Great Garage Doors Can Be A Great Home Investment
A garage door does more than welcome you home as you pull in the driveway. It makes a telling style statement on your home. For homeowners looking to increase their home’s value this spring, a new garage door can bring back a four-fold investment return. How many Wall Street stocks can say that?
According to Garage Wow Now (GWN), investing $2,000 on a new garage door can add $8,000 to the value of a $200,000 home. GWN also notes realtors add 1 to 4 percent to the list rate of a home with a new garage door. That’s opening the door to a great home upgrade.
As BobVila.com’s Donna Boyle Schwartz notes, “the garage door, because its prominent placement, plays a big role in defining the outward appearance of your home. If, after years of hard use, your garage door is looking the worse for wear – or if it was never particularly attractive in the first place – replacing the old door gives you a huge opportunity to transform your home’s exterior and boost curb appeal, even as you enjoy a suite of performance improvements.”
But how do you know when it’s time for you and your family to say adios to your current garage door? After all, an aging garage door is not always going to show itself to the door.
More complicated than adding new gutters, garage doors offer a wide range of services and value to your home. They offer functionality and security for your home and can offer stunning curbside beauty and aesthetic value. But garage doors are only as useful as they are reliable. Since they require powerful motors and delicate electrical systems, you don’t want to bet on purchasing the wrong door.
“Select a door style that compliments your house,” Boyle Schwartz advises.
Also, close the door immediately on performing any do-it-yourself door repairs. This is a professional only job, not something you can pick up in a YouTube DIY video. After all, you don’t want to become one of the over 13,000 people who check into hospitals annually with garage-related injuries, according to the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS).
Here’s a How To Know Guide For Homeowners On When It’s Time To Repair Or Replace Their Garage Door:
Garage Door Issues That Can Be Repaired
- The Door Suddenly Stops Working (Check those batteries)
- The Door Seems Heavy
- A Single Panel Is Damaged
- The Garage Door Is Saging
Garage Doors That Need To Be Shown The Door
- Doors That Haven’t Run Properly In A While: Sudden issues can usually easily be repaired. A consistent garage door issue that has gone unaddressed for months or years likely will require replacement. Garage doors have hundreds of heavy, moving parts. If even a small issue in the lifting mechanism goes unaddressed over hundreds of openings, the damage inflicted from those hundreds of lifts can’t be fixed.
- Severely Damaged Doors: Alas, not all garage doors can be saved. For garage doors already heavily damaged by weather, wear and tear and accidents, the smartest and most cost-efficient move is investing in a new door.
- Doors Older Than Dirt: If you’re garage door is so old, you’re not actually sure how old it is, it’s time to invest in a new door.
- Home Break-In Victim Doors: If thieves have disabled your door or disengaged your door’s motors, it’s best to to start from scratch to improve your garage and home’s security.
Other Doors To Show The Door:
- Energy Sapping Doors
- Doors Lacking Child Safety Features
Remember, a garage door’s best value to your home is its curbside appeal. Don’t let an aging, drab or dying door be a poor welcome home or welcome in for your home. Few home upgrades offer more style and value. For Remodeling Magazine estimates in its annual Cost vs. Value Report, that at resale, people who invest in new garage doors recoup 91.5 percent of their investment.
“It’s no wonder that for budget-savvy homeowners in pursuit of improved curb appeal few projects are more exciting, more popular, or more rewarding,” Boyle Schwartz writes. “What are you waiting for?”
