When it comes to protecting the interior of your garage, the door you pick will always be the first obstacle for any would-be thief or other trespasser. The up and over garage doors are among the most popular types of garage doors due to their functionality and cost, but other types of doors have their own advantages as well. We set out to examine what the best type of garage door is for your garage.
Sectional Garage Doors
Sectional doors are versatile and come in all shapes and sizes. The likely offer the best protection, insulation and versatility of all the different garage door types. These doors do not swing in any direction and do not reduce your garage width at all, which makes them more practical. The sectional doors open upwards and will not take up any space in the garage when open. They are also easy to convert to remotely controlled doors and while pricier, they can be great option especially if you own a massive car.
The Up and Over Garage Doors
As we already mentioned these are the most popular kinds of doors. They can be split into two basic types, the canopy up and over and retractable up and over doors. The canopy up and over garage doors are probably the most common type, with a part of the door sticking out of the garage when open forming a canopy.
These doors are usually not very wide as the canopy mechanisms cannot take the weight of the very wide doors. These types of doors are easy to install and not very expensive, but adding a remote control will cost you additional money as additional equipment will be necessary.
The retractable up and over doors will not stick out when opened and are much easier to convert to remote controlled doors. If the doors on your garage are over 8 feet wide, you will need to use this mechanism to open them as it is more powerful than the canopy. One major downside of these doors is the fact the lifting arms will reduce the drive through width when the door is open. Make sure your car can fit through this reduced width before installing them.
Side Hinged Garage Doors
Possibly the simplest and oldest system of garage doors, the side hinged garage doors allow for only one part of the door to be opened which can be useful when your garage is not used to park a car but other purposes.
Since these doors are opened to the outside, they will also not prevent your car from fitting in in any way, nor will they reduce the space inside when open. You will however need a fairly wide access area for these classic garage doors.
Conclusion
Before picking out the garage door for yourself, make sure you have considered all the factors, such as your car width, height and the elements of the door that may come into play when fitting your car. Combine this with the price, security offered and insulation provided by the particular door and you will easily be able to make the best choice for your garage.