can trust. Leaving any home renovation up to chance is a dangerous gamble. Some contractors provide substandard products and subpar installation. That's why it pays to use a TrustDALE certified garage door company. Every member of the TrustDALE Circle of Excellence is backed by Dale's trademark $10,000 Make-It-Right™ Guarantee, so you can feel safe installing your new garage door.