Pop quiz: Which is the most-used entryway in the house? If you said the front door, guess again. Because in homes with an attached garage the garage door is in fact the most popular way for homeowners to get into and out of their house. That speaks to the importance of having a garage door that echoes your tastes, dovetails with the rest of your home exterior and serves your needs without fail. But just how do you go about selecting Calgary garage doors that fulfill all those requirements and stand up to the local climate at the same time? To make things easier for you we’ve brought together the different kinds of garage doors and their relative strengths and weaknesses.

Read This Before Scheduling Garage Doors Installation

The front entry door tends to get the love but it’s actually the garage door that gets most of the use these days. In fact, it’s not unusual for homeowners to go a week or more using only the garage to enter and exit the house. In recognition of the leading role the garage door plays in how we interact with our homes these days we thought it appropriate to discuss the different types of garage doors. We’ll look at the pros and cons of each style and whether they’re a good match for Calgary.

Sectional Overhead Doors

These are far and away the most popular type of Calgary garage doors and have been for the better part of a century. It’s difficult to explain exactly why that is because, after all, the other doors on our list have plenty going for them as well. Perhaps it’s just because they were the first on the residential scene once our culture transformed from a walking one to a driving one. Or maybe folks just like to watch them go up and down. Here are the relative pros and cons of sectional overhead garage doors:

Pros

● They’re available in a wide variety of styles.
● They’re available in an equally dizzying variety of materials.
● They’re a known quantity since so many homes have them.
● It’s easy to connect them to a mobile app.
● The modern overhead door as relatively low-maintenance.
● It’s easy to find someone to repair them.

Cons

● Everybody has them.
● They use torsion or extension springs which can be very dangerous.
● If the auto-reverse mechanism fails someone could get hurt.
● Wooden overhead doors need to be painted every couple of years.

It’s actually pretty easy to see why sectional overhead doors lead the installation parade in Calgary. You have a ton of materials to choose from including wood, steel, aluminum, fiberglass, glass, composite and more. There are lots of companies that install and repair them. And it’s pretty easy to connect them to a mobile app so you can control them from anywhere on earth. They’ll also open easily even if a foot of snow has fallen. Making them a good match for the Calgary weather.

Carriage House Garage Doors

Carriage house doors are the original garage doors. They only began to fall out of favor during the mid-20th century when the freestanding carriage house gave way to the integrated garage. In colonial times most homes whose owners could afford a horse and carriage owned large tracts of land. There was no particular concern about how much space a carriage house door took up when it swung open. Today however, properties are smaller and space harder to come by. So carriage house doors have become a 2nd tier choice.

Pros

● From a style perspective they endow a home with substantial curb appeal.
● There is no need to give over a portion of your garage to tracks and such.
● They’re available in a surprising number of styles.
● They are typically very sturdy and will withstand the test of time.

Cons

● As we mentioned you need a lot of space in front of the garage to open the doors.
● Trying to get out of your garage after a snow storm is going to require some work.
● While they last a good long time they typically need a fair amount of maintenance.
● Opening the doors on hinges like this creates a safety issue. Kids in front of the doors when they open could get hurt.

Carriage house doors remain the preferred choice of a small percentage of homeowners. They’re valued primarily for the undeniable curb appeal they provide a house. The fact that they are not exactly snow-friendly, however, means that from a practical perspective they’re not ideal Calgary garage doors.

Canopy Garage Doors

Canopy garage doors – often referred to as “tilt-up garage doors” – don’t have any of the horizontal sections of a standard overhead door. Instead, they’re a single slab that tilts backward and slides up into the space above your car. Like a sectional door, except they move as one piece. You don’t see a lot of canopy garage doors in Calgary and it’s difficult to say exactly why. But maybe by listing the relative pros and cons we can gain some insight.

Pros

● You can have a “pilot door” built into a canopy door that allows you to access the garage without lifting the door. This can help keep energy costs down which is important in a place like Calgary.
● No sections means fewer moving parts. Fewer moving parts means fewer things to go wrong.● They don’t require as much space in front of the garage as carriage house doors.
● They open easier than carriage house doors if there’s snow in front of them.
● Some folks consider them more elegant than sectional garage doors.

Cons

● You might still need to dig them out a bit if there’s a lot of snow on the ground.
● Just as some people consider them elegant others consider them clumsy looking.
● Replacing sections is more expensive than replacing individual panels on a sectional door.
● They’re a bit unwieldy when the wind is really kicking things up.

