Looking to add some elegant textures and impressive details to your garage? The wood and stone here mix with the window shutters to create curves and lines, as well as arches over the entry doors, bay window, and garage door. It's an excellent look you can get from the chocolate walnut Prestige XL Design with Pinhead windows in a single size.
You must be excited now that you know you're building a house that meets all your needs. Maybe you're choosing to add a detached garage you can use as an entertainment space or maybe you prefer an attached garage to quickly get in and out. Whatever the case, we're glad you're moving up in the world!
A garage is a crucial part of the home. The whole family can make use of it. It's a place where dreams are accomplished, and individuals find their bliss. As you can see in the image above, even the hugest successes in the world started out in a garage.
Since COVID hit the scene, garages have become more necessary than ever. They've been made into spaces for all the extras. Teenagers hang out in them, families work out in them, and some people even use them as offices. The one thing that a garage is NOT is an unnecessary space. As long as you have one, it's a place of solace, relaxation, and fun.
What hits your mind first about selecting a garage door might be how gorgeous it makes your property. However, you also need to know a few things about the available door lifts to choose from before you pick a door and have it installed.
Need Windows Over the Garage Door? High Lift Hardware is an Excellent Choice
For your contemporary space, consider this set of dual black Vog garage doors featuring windows over the top to complete the aesthetic. It works perfectly to create a modern style. Add as many windows as you want!
With a high lift door, the tracks are made so the door sits against the wall and moves higher up before it starts to curve along the ceiling. This ensures you use all the vertical space available and can give you a foot or more of extra headroom. All it takes is moving the tracks to sit near the ceiling – precisely what a high lift door promises.
Take a look at how the high lift hardware in this image creates an industrial feel that fits with all the other textures. Whether you choose a California all-glass garage door for a cottage to add space between the property and the pool or you just have high ceilings or a mezzanine, this is the hardware that will meet your needs.
If you meet the criteria below, high lift hardware is an excellent option:
- You want an elegant space in a room that already has high ceilings, such as the one you see above.
- The garage you want is designed to have windows that sit over the actual door.
- You want to move items off the floor using storage space above your garage door. When you have more enormous walls, you can put more belongings overhead and out of the way.
- Total clearance matters a lot because you plan to install a car lift in the garage.
- You like to think about the future. You know you might want to make the garage space for a business, a hangout space, or a gym at some point. You don't want the door hanging over your head and you want space for all the things you'll do one day.
The drawing above is made to show how a high lift garage door works. Unlike other garage door hardware, it has a straight track and angles away from the wall.
What's the appearance like for high lift hardware on garage doors?
What makes high lift doors unique is their method of moving along the tracks. Basically, the door goes up more than other lift methods and then moves back. This can still put pressure on the parts but in a unique way. That also means the components must be slightly different in some cases.
1. Tracks for the garage door:
Every garage is different so the installation will also be unique. For example, maybe you have a ceiling that is 10-foot, and the door goes up eight feet. The difference in size means the tracks need to be two feet longer than you'd expect with standard hardware.
2. Torsion springs for the garage door:
Contrary to popular opinion, the opener for the door doesn't do the lifting. It's actually the torsion spring that makes sure the door is appropriately lifted up and down. That also means a large amount of pressure is used to ensure the garage door is balanced correctly for your and your family's safety.
3. An opener for the garage door:
You didn't choose a garage door so you'd have tracks that sit over your head. The traditional center rail can be frustrating when it gets in the way. Choosing a design like the one in the image above means the rail can't be installed in the window above this stunning black double garage door (Flush Design).
The best solution is a garage door opener connected to the wall.
One of our favorites is the LiftMaster 8500W. It stays more silent than a typical chain-drive system, has a massive horsepower for vertical and high-lift doors, and even offers an auto-locking mechanism for security. You can also utilize the MyQ app to open and close the door using a tablet or phone from any location.
Have a Cathedral Ceiling? Inclined Garage Door Tracks Will Work Perfectly
When kids draw miniature landscapes with houses, the roof often looks like the one above. This might be unrealistic, but some homes do have this appearance. If yours does, you should consider inclined garage door tracks.
Images can truly put things into perspective! If the garage door needs to move along a sloped roof, inclined tracks will make that happen. You can see an example above with this Eastman E-12 Design garage door. In this case, it has Claystone for the door and Ice white on the real overlays.
So, what makes high lift different from inclined tracks?
- An inclined track moves across the roof's incline so the door is up against your ceiling. High lifts pull the door to the ceiling but don't reach the pitch so there's a gap where the incline begins.
- In both cases, you need torsion springs that are strong and balanced well. Each garage door will stress specific components so choosing good springs is necessary.
- With highly inclined ceilings in the garage, you'll want to select a LiftMaster 8500 garage door opener that mounts on the wall.
Add some charm and elegance with Carriage House garage doors in the Townships Collection. This one is an Eastman E-11 design and features four vertical-lite panoramic windows, Desert Sand overlays, and Moka Brown for the door color.
