Entrance and garage doors: how to choose them?
The doors of your home are the first thing that those watching your house see. Do you build, or have you decided to replace them with new ones? Here's everything you need to know before you decide.
Which material to turn to?
Whether for your front door or that of your garage, several options are available to you:
• Wood: excellent insulation, the wood also resists very well at the time and can keep its brightness of long years if you maintain it regularly. To do this, simply sand the door and apply a layer of product to protect against mold, followed by a coat of paint.
• Aluminum: highly weather-resistant, and easy to maintain, aluminum is the material to use if you want to emphasize the aesthetic and design side.
• Aluminum and wood: like windows, it is now possible to combine these two materials on a door: this allows you to take advantage of the strength and aesthetics of the aluminum (outside) and the insulating qualities of the wood (inside), without the maintenance constraints.
• Steel: the doors made in this alloy offer excellent safety since they are the strongest on the market. The range of colors available is however less extensive than that offered for aluminum and wood, but the choice remains quite suitable.
• PVC: robust, this material offers good insulation, both thermal and sound, and requires no maintenance.
What kind of door for my garage?
It is important to choose your door, depending, in particular, on the size of your garage. For more comfort, you can also opt for a motorization. Be careful though as some doors can not be motorized.
• Swing doors: these are two sections of doors that open outwards. If they are motorisable, they are not recommended if you live close to the street because you could hinder the passage by opening them.
• The overