Choosing a new garage door
On many homes, the garage door covers a big share of the front of the house. Most choices come down to three things: what the door is made of, what style suits the house and how much insulation the garage needs.
Materials
- Steel needs little upkeep and comes in many styles and colors. Single-layer steel is the lightest option, and it can dent from a basketball or a bumper.
- Insulated steel adds insulation behind the outer skin, often with a second steel skin inside. The extra layers make the door stiffer, quieter and harder to dent.
- Wood can be stained or painted, and nothing else looks quite like it. Sun and rain wear down the finish, so it needs regular refinishing. Wood doors are heavy, and the springs and opener must be sized to match.
- Wood-look finishes put a woodgrain pattern on steel or composite. From the street, many pass for wood without the upkeep.
Styles
- Raised panel doors have rectangles pressed into each section. They suit brick homes and traditional designs.
- Flush doors have smooth, flat sections for a clean, modern look.
- Carriage-house doors look like old swing-out barn doors, often with decorative handles and strap hinges, but they still roll up overhead.
Windows and colors
Windows across the top section bring daylight into a closed garage. Frosted or textured glass lets light in while keeping cars and storage out of view. Glass doesn't insulate as well as an insulated section, so keep that in mind.
Judge a color against your brick or siding, trim and roof, not a small sample. Darker colors soak up more afternoon sun, which matters on a door that faces west.
Insulation for garages next to living space
If a bedroom or game room sits over the garage, or the garage shares a wall with the kitchen, insulation matters more. Summer heat builds up behind an uninsulated door and works its way into nearby rooms.
Insulation is often listed as an R-value, and a higher number means the door resists heat flow better. Tight seals around the door matter just as much.
Planning a detached shop or barndo? See our page on barndominium garage doors.
Get HOA approval before you order
Many HOAs have rules about garage door style, color, windows and hardware, and those rules vary. Read your guidelines or ask your management company.
If approval is required, get it in writing before the door is ordered. We can give you the style name, color and a product sheet to attach to your application. Permit questions should go to your city.
What a new door installation with us looks like
- First call. Tell us what you have, what you want and whether you need HOA approval. Photos help.
- Measuring. We measure the opening, the headroom above it, the space on each side and the garage depth, and check the framing and jambs.
- Choosing. We go over materials, styles, insulation, windows, colors and openers, then put your choices in writing for you to review.
- Ordering. Once you approve, we order the door and set an install date after it arrives.
- Install day. We take down the old door, hang the new sections, mount the track and set the springs for the door's weight.
- Opener and testing. We install a new opener or reconnect yours, set the travel limits and force, line up the photo eyes and test the auto-reverse.
- Walkthrough. We program your remotes and keypad, show you the manual release and answer questions.
Garage door openers
Drive types
- Chain drive openers are sturdy but louder, which matters less in a detached garage.
- Belt drive openers use a reinforced rubber belt and run much quieter, a good fit when a bedroom is above or beside the garage.
- Wall-mount openers sit beside the door and turn the torsion shaft directly, freeing the ceiling for storage racks or a tall vehicle. They need a torsion spring setup, so we check yours first.
Features to consider
- Battery backup keeps the opener working for a limited number of trips during a power outage.
- Phone apps let you open, close and check the door from anywhere, and many send an alert when the door is left open.
- Keypads let family members in without a remote. Avoid codes like your house number or a birthday.
The federal safety rule
Automatic garage door openers sold in the U.S. since 1993 must have entrapment protection, such as photo eyes and auto-reverse, under U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission rule 16 CFR Part 1211. Photo eyes sit low on each side of the opening. If something breaks their beam while the door is closing, the door goes back up.
If your opener has no photo eyes, or they've been bypassed, have it checked. It's a strong candidate for replacement.
Common repairs besides springs
Our guide on what to do about a broken garage door spring covers springs. Here's how other problems tend to show up.
- Cables. Frayed strands near the bottom corners, a slack cable, or a door that closes with a gap on one side.
- Rollers. Grinding, rattling or thumping as the door moves, with chipped wheels or rollers that wobble.
- Hinges. A squeak or pop at the same point every time, or sections that sag where they meet.
- Panels. Dents, creases and rust, usually low where bumpers and rain hit. A creased section can make the door bind.
- Tracks. Scraping or banging, or a door that jerks or stalls at the same spot. Loose brackets let the track pull away from the rollers.
- Openers. A motor that hums without moving the door, clicking, or reversing for no clear reason. A remote that only works up close may just need a battery.
- Photo eyes. A door that won't close while the opener light blinks. A bumped sensor, dirty lens or trash can in the beam is often the cause, and low sun can confuse them too.
