Whether you just got hit with a garage door repair that makes you think about getting a new garage door or you are looking at getting your first one installed, the choices can seem a bit daunting. What styles do you want? What materials? How many doors are you going to have? Garage doors get a lot more complicated once you really start looking at purchasing one versus the cost of just getting a garage door repair for an older one. You may not have known how much thought must have gone into that first garage door, but now you’re looking at a ton of options and you don’t know where to start.

One place to start if you are looking at new garage doors is at the style. There are two prevailing garage door styles on the market today and they are the traditional roll up style and the newer carriage style. The segmented garage door panels of the traditional style of garage door are pretty iconic when it comes to what a garage door looks like. The carriage style can be more aesthetically pleasing to those that are going after a more rural or country style for their home, however it can be a more expensive choice. The main difference between the two is how they are stored while open. The carriage style garage door is stored just outside above the entry while the traditional style is stored inside at around the same height. If neither of those really matter for your home then the choice is pretty much all aesthetic and a bit about money.

The second thing to take into account is the number of doors you want. If you don’t have the garage built or anything then this is a big decision, if not then you most likely will stick with what is already available. More doors means less space for larger vehicles and things to enter, but stronger actual doors. If you don’t think you’ll be moving huge things in and out of the garage and you live in an area prone to high winds the choice should be for more doors. On the other hand if you own a boat or wide truck and don’t need to protect against winds too often then a larger door might be the right idea.

The last decision you’ll really have to make is about the garage door material. There are a ton of different materials for you to choose from so doing a bit of research on your own is certainly recommended. There’s the traditional wood and steel varieties but there are new choices like composite wood and new fiberglass doors. Getting the right garage door material is less about aesthetics as the style and more bout how you use your garage and where you live.

Finding the perfect garage door setup can take a bit of work, but if you put in the time to think about how you use your garage and how you will use the door you can make a real decision to hopefully make you happy for years to come.