Five things to consider before making a decision
Whether you’re a new homeowner or simply want to update the look of your existing home, selecting a new garage door in Chicago is an opportunity to improve the curb appeal of your home. Realtors often agree that a new garage door helps the home sell faster.
1. Budget
Your budget is important, as the cost of a garage door in Chicago can vary and depend on several factors, including material, type of insulation, style, hardware, number of doors and sizes. Homeowners who prefer the least expensive option may be able to find a single-car non-insulated garage door. These doors are a good choice if you don’t mind a noisy system and it’s not used on a regular basis. Quality new garage doors start at $1,350. Let’s take a closer look at various factors that contribute to this cost.
2. Size
Another important consideration is the size of your garage door. A single-car garage door is typically eight-to-nine feet wide and seven-to-eight feet high. Double-car garage doors are typically 16 feet wide, with a height of seven-to-eight feet. If accommodating a taller vehicle, your garage door could be 10-feet tall or more. Single doors tend to be less expensive than double doors that require more material and parts and cover a larger area.
Measuring your garage to find the right garage door size is simple. Follow these steps:
- Measure the width of your garage door opening. Measure from the inside, horizontal from left to right
- Measure the height of your garage door opening, starting from the highest point and going down to the floor
- Take additional measurements, including the width between the opening and actual side of the garage; distance between the top of door opening and ceiling; and the distance from the opening at the top of the door to the rear of the garage
3. Material and Style
It’s important to choose a style that complements your home’s exterior. Window panels are one way to add a personal touch to a garage door. Another way to add style is panel design. For homeowners who want to increase their curb appeal, carriage house and modern garage doors are a popular choice. These doors typically have better energy efficiency, durable and quieter operation, and increased curb appeal that can increase the resale value of your home. Traditional doors tend to cost less than doors with a contemporary style. You may also be interested in adding exterior features like handles or trims. It’s important to note that the more customized the door becomes, the more expensive the door will be.
Steel Garage Doors are the most popular and widely used material because of its durability. Steel will look great forever and is the least expensive garage door you can buy.
Wood-Composite Garage Doors are in the price range between steel and vinyl. They come primed and ready to paint with a limited lifetime warranty. People tend to buy wood-composite because it can easily be customized to fit into a home’s color scheme. Also, once it is painted, it does not require the maintenance of a wood door and it will not crack, split, swell or warp like wood can. Lastly, this environmentally-friendly door is made mostly from recycled material so it is the “greenest of garage doors.”
4. Insulation
Your garage door is one of the first things that people see when they look at your house, and it is also one of the most susceptible to extreme heat and energy loss. Insulating your garage door provides many benefits in addition to saving you money by increasing energy efficiency.
5. Return on Investment
Everyone knows that home improvement adds value, but from a return-on-investment point of view, garage door replacement ranks near the very top of the list in terms of cost-effectiveness. In its annual Cost Vs. Value Report, Remodeling magazine reports that at resale the average homeowner recoups 91.5 percent of the amount spent on a garage door upgrade.
Additional Cost Factors
Openers and Installation
Automatic openers are an additional cost that contributes to a new garage door’s overall pricing. The average price paid for an automatic opener is between $500-$750. The price of getting your new door professionally installed by a garage door services provider ranges from $200 to $500 per door, depending on your garage’s needs.
Contact Us
Serving the Chicago and Northwest Indiana area since 2003, Precision Garage Door Service is a full-service garage door company specializing in garage door repair, replacement garage doors and repair of garage door openers. We can also assist in selecting and installing a new garage door that best fits your needs. We proudly sell and professionally install C.H.I. Overhead Doors® because of its:
- High-quality materials
- Durability
- Energy efficiency
- Innovative designs
- Best warranty in the industry
The garage doors we install are organized by collection and each collection features a unique combination of style and color options to meet your design needs.
Understanding The Warranty
Nearly every garage door comes with a warranty. Many companies claim to have a lifetime warranty, but it typically does not cover everything. Garage doors consist of several parts (rollers, cables, springs, door panels, etc.) so make sure the warranty covers those parts. When you read the fine print, you may also find that the warranty does not cover warping, splitting, cracking, denting, or rusting. It also may limit parts to one year.
Choose a company that provides training for its technicians. The best way to avoid problems is to never have them and proper training goes a long way. Every year, there are more accidents related to garage doors than to lawnmowers and snow blowers combined. You can avoid future garage door accidents when the technician is properly trained in safety procedures. At Precision Garage Door Service in Chicago, the training program we provide for our expert technicians is second to none.