Garage Door 101: How Much Do You Know About Your Garage Door?
Most people will only buy a garage door once or twice in their life. As a result, they often don’t know the first thing about what they’re looking for. Today we want to help our clients better understand garage door industry lingo, as well as the basic facts about garage doors. If you have questions, please reach out to Dynamic Garage Door at 855-343-3667 for help.
Fast facts you probably didn’t know about garage doors
First, did you know that almost all of the garage doors that are sold in North American are sectional? They’re almost all overhead doors that retract along the garage’s ceiling as well. In most cases, these doors are made up of four sections, each with heights that vary between 18 inches to 24 inches. The average residential garage door is between six feet and eight feet tall, and the width varies from averages of four feet for a shed to 18 feet for a double garage. The thickness of a garage door can vary too, from about 1 3/8 inches to 2 inches.
When you’re choosing a garage door, you have your choice of either insulated or non-insulated. If you choose an insulated option, it’s likely to be insulated with polyurethane or polystyrene insulation with an R factor of between R 6 and R 18. The most common exterior material for a garage door is steel. In addition to steel garage doors, there are wood, PVC, fiberglass, and other materials. You could even choose something such as a glass garage door with an aluminum frame. The choice is yours.
There are numerous small parts working behind the scenes to keep your garage door working correctly
The hardware system on a garage door is made up of several small parts. First up is the spring system. Also referred to sometimes as a counterweight system, it makes it possible for you to open a garage door with just one hand. If a door is well balanced, it should weigh between 8 and 10 pounds. There are then two models – torsion and extension.
A torsion system is essentially a spring system that looks like a coil. It’s then put into a steel shaft that’s located over the garage door. The extension system is also a coil spring system but it goes over horizontal tracks. As the name may imply, when the garage door opens, the springs themselves extend. As a result, a torsion system does require more space over the door (about 12 inches) while an extension system needs less (about eight inches). Either system lasts, on average, about five to seven years before it needs to be replaced.
Call us today for help with all your garage door needs
Whether you need garage door repair, installation, or a custom garage door created, we can help you. Reach out to the experts at Dynamic Garage Door by calling 855-343-3667 or stopping by our showroom.
