The Pros and Cons of Garage Door Materials: Wood vs. Vinyl vs. Steel

When it comes to picking a new garage door installation in McDonough, GA, many homeowners can feel lost as to what their options are and what the pros and cons of these options encompass. Few people even realize they have options aside from color and size, which makes it important to familiarize yourself with the different types of garage door materials that you have to pick from. Take a look at our quick outline of three of the most popular types of garage door materials and what the benefits and drawbacks of these materials are:

Wood

Pros: Far and above the biggest benefit to having wooden garage doors is their aesthetic appearance and overall look and feel. Like wood floors in your home, having a wood garage door is the pinnacle of sophistication. But attractiveness isn’t it’s only quality: wood is very customizable in terms of installation and can be cut and formed to fit virtually any type of garage door you’re working with. And finally, wood is resilient—it’s not going to dent or crack under pressure and it’s one of the best options for standing up to the elements.

Cons: Perhaps the biggest drawback of wooden garage doors is their need for constant maintenance. If not taken care of appropriately—priming, repainting, sealing, etc.—wooden doors can quickly deteriorate, leaving a very lackluster façade. The cost of wooden doors is also going to be very high, making it an option that is exclusive to few homeowners.

Vinyl

Pros: If you’re looking to get the most for your money, vinyl garage doors can’t be beat—they offer the best contrast of price and sustainability on the market today. And, aside from a few paint touchups and some power washing here and there, the upkeep for vinyl doors is extremely low. Finally, it may surprise many people to realize that vinyl doors are probably the most resilient of them all, with a tendency to hold up to dents and cracking very well.

Cons: If you’re investing in a vinyl garage door, don’t expect a whole lot in the way of insulation—vinyl is a terrible insulator and will do little to improve the insulation capabilities of your home. Another drawback of vinyl also happens to be its permanence: if you want to paint it or change the color of the door once installed, you’re going to need an exact color match and even then, it’s not likely you’re going to have a seamless aesthetic through and through.

Steel

Pros: Steel garage doors are among the most common types implemented today and have a myriad of benefits to back them up. Not only do they have a modern look and a certain sleekness to them, they’re also incredibly easy to maintain and relatively cheap (comparatively) to invest in. Customization options are nearly unlimited and there’s no worry about custom fabrication if you have a unique garage door installation in McDonough, GA.

Cons: The downfall of steel doors is that they’re very prone to dents and dings, which can accumulate over time to take a visible toll on the door’s appearance. Though there’s little upkeep associated with them, there’s also not much that can be done to alleviate larger dents and dings. Steel isn’t the best insulator, either—however there are many aftermarket products that can be implemented to improve the insulation capabilities of steel doors at an additional cost.

 

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