Designing a home is about finding the right balance between aesthetics and function. However, not every trend suits your home, especially with garages.
Garages are crucial spaces that safeguard valuables and entrances to your home while contributing significantly to its curb appeal. Homes with garages benefit from extra space and higher value. A walkthrough garage door is one contemporary home trend that many homeowners have been opting for recently.
This type of garage door can add an aesthetic and functional element to your garage. Nonetheless, it might not be your best option.
You can call garage door repair experts in Boise to install a walkthrough garage door. But first, ensure that you understand all the pros and cons of these pedestrian doors.
What Is a Walkthrough Garage Door?
A walkthrough garage door is simply a regular garage door with an attached pedestrian door. Together, these features provide different entrance options for your garage. Since you won’t have to open your entire garage to enter your home, these features increase accessibility and convenience.
Walkthrough Garage Doors: the Pros
While it’s true that walkthrough garage doors are not suitable for every home, they have various upsides that make them an excellent option for many homes. For homes with a basement garage, walkthrough garage doors are especially beneficial. Since you can likely only access a basement garage by opening the entire garage door, walkthrough garage doors function as space and energy-saving solutions.
Walkthrough garage doors also benefit homes with smaller garage doors or located in urban areas. Residences built in high-population areas typically need to make the best use of their available space. So, with these types of doors, you can maximize space limitations and create easy access to your residence.
Finally, there are considerable upsides to installing walkthrough garage doors in homes using the garage strictly for storage rather than cars. If you’re utilizing your garage as a storage solution, installing a walkthrough door increases convenience. You can easy access to your belongings.
With a garage door opener, these features offer all the advantages of regular garages.
Walkthrough Garage Doors: the Cons
Although walkthrough garage doors offer some unique advantages, there are also numerous drawbacks.
Price is the first negative aspect of walkthrough garage doors. The cost of installing a walkthrough garage door is usually slightly less than or equal to the cost of installing a regular garage. Many homeowners wonder whether these features are worth it, given the considerable investment.
Another consideration is the decrease in energy efficiency. The primary determinant of energy efficiency for garages is the number of openings that could let out air and energy. As a result, walkthrough garage doors might considerably degrade your garage’s energy efficiency.
These doors also require a unique safety system to ensure the other part of the door doesn’t negatively interact with it. The safety systems needed for walkthrough garage doors might also prove expensive and difficult to install or operate.
Finally, from an aesthetic perspective, installation technicians must work hard to ensure that walkthrough garage doors fit cohesively with the rest of your garage. If the measurements for any of the front-facing design features are off, these accents might negatively impact the aesthetic of your garage door.
Why Your Home Might Be Right for a Walkthrough Garage Door
Despite the pros and cons, various homes are suitable for walkthrough garage doors. Homes prioritizing storage space over car space for their garages will benefit from these features. Additionally, homes that need a more accessible access point or entrance might make good use of a walkthrough garage door.
Other Garage Door Options for Your Home
A walkthrough garage door may not be the best entrance solution for your home. Fortunately, other garage door types can functionally and aesthetically benefit your property.
Side-to-Side Garage Doors
Side-to-side or side-slide garage doors are an excellent option for families with small children. Traditional garage doors operate with a spring and could cause injury if the spring accidentally releases. However, side sliding garage doors work with a motor, eliminating this concern.
These doors provide a sleek, unique look to your home. Since the wood panels have vertical slats, they provide a different sense of height and appearance.
Roll-Up Garage Doors
Roll-up garage doors usually function best in commercial settings like warehouses or storage units. Yet, these heavy-duty, durable doors provide unparalleled protection. This aspect makes them suitable for rural and country homes.
Additionally, with so many design options, roll-up garage doors can augment your home’s aesthetic in many ways. Roll-up garage doors previously only came in aluminum or other metals. Yet, wood and composite options now exist to create a more attractive, versatile look.
Sectional Garage Doors
Sectional garage doors are likely the most popular of all garage doors. Operated by a motorized system, these doors divide into horizontal slats.
Since these garage doors are the most common, they are usually suitable for almost any home. You can choose from any materials, design options, and aesthetics to make sectional garage doors the perfect touch to your home’s exterior.
Tilt-Up and Over Canopy Garage Doors
Tilt-up and canopy garage doors are similar to sectional doors except that the entire door moves as one unit. These doors create a striking visual when you open your garage. As a result, they have an aesthetic edge over other options.
Like many other doors, tilt-up and over-canopy garage doors have various colors, materials, styles, and design options. You can essentially customize these doors to your home’s aesthetic.
If you can’t decide between these choices and a walkthrough door, don’t fret. Many of the garage doors listed above can feature a walkthrough garage door while maintaining their own qualities.
Install a Walk-Through Door with Garage Door Medics
Do you need to schedule walkthrough garage door services or to find out if you need a permit for installing or replacing a garage door? Call Garage Door Medics at (888) 997-2423 for service in Boise, ID, and the surrounding areas!