Situations where inclined tracks are the best option:
- A cathedral ceiling needs to be accounted for.
- The ceiling in the garage is vaulted.
- The garage door will be installed on the same area where the roof slope is located.
Have a Lack of Space? A Rear or Front Low Headroom Solution May Work
People who use rear and front low headroom lifts for garage doors typically have the following needs:
- A garage with a shallow ceiling.
- A need to replace old-school swing doors on a detached garage or shed. If you look back to the 1960s, many of these doors needed only a couple of inches of headroom.
- Find out a bit more about the specifics of low headroom hardware when you read this FAQ.
This modern shed incorporates a California full-view garage door with less than 10 inches of headroom, so it can't use standard hardware. In addition, the owner wanted the tracks to be hard to see. The result is this stunning space that combines elegance and comfort.
Learn more about the situations where rear or front low headroom hardware is your only choice!
- If the amount of headroom over the door is about seven to 10 inches, the only choice available is a FRONT lift for low headroom spaces.
- On the other hand, you'll need to select a low headroom lift for the REAR with a headroom of five to seven inches.
- What makes both rear and front low headroom lifts unique from a standard lift? When you have limited headroom to move vertically to horizontally, the rollers and tracks only move on the door's top part. This means the opener can move it just far enough so that lower areas will come behind on the track in a smooth way.
- With a lack of space, your only option is to choose a door opener on the ceiling. Wall-mounted options won't be capable of fully opening the door. If you go this route anyway, about eight inches of the door will never entirely go up. As far as recommendations go, consider the newer version of the LiftMaster 8550, the LiftMaster 87504-267 garage door opener.
- This might not be the lift of your dreams, but it can work when the other options don't handle the job.
Go Traditional with Standard Hardware for the Garage Door
Take a look at a more unique situation. The right side of the door can use a standard lift, but the left side requires a set of inclined tracks. Also worth knowing is that modern designers and architects are beginning to use garage doors with an arch. When you want a classic style, consider the beauty of dual single doors with a Classic MIX Design.
Situations where standard lifts can be used for your garage door:
- When you have at least 10 inches of headroom above the door.
- For the option to use either torsion springs or extension springs, the latter of which is installed above the tracks. Specialists recommend torsion springs.
- In situations where you want a door opener mounted on the ceiling, such as the new and improved version of the LiftMaster 8550, the new LiftMaster 87504-267.
All the Things to Consider When Creating a Garage and Selecting the Perfect Door
Want a vintage look with swing doors? Try the North Hatley SP garage door design for something unique. This one is made in Ice White to match the entry door and windows. It also includes Richmond Arch window Inserts and decorative hardware.
How much does insulation matter in a garage?
When you're making a home improvement or building something new, it's tempting to lower costs by cutting corners. One of those situations might be purchasing a garage door without insulation.
Be sure you know all the facts before you move forward:
According to House Beautiful, about half of the energy usage for a home comes down to cooling and heating. That means if you want to save money, stopping the loss of heated or cooled air is essential. One of the best ways to do that is by having a reasonable amount of insulation and making sure windows, doors, and garage doors are sealed well.
Even if you don't heat the garage, you can keep bad weather out. Just putting a bit of effort in can make it less costly to ensure the heated areas are at a comfortable temperature.
According to Green Builder Media, using a spray foam like polyurethane provides the best R-value in every inch. It can also help seal air leaks and keep the entire space insulated. When you choose GARAGA Standard+, which ranks R-16 for its R-value, you can be sure that your home will have lower energy bills for years to come. In addition, both the garage and the rest of the home will be comfortable to spend time in.
Increase the Curb Appeal of Your Home
When you select a quality garage door, it can stay in great shape for 25 years or more. It also has one of the best resale value propositions of any project that improves your home. That's why you should choose a garage door with the following features:
- A set of windows! This will ensure you always have a ton of light.
- Fun colors that go beyond the typical black or white hues.
- The right size. Remember that a double garage door costs about the same as two single doors. Read more on this here.
- But make sure you select a door you like to look at.
You might not notice this is a detached garage when you look at the wood and brick textures and how they work together. This has a Shaker-Flat XL garage door design and includes Stockton window inserts. It has layers of beauty with a Chocolate Walnut color that complements the lighter hues.
Get Help from Professionals to Ensure a Project That Meets All Your Needs
Maybe you are transforming your carport into a garage, or building your detached garage or your attached garage. Autograph Door Systems can assist you from beginning to end in all these situations. We offer a wide selection of garage doors and their parts to ensure a solution to any problem you run into. Whether you want to modernize an old door or change the setup inside, we can create a plan that works for you.
Reach out to us at 905-686-6195.
Most people buy no more than one or two garage doors throughout their life. There's no reason to handle the entire process on your own. Overhead doors and garage door openers are what we work with every single day. We'll help guide you to the products you need to ensure you complete the project with ease and stay within your budget.
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