Contemporary urban and suburban homes almost always have a street-facing garage door. The visibility of garages is a reflection of the prominence of cars in modern life. No longer is it usual for a garage to be hidden in the backyard or off the alley.
Today’s garage doors are one of the most noticeable parts of a home’s style. In many cases, a garage door makes up to 40 percent of the street-facing part of the home. If the door looks shabby, worn down, or is missing a panel or two, it can really turn potential buyers off.
The right garage door can boost your home’s curb appeal and can really change the overall look of the home. But that’s just the beginning. A new door can increase a house’s value in a number of ways. A new garage door should be chosen with as much care as any of the architectural features of your home.
How a New Garage Door Adds Value to Your Home
If you’re ready to replace your existing garage door, you can feel good about the many benefits you get from upgrading this one feature on your home. The percent return on investment, energy efficiency, and how it protects your home are just a few of the benefits. Learn how a new garage door adds value to your home.
Raises Curb Appeal
What’s the single largest feature on the front of your home? In most cases, it’s the garage door. If a door is damaged, it’s a turn-off. If a door is sound, but it’s the wrong style, it will stand out for the wrong reasons. For example, putting a very ornate carriage house door on a starter home may be overkill, but it would look fantastic on a more stately home.
You can make your home look sharp by installing a new residential garage door. Just choose a door with a style that complements your architecture. As soon as the old door is replaced, you’ll see an immediate improvement.
There are lots of styles to choose from. You’ll find single, double and tall doors. You can choose a minimalist style or a decorative one, a classic or a contemporary look. You can choose a stock color, or get a custom paint job.
Has a High Return on Investment
Home remodels add value, but not all remodeling projects are equally rewarding. Some projects don’t add much to the asking price of a house, but others can nearly pay for themselves. Garage door replacements are one of the most valuable home improvement projects when it comes to a return on investment.
Real estate agents will tell you good curb appeal is key when selling a home. As such a large part of the home, a garage door plays a big part in that. It also has a huge payoff: a recent study showed the right garage door can return up to 100 percent of your investment.
The return on investment depends on several factors. You’ll need to purchase a good-quality door. If you don’t plan to sell your home now, you’ll want to protect your investment. Yearly maintenance and prompt repair of damage will protect your investment. Most doors require annual upkeep and some may require refinishing or painting each year.
Increases Safety and Security
If your garage door and automatic garage door opener are decades old, new ones can make your home safer. Doors manufactured in the U.S. must have certain features including safety sensors and auto-reverse mechanisms. These protect people and pets from getting trapped under a closing door.
Door and door openers manufactured before 1993 did not universally include these features. New doors and openers may also stop thieves from breaking in. It’s relatively simple for a thief to figure out the code on older systems. When garage door signals get mixed up in the same neighborhood, your door could open even if your hundreds of miles away.
When considering garage door openers, look for models that use strong frequency or that can be programmed. New doors come with safety improvements in both the doors and openers. You can even get smart systems that make it easy to monitor the door when you’re away from home and harder for hackers to gain access to your garage and ultimately your home.
Lowers Utility Bills
Most garages aren’t heated or cooled and in many cases aren’t really finished as joint compound and taping is still visible on the walls. Which makes sense – people don’t live in their garage. So all of those finishing touches, such as HVAC or painting the walls, are just a waste of time.
Insulation, however, is another matter. While you may not be actively heating or cooling your garage, you don’t want the garage door to negatively affect the temperature of the rest of the home. You can mitigate the effects of air leaks with an insulated garage door.
Polystyrene or spray-foam polyurethane are two common types of insulation. You can choose the R-value that’s right for your home. A well-insulated and sealed door will make your garage more comfortable may help reduce utility bills. The rest of the garage should also be properly insulated.
If the garage is properly sealed, you may find yourself using any extra space in the garage for a work area or hobby area. This can also be a selling point when it comes time to sell your home.
There are many factors to consider when thinking about having a new garage door installed. If you make the right decision, the door could pay for itself and even help sell your home. Not sure where to start researching new garage doors? Contact Ponderosa Garage Doors for more information or for an estimate.