- Weather seals. Daylight, leaves or water under the door. Heat makes rubber seals crack and flatten.
You can safely wipe photo-eye lenses, clear the beam and replace remote batteries. Leave cables, springs and the brackets at the bottom corners to our technicians, since they are under high tension.
Quieting a noisy door
Squeaks usually mean dry hinges or roller bearings. Rattling points to loose hardware or worn rollers, and a rumble from the ceiling is often the opener.
- Lubricate the right parts. With the door closed and the opener unplugged, spray a garage door lubricant on the hinges and steel roller bearings. Wipe the tracks clean instead of greasing them.
- Tighten loose hinge bolts. Leave the bottom brackets alone, because they connect to the cables.
- Ask about nylon rollers. We can swap worn steel rollers for nylon rollers with sealed bearings.
- Change the opener. A belt drive runs far quieter than a chain drive, and rubber isolators at the ceiling mount cut vibration into rooms above.
Garage door safety for families
- Keep remotes away from children. Store them in the car or up high, and teach kids that the remote and wall button are for adults.
- Mount the wall button high and in view of the door. It should be out of reach of small children, where whoever presses it can watch the door close. If yours is low or around a corner, we can move it.
- Never walk or run under a moving door. Don't race a closing door, and don't let kids make it a game.
- Keep fingers out of the joints. Sections fold as the door rolls up, so use the handles.
Garage security habits
- Don't leave a remote in a car parked outside. A remote on the visor of a car broken into in the driveway opens your garage. Use a keychain remote, keypad or phone app instead.
- Lock the house door from the garage. Treat it like your front door.
- Close the door at night. An open garage shows off what's inside. App alerts can tell you if it was left open.
- Clear lost remotes. If a remote goes missing or you move into a home, have the opener's memory cleared and your remotes reprogrammed.
Residential gates
Wood gates match cedar privacy fences and take stain well. Metal gates hold their shape longer and need touch-up paint where rust starts.
- Side-yard gates handle trash cans and mowers. Size the opening for the widest thing you roll through.
- Backyard gates usually match the fence. If a gate is part of a pool enclosure, ask your city what latch and closing rules apply.
- Driveway gates can swing as a single gate or a pair, or slide along the fence line. Slope and space beside the drive often decide which fits.
Sagging gates
A sagging gate drags on the ground or has to be lifted to latch. North Texas clay swells when wet and shrinks in drought, which can push a post out of plumb.
On wood gates, a missing diagonal brace lets the frame rack out of square. The brace should run from the bottom of the hinge side up to the top of the latch side. Long gates may also need a heavier post or a steel frame.
Latches and openers
Gravity latches drop into place as the gate swings shut, and self-closing hinges keep it from being left open for pets or kids. Lockable latches add security, and some latches open from both sides.
Swing gate operators push the gate open with an arm, while slide operators drive it along a track. Both work with remotes, keypads and phone apps, and safety sensors stop the gate if something is in its path.
For larger metal gates and fence lines, see commercial gates and wrought iron fencing.
Repair or replace?
- Is the trouble in one part or the whole door? Rollers, a cable or one section are repairs. A door bent across several sections usually isn't worth patching.
- Can parts still be found? Matching sections for older doors may be gone.
- Do repair calls keep coming? Repeated fixes on a worn door add up.
- Has your use changed? A home gym or a new room above may call for an insulated door.
- Is the opener safe? One with no photo eyes, or one that keeps stripping gears, is usually replaced.
For gates, worn hinges or a leaning post can be fixed, while a rotted or rusted-through frame usually means a new gate.
We'll show you what's worn and what isn't, so you can decide.
What affects the cost
- Door width and height, and whether it's a standard or custom size
- Material and construction
- Windows, glass type and decorative hardware
- Color and finish
- Opener drive type and features
- Condition of the jambs, trim and framing
- Removing the old door
- For repairs, which parts are needed and whether paired parts are replaced together
- Emergency appointments after hours or on Sunday
- For gates, size, material, posts, hardware, operators and distance to power
How to get started
Call us at (903) 294-1846, Monday through Saturday from 7 AM to 5 PM. Emergency service is available by appointment after 5 PM Monday through Saturday and on Sundays. You can also send a request online.
Tell us your city, what's wrong or what you want, the door size and whether your HOA has signed off. Photos emailed to prodoorsandgates@gmail.com help us plan.
Pro Doors and Gates is family owned and based in Bells at 1940 Everheart Rd. We work on homes across Dallas-Fort Worth and North Texas, including McKinney, Anna, Sherman, Denison, Princeton, Frisco, Forney and Dallas.
