The Tiny house Blog

Important Factors to Consider When Buying A Garage Door for Your Tiny Home

By
Jason Francis
Designed and built over 100 custom tiny homes, lived on a sailboat for 9 months, and loves to live life to the fullest with his wife and their 4 kids.
Updated on:
June 20, 2024
Open Garage door in tiny house

Are you looking for ways to elevate the look, the feel, and the value of your tiny house? Well, here’s an idea: add a garage door. Despite the name, garage doors aren’t just for garages and warehouses. The right garage door can lend a unique and interesting touch to your home’s living spaces.

Adapting Indoor-Outdoor Tiny Home Living with Garage Doors

The indoor-outdoor living design trend is rapidly gaining popularity among tiny home owners for a reason. Tiny homes aren’t meant for entertaining and having guests over; a handful of people inside and the place can start to feel cramped and crowded. Opting for a sectional or overhead garage door allows for a seamless flow from indoors to outdoors, creating additional room while also providing plenty of natural lighting to your indoor spaces.

Choosing A Garage Door for Your Tiny House

Garage doors are perfect for free-flowing home concepts and designing wide, continuous spaces. Ready to make the shift to indoor-outdoor living? From looks and price tag to type of material and savings on garage door repair, here are few factors to keep in mind when buying a garage door for your tiny home:

Style and Aesthetics

A garage door on a tiny home would be so hard to miss and will definitely impact the overall curb appeal of your property. That being said, you’ve got to make sure to pick a garage door that matches the style and aesthetics of your place in all aspects. Otherwise, it will stick out like a sore thumb.

The style of your home is a very important consideration when choosing a garage door. You wouldn’t want to put an ultra-modern garage door on a farmhouse-style tiny home or a traditional wood garage door on an industrial-minimalist themed house. Go for a garage door that works with the style and aesthetics of your tiny home.

Purpose and Function

Before you buy a garage door, make a list of the functions and uses that you want it to serve. You need to take your lifestyle and the unique characteristics of your tiny home into account when choosing a garage door.

Will the garage door open to one of the main living areas in your home? You’ll need a garage door with plenty of windows to let plenty of natural light in and make the space more welcoming. Is safety a big issue in your neighborhood? You’re better off with a sturdy garage door that will give you privacy and equipped with advanced security features. Does it get really cold in the winter where you live? Then a garage door with superb insulation is a must.

Additionally, you can order custom-made doors based on the purpose and function you intend for your garage. Whether you need extra insulation for energy efficiency or specific security features, custom options are available to meet your needs. Talk to a custom garage door designer today.

Budget

It's easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of garage door products available today. Setting a budget before you begin shopping will help you narrow down your options, saving you a lot of time in the process.

For the vast majority of homeowners, budget is the most important consideration when buying a garage door. After all, who wouldn't go for the highest quality garage door if they can afford it, right? But even if you're on a budget, you must make sure to choose the best possible product within your price range.

Depending on the material you choose, a new garage door can set you back between $600 - $4000. Steel is the largely popular material for garage doors as it offers the best overall value in terms of cost, design, and durability. Other less expensive options are aluminum and vinyl, while you can expect to pay more for fiberglass, wood, and composite wood.

Note that prices for garage doors have been shooting up due to supply chain issues from the recent pandemic. According to David Miller of HappyHomeQuest.com, garage door prices have increased by over 50% since January 2021.

Material

There are numerous considerations to be made when it comes to picking out the material for your new garage door. You can't make a decision based on looks or price alone, you also need to consider how the material will perform in an ever-changing climate.

Thankfully, technology has added a number of innovative and sustainable materials to the classic choices available to us. Garage doors nowadays are typically made from six materials: Steel, fiberglass, aluminum, vinyl, wood, and wood-plastic composite.

If you’re looking to save on garage door repair expenses, fiberglass, steel, and aluminum are some of the most durable garage door materials, while vinyl presents itself as a good low-cost alternative. On the other hand, wood garage doors, whether made out of real wood or wood composite, are the most expensive to install.

Supplier and Installer

A number of factors influence the value of a garage door. Increased curb appeal increases the value of your property; the type of material used is critical to performance and longevity; safety features and insulation are essential to comfort and peace of mind. But what ties all these aspects together is your choice of garage door supplier and installer.

Before you start looking for a garage door, you need to decide on a good and reliable door provider. A garage door is a substantial investment and you’ll want to have a team that can help you choose the best garage door for your needs and budget, do the installation job right the first time, and be able to promptly address your future concerns. Working with a reputable garage door company can make a huge difference for your return on investment.

For more info about Garage Door openers, check out our article here.

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