The Instant Effect of New Garage Doors

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Window and door replacement improves the look of the home, adds value and helps decrease utility bills, but most people actually forget to include the garage door in the process. A new garage door provides all of those same benefits, except with a much bigger impact on the overall look of the house.

In many cases, an old garage door significantly devalues your home's curb appeal when the door is rotting, dented, broken or otherwise just in bad shape. You may not be so interested in curb appeal unless you’re putting your home on the market, but it still makes an impression on passersby and visitors, not to mention the fact that heating and cooling escape if it’s in poor shape.

Average Garage Door Costs

A new garage door typically costs anywhere from $700 to $5,000, but can increase resale value by 1 to 4 percent. So if your house was previously valued at $400,000, the addition of a new garage door can raise that value by $4,000 to $16,000. Very few singular purchases for the home can have such a huge affect.

Wood vs. Steel Garage Door Styles

Your garage door takes up about 30 percent of your home's exterior, so it should match the style of your house and not stick out like a sore thumb. A popular choice is the old-fashioned carriage house style and wooden garage doors, which create a warm and cozy appearance. Wooden doors, however, can require much more maintenance than other materials, such as steel. Manufacturers are now making steel carriage house-style garage doors, giving homeowners the best of both worlds. Other styles include raised panel doors, doors with decorative windows and several other choices.

Insulate to Save Heating & Cooling

Also consider the heating and cooling requirements of your home. If the garage is attached to the house, your best bet is to buy a garage door that is well-insulated to keep the garage temperature close to that of the rest of the home. If you have an uninsulated garage door, chances are your home HVAC system will have to work harder to combat extreme temperatures seeping in from shared walls and doors between the living space and garage.

Budget Smart!

If a new garage door doesn’t suit your budget, try alternate purchasing options. Building materials surplus stores, architectural salvage yards and deconstruction projects are great places to find a good deal on home items for much more reasonable prices. If you try this route, however, you may want to bring your contractor along with you to make sure that your purchases come with all the parts and pieces necessary for a successful installation, that the price is reasonable for what the product includes and that you can transport a large item back to your house.

It may not seem like such a big deal to you now, but pop a new garage door on your home, and you’ll immediately notice the difference in your house's appearance and utility bills.

Photo Credit: Home & Color Coach

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