Spruce up your home with a modern-looking garage door

Today, Chadd Goosmann, president of Overhead Door Company of Sioux City, said customers are opting to replace their garage doors that may only be a decade old and in perfectly good working order with modern-looking steel doors that resemble wood to add curb appeal and value to their homes.

"It used to be where you waited until it was in rough shape and you bought a new one," Goosmann said. "I think people drive around and they see all these great garage doors and they're like, 'I think I want to update the look of my house.'"

Goosmann said selecting a new double garage door, which can cost anywhere from $800 to $8,000, is an easy way to update a home. He said garage doors with vertical windows and smooth finishes, rather than panels, in dark colors, such as brown and black, are trending.

You can add a garage door to an older home or a newer home for a more than 98 percent return on investment, according Remodeling Magazine's 2018 Cost vs. Value Report.

Goosmann said some customers arrive at his business with an idea of what type of garage door they want after browsing images on Pinterest or touring new housing developments. Others, he said, are open to suggestions. A home's age and style, Goosmann said doesn't necessarily dictate the type of garage door a customer must purchase. 

"More and more, you can kind of do what you want. Some would say a glass and aluminum modern-looking door needs a modern house. We started putting those on a lot of ranch-style houses and people just like the look of it," he said. "That type of door a lot of people have an interest in. You don't have to live in a concrete house to have a cool door."

Overhead Door Company sells steel garage doors from the Thermacore Collection. These garage doors feature premium insulation construction and design to maximize thermal efficiency and reduce air infiltration in the garage space. The doors are durable and don't require much maintenance.

"The steel doors are pretty low-maintenance," Goosmann said. "People often ask, 'What's the best way to clean my garage door?' and we tell them to do just like you would a car."

Goosmann said upgrading to a garage door with a wood-like finish and windows won't break the bank, either. Expect to spend $300 to $400 dollars more than a standard garage door. If you want your garage door to be a dark color, he said, it won't cost extra.

"You could do a black door or a terra bronze and pay the exact same amount as a white door costs," Goosmann said. "I had someone powder coat a gray (door) to look like concrete because they were putting some concrete columns in. Really, the sky is the limit."

Goosmann said customers can choose any Sherwin-Williams color and have their garage doors painted to match before installation, which takes no more than a day.

"Usually they take them out and put them in and it's all done when you come home from work," he said.

Another feature that is fairly new to garage doors, Goosmann said, is a smart device enabled controller, which allows homeowners to monitor and operate their garage doors from anywhere through an app on their smartphones or tablets. Goosmann said a special kit can make almost any existing garage door Wi-Fi-compatible.

"Some of the new openers, you can set a timer and after 30 minutes it will go ahead and close the door," he said.