Choosing a new garage door for your home involves several considerations that include the style of the door, the opener, and the type of insulation. One of the most important decisions is the material of the door. Steel, aluminum, and vinyl doors are all popular partly because of the durability of these materials. But how do the three materials stack up against each other?
Steel: Highly Durable, Expensive
Steel doors won't rust or dent unless a poorer quality of steel was used in the door's construction. The density of the material makes steel a decent natural insulator so a good choice if you don't plan to use additional insulation in your door. Steel is also very low maintenance as to cleaning and repairs.
The main downside of steel doors is the cost. You don't want to bargain shop when it comes to steel garage doors because a lower price also means a lower quality of steel was used, which negates the point of buying a steel door in the first place. If steel is within your budget, purchase a high quality door that will last you decades and the initial price will pay off in the end.
Steel doors are one of the best overall garage doors available as the material suits a wide range of climates and uses.
Aluminum: Cost-Efficient, Dents
Aluminum doors have several qualities in common with steel doors with a lower price tag. Low maintenance and rustproof, aluminum doors are also lightweight, which makes for easier manual raising and lowering.
The one point where aluminum does fall behind steel is in denting. An aluminum garage door can be easily dented during a windstorm with projectiles. The dents might be fixable with a hammer, but you also might have to call in a garage door repair person for larger dents.
Aluminum doors are a good choice in areas with wet climates since the material doesn't rust, but that doesn't experience frequent high winds. Aluminum is also a good choice for overhead garage doors.
Vinyl: Durable, Hard to Modify
Vinyl doors are durable, cost-efficient, and resistant to both rust and wind damage. The doors are available in a wide range of colors that won't chip off over time because the door itself is dyed. The vinyl material isn't well insulated on its own but serves as a good barrier when an insulating material is used between two sheets of vinyl.
A potential downside to vinyl is an inability to change the color easily without replacing the actual door. And while vinyl doors are durable, the door is more susceptible to denting damage than a steel door. For more information or advice, contact a business such as Mid-South Door Co.
Share15 October 2015
I thought the most difficult part of teaching my son how to drive would be out on the roads, but I didn't think about what he could do to my garage door before he even left the driveway. It took one small tap with the car to damage the garage door. Even though the garage door itself looked to be fine, the impact had caused some damage to the mechanical components, and we couldn't use the garage for a while. My blog explains what we had to do to make the repairs and will give you some tips for avoiding this type of accident around your home.