Because canopy tilt-up doors are not great in the wind and might still have to be shoveled out a bit before they will open they’re not an ideal type of garage door for Calgary. Some homeowners, enamored of the curb appeal they bring, will overlook practical shortcomings and order them anyway. To each their own.

Roll-up Garage Doors

There are millions of rollup doors in use as you read this. Except not on homes. Where you’ll see most of them is on warehouses, factories and other industrial concerns. Still, for garages in the city that have less space above the car than those in the suburbs a rollup door can be a smart space saving solution.

Pros

● They don’t require tracks or extension springs.
● They’re great for garages with low ceilings.
● They’re lighter and often open faster than other doors.
● They really secure your garage against breakins.
● They’ll open even after a heavy snow.

Cons

● Most people consider them pretty unattractive.
● They’re not available in a lot of different styles or materials.
● They’re typically made of metal and rust pretty quickly.
● They can be noisy.

When you think about a garage door for your Calgary home chances are you don’t think about rollup doors. But maybe you should. Especially if you live in the city itself and have a smaller garage with a low ceiling. Sure, you’ll probably need to deal with corrosion in time. But because the environment here is normally pretty dry that shouldn’t be a pressing issue. The biggest reason most people take a pass on these doors is because of the look.

Side Sliding Garage Doors

Another option for garages that don’t have a lot of head room is the side sliding door. These are a type of sectional door whose sections run vertically rather than horizontally. The tracks that guide the door move off to the side and back, rather than up and back as on a traditional sectional overhead door. Not many garage doors in Calgary are side sliding doors. But there are some out there.

Pros

● Your garage door will be the talk of the neighborhood, that’s for sure.
● This type of door won’t present a problem when the wind is howling.
● They won’t bother anyone in a room above the garage.
● The panel construction means they’re easy to repair.

Cons

● Because this is a specialty type of door they tend to be pretty expensive.
● The bottom track can be negatively affected by ice, snow and freezing temperatures.
● Repairs can also be expensive, since not all garage doors installation companies in town will work with them.

In a nutshell, side sliding garage doors are not a great match for Calgary homes primarily because the track can be disabled by extreme cold, snow and ice. All things we have in spades in Alberta.

The Bottom Line

Overhead sectional doors take the cake for being the best kind of Calgary garage doors. Talk to the pros at C Town Doors today to determine which style is right for your home.

Everyone deserves a gorgeous place to call home.

We might not talk about our garage doors the way we discuss our furniture or interior design, but they are an important element to the curb appeal for a house. A stylish garage door can make your home stand out from the rest.

But when it comes to Calgary garage doors, the design is only the beginning. With rapidly changing weather patterns and harsh winters, Calgary garage doors need to be as durable as they are attractive.

Here are some popular and on-trend designs that can improve the appearance of your home, all without sacrificing the quality materials you’ll need to survive the harsh Canadian winters:

The Two Primary Garage Types

Before getting started on the specific designs available, you should understand that your home has a garage that falls into one of two categories: detached and attached.

Detached garages are separate buildings, whereas attached garages are, as the name suggests, attached to the main home. Detached garages are harder to come by but still exist, especially in larger properties.

It is important to understand that there are ultimately thousands of options available in terms of materials, colours and specific designs for Calgary garage doors. No matter which garage door option you choose, you can easily find the perfect design for your home.

Carriage-Style Garage Doors

Once upon a time, carriage doors were a staple for farms and large properties. As carriages were replaced by cars and nearly every household had a personal vehicle, garages evolved to cater to modern needs.

But that doesn’t mean carriage-style doors don’t have a place in the contemporary world. If you want to give your home an old-fashioned flair, this is a style that you and your family will never grow tired of.

Although this timeless and understated look works for virtually every home, it is especially stunning for detached garages.

Frosted Glass Garage Doors

Glass offers a sleek and modern look to any home, but many families feel uncomfortable giving up some of their privacy. In all honesty, most of us worry more about the exterior of our garages than the interior. If you don’t want your nosy neighbours peeking in and seeing the mess of Christmas decorations and old hardware supplies in your garage, frosted glass is the perfect option.

This material offers everything that’s appealing about glass garage doors— the sleek appearance, the tendency to stand out among the primarily wooden doors of your neighbours– while still maintaining a sense of privacy.

