5 Steps to Buy a Garage Door to Fit Your Needs
BUYING A DOOR
So, you’ve made the decision to buy a new, or replace your existing garage door.
There are just a few steps involved, and there’s always someone available to give you advice, if you run into trouble.
STEP 1:
Work out whether your site is ready for a measure and quote. It is important that you have a garage door dealer visit your home and measure up your door opening – this is the only way to get an accurate quote. It is not recommended that you do your own measure up for your door. Garage door dealers are trained to measure the opening, and know what allowances they need to make for tracks, wheels, etc before they finalise a door size.
STEP 2:
Once your site is ready, you need to find a garage door dealer. Accredited Dealers will visit your site, measure up and provide you with a no obligation quote. Many of Accredited Dealers also now use specially designed quoting software, which allows them to photograph your house, and overlay doors, so you can see what the final product will look like, on your own home.
STEP 3:
Do some research, before your dealer turns up. There are a range of different types of garage doors, as well as different styles of openers and other accessories available. Not all doors will suit your garage or carport, but your garage door dealer will be able to advise you on this, once they are on site. Before they arrive though, it is worth doing a little bit of your own research.
• What type of door do I like? Steel sectional like the Panelift, wood sectional like the Cedarpanel, Roll-A-Door, Design-A-Door, Flex-A-Door or a tilting door. For further explination on types of garage doors, visit the ‘finding the ideal door‘ section of our website.
• What opener will suit my home and lifestyle? If you have bedrooms near the garage, a shift worker in the home, or teenagers who come in at all hours, maybe you should consider a Whisper Quiet opener. If you have a carport, you can now automate that door as well, something that wasn’t previously possible. There are even openers that run from solar energy!
• What about accessories? There are a range of different accessories available for your door and opener, to make it more suitable to your lifestyle. Are you in a bushfire prone area? Consider Emb-A-Seals. Do you have latch-key kids? Consider an entry keypad. Do you have pets or small children who may run under a moving door? Consider a Safety Infra-red beam kit (Note – B&D recommend that Safety Infra-red beam kits are installed on all automated doors).
STEP 4:
Double check any comparison quotes. If you choose to get quotes from multiple dealers, and you notice a price difference between them, make sure you question them, to be sure you are comparing apples with apples. There are also differences in openers. One of the biggest different is in the warranty. Ask the dealer – how many years is the warranty for? Is it on-site repair or back to base? Does the warranty cover the whole opener and installation, or is it only the motor?
STEP 5:
Enjoy your new door and opener once your door is installed – enjoy! Should you have any concerns after installation, your first point of call should be the dealer who installed the door.
