Lifespan of Garage Doors

Lifespan of Garage Doors: When to Fix vs. Replace

Garage doors are probably an often-overlooked integral part of your home architecture and functionality. They bring you security, insulation, and convenience besides greatly adding to the curb appeal of your home. Like every other part of your home, garage doors see lots of wear and tear, too. Knowing how long a garage door lasts and when it needs repair or replacement saves a lot of money and pain in the long run.

Exploring the Lifespan of Garage Doors

For most of the materials used, this particular garage door's life will be determined by use and maintenance. The environmental conditions played an important role. Here is a general overview of the expected lifespans of different types of garage doors

Wood garage doors: Often last between 15 and 30 years. They can be maintained so that they serve for a longer time, including retaining or repainting them in a fashion designed to prevent moisture and sun damage. However, they tend to warp, crack, and become vulnerable to insects more than others.

Steel Garage Doors: steel doors generally come with a lifespan of 15 to 30 years. The only condition is that unless it is taken proper care of and not damaged, it rusts. Steel, however, for good coating and good finishes, they are incredibly strong.

Fiberglass Garage Doors: These garage doors are highly resistant to rust and dents. Their lifespan can be 15 to 25 years. However, they stain over time, therefore requiring some sort of maintenance periodically to maintain their appearance as brand new.

Aluminum Garage Doors: These will generally last for 15 to 25 years. They are relatively lightweight and corrosion-resistant, but dented or scratched easily unless they are heavier gauge aluminum.

Indicators That It is Time to Repair

Before you decide to replace your garage door, evaluate the state it is in to determine if the condition calls for simple repairs that will help prolong its life. Here are some indications that may mean you need to repair your garage door:

Moves Slowly/Erratically: If your garage door takes a long time to perform its main operation or is jolting to a stop for no apparent reason, it is probably time to repair a few things. Springs, cables, and tracks may be old and worn out maybe they are no longer aligned.

Noisy operation: Most garage doors have a slight noise during the time they are operating, but if there is loud grinding and squeaking or banging, it would require to be repaired-the possible causes being loose hardware, insufficient lubrication, or broken parts.

Visible damage: Seek cracks or dents and rust; small damage on the cosmetic may be fixed, but major structural damage may require a complete replacement.

You observe that your garage door will be difficult to either open up or shut down or you are forced to use too much strength to open or shut. This could be due to an opener, springs, or the door.

You see, you will request a technician way too much to perform the repairs. Replacing your garage door might just save money if only you stop wasting much money in making several repairs.

The Time to Replace

Although the above repairs may lengthen the lifespan of a garage door, there are several conditions that would call for a change. Here are a few of the critical signs that a garage door will require a change of one:

An old door: A garage door has the average life span of 15 to 30 years. Any door, which belongs to this range or above and is showing problems, likely will be too expensive to fix.

Serious Damage: If you're working with a significantly sized dent or crack and it irks the door's operationality, you might want to replace the door entirely because sometimes this can be more economical than to change the door, especially if you're working with a wooden or fiberglass door-the massive dent or crack may call for an extensive repair.

Overpriced Too Low: If you want to renovate and enhance the curb appeal of your house, then an old or low-grade garage door will be a drag on your property's value. You would consider replacing it with an attractive new door for improving the outlook of your house.

Higher Energy Bills: In case your garage door is old and is not insulated, then this is probably one of the reasons why your energy bills are unnecessarily high. In case you replace the old, non-insulated garage door with a new insulated one, then you will definitely see a change in your finances positively in the long run.

Safety Issues: Older garage doors can not be built with some of the latest safety features. If your door lacks some of the latest safety sensors developed recently or doesn't possess some numbers of other important safety parts, that is one of the best times to replace your door for the better safety in your home.

When to Replace vs. When to Fix and What Determines Whether to Replace or Not

Discuss the following factors: Costs of Repair vs. Replacement: Compare quotes for repair work with installing a new door. If the repair is more expensive by over 50% than the replacement door, then usually it should be replaced.

Long-term value: The length of time you are staying in your house. You will be leaving soon, so you might get by with just a repair. If you are staying for quite sometime, then it would be better to replace the door with a new one since that would perhaps manifest more in value.

Personal preference: It's all about the looks. If you want a change in your home and the current does not fit your idea, then replacing is the answer.