5 Tips on How to Choose Your Garage Door
If you are looking for a new garage door to replace your old one, you are spoilt for choice. The new generation of garage doors is easy to install, safe and not expensive. Furthermore, you have quite a wide range to choose from.
– Different types of garage doors. Basically, the doors are divided into 3 different types of chain system – screw-drive system, chain drive system and computer controlled system. The screw drive system uses a lifting mechanism which moves the length of a steel rod and it is attached to your garage ceiling. The most common and affordable system is the chain drive system. As the name implies, it is made of a chain that moves the door along a pair of tracks and it is very noisy every time you open or close the garage door. For the computer drive mechanism, it makes use of a computer-controlled system which is attached above the door. It is quiet and efficient.
– Speed. When choosing a new door, it is important to consider how fast the garage door opens because it determines how long you have to wait in the driveway. Normally, a faster door costs more and even though it opens faster, it will usually still close slower for safety reasons.
– Motor power. A large motor will have the power to raise the door and last longer. Another important decision factor is the quietness of the motor. You will surely not want your neighbors to hear you opening the door each time you want to move in or out of the garage.
– Enhanced security features. With the advanced technology, new and better security features such as using random codes are used in the new generation garage doors. How does this work? Each time you use the remote control that opens the door, it will generate a new random code. This random code can only be used once. This security feature helps to prevent your garage from being opened by other people. If you have more than one garage, you will like to use a multiple button remote control to help you to manage the different garages. The fixed controller is attached on the wall near the door and this can help you to open the door of the garage when you don’t have the remote controller. Besides that, you are given sufficient time to exit the garage without running.
– Safety features. In the past, many accidents happened at the garage due to the lack of safety features on garage doors. Now, enhanced safety features are found on new doors. When the door of the garage closes too fast and hits something, the safety feature which is triggered by the electric beam will immediately prevent the door from crushing people or objects by reversing the direction. This safety feature is required by the law and is controlled by a computerized system mechanism found in the door.
If your garage door is too old or has an old motor or pulley system, I think it is time for you to change for a better and safer one.