The large area occupied by garage doors is getting even larger. In June, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that 24 percent of new single-family houses completed in 2015 had a three-car (or more) garage, the highest percentage ever.<\/p>\n
The Midwest region leads the country with 42 percent of new homes having at least a three-car garage. The larger the area, the larger the aesthetic impact.<\/p>\n
“Can you imagine how much it would cost to renovate 150 square feet of the front of your home?” Thomas asks. “With a new upscale garage door, you can get the project done professionally for less than $3,000.”<\/p>\n
The top upscale project<\/strong><\/p>\n The new 2016 Cost vs. Value Report from Remodeling Magazine also echoes the cost-effectiveness of a new garage door. For the first time in the report’s history, an upscale garage door replacement earned the top spot in the rankings of all upscale projects studied.<\/p>\n The report said that the purchase of an upscale garage door recoups 90 percent of its cost at resale, far above the second place project, which was a siding replacement at 78 percent. The average cost recouped for all 30 projects in the study was 64 percent.<\/p>\n “More people are migrating to the quality doors,” says Wayne Pawlowski at Garage Door Guy in Barnegat, New Jersey. “No longer is it ‘What’s the cheapest you got?’ They would rather spend a few extra dollars and get a better door.”<\/p>\n New designs, more choices<\/strong><\/p>\n Fortunately for the consumer, garage door manufacturers are now producing hundreds of stunning designs in steel, wood, aluminum and fiber-composite material. When combined with new colors, windows, insulation and decorative hardware options, the potential designs are almost limitless.<\/p>\n “We have so many more attractive designs today than we had 20 years ago,” says Randy Oliver of Hollywood-Crawford Door, a long-time garage door dealer in San Antonio. “An upgraded door that takes advantage of all these optional features is surprisingly affordable.”<\/p>\n