You might be worried that frosted glass is the wrong choice for Calgary garage doors, given the extreme Alberta weather. We can assure you that at C Town Doors, we install only the most durable glass doors, ensuring that your garage is safe from the elements, even in the winter.

Lakeside Appeal

Whether you have a cottage you can slip away to during the summer months, a lakeshore property, or just love a rustic appearance, there are plenty of garage door options available to you.

Rustic, two-tone wooden doors can make you feel as though you’re coming home for a dip in the lake or tanning on the dock, even if you’re trapped in downtown Calgary.

Accented Colour Garage Doors

If you want a garage door that’s fun and reflects your own bubbly personality, a pop of colour is the way to go.

Bright colours might not be right for every family, but if you simply get too bored with browns and whites, trying something bold like crimson or understated and sweet like pastel pink could lead to an eye-popping exterior that will leave all of your neighbours envious.

Sleek and Steel Garage Doors

You might be worried that steel doors will leave your home looking like a villain’s fortress from a spy movie. The reality is, many steel door styles are sleek, shiny and have a cool and futuristic appeal.

However, steel doors can also be traditional in design and colour, making them a versatile option that offers something for any household.

Steel doors are particularly great options for Calgary garage doors, given their durability. Steel doors are also typically easy to paint, meaning you don’t have to commit to one style. If you feel like changing things up a couple of years down the road, steel doors give you the perfect opportunity to easily experiment.

Spanish Style Garage Doors

If you’re looking to get out of Calgary for a while, but can’t fit a vacation into your busy schedule, Spanish-style doors might be the perfect solution.

With this classic style, you can feel as though you’re vacationing in Barcelona or Southern California every time you pull into your driveway. A Spanish-style garage door looks best with vibrant flowers surrounding it, so this is a particularly lovely design option if you’re an avid green thumb with room for a garden in your front yard.

Contrast

Nothing draws in the eye quite like contrast.

Plenty of homes are made so that everything “goes”, from brickwork to accented features like shudders and mailboxes. In fact, there are plenty of suburbs in Calgary where you can find blocks upon blocks of identical homes.

Whether you’re trying to sell a house or just fall in love with yours again, there’s nothing wrong with aiming to turn heads. Whether you aim for a black door against a gray stone exterior, a funky, multi-coloured design or a bright shade for your frosted glass door, there is so much you can do with the concept of contrast.

Iron-Wrung Windows Garage Doors

If you want a look to add a sense of sophistication to your front yard, iron-wrung windows are a great design. Beautiful and elegant, these tiny details speak volumes.

Additionally, iron-wrung windows serve the same purpose of frosted glass in the sense that they allow natural light into your garage, while keeping out unwanted eyes.

Roll-Up Garage Doors

Although they might have a reputation for being somewhat industrial in appearance, roll-up garage doors can be non-conventional and visually interesting solutions if you’re bored of your current garage doors.

A roll-up garage door is a perfect option because it is compatible with most garage door materials. If you like the urban, lofty appeal of a metal roll-up door that’s great, but if you want something a little traditional, that’s available as well.

Wood-Stain Doors

Wood might be the most popular garage door option for Calgary garage doors, but that does not mean it has to be boring.

With the right stain, a wood garage door can be tasteful, attractive and most importantly, perfectly tailored to your individual home. If you have a primarily white or light-shaded home, you might benefit from a vibrant pop of colour with a deep red or black, whereas homes with visible brickwork often benefit from a brown stain.

Choosing The Right Design

Sometimes, it feels as though there are too many options for your garage door. How can you possibly be expected to settle with just one design?

The first thing to consider is your own home and family. Whereas some people love the fact that antique-style carriage doors or pastel-shaded frosted glass adds a splash of personality to a home, other families are much more comfortable with subdued and understated designs.

If you know you would benefit from new garage doors, but don’t have a specific vision in mind, you might need to reach out to the right contractors to help you review your options and find the perfect design for your home.

Getting Started On Your Dream Design

There’s no better time than the present to get started on your dream garage.

If you want to balance high-quality, durable doors and a gorgeous, stylish appearance, C Town Doors is the best option in Calgary. From the beginning of the design process to the final installations, we will be here to provide exceptional customer service.

We offer custom made garage doors &  Garage door repair services in Calgary and more. Whether you have a distinct vision for your dream garage, or would like an expert to help you get started, your curb appeal dreams are just a phone call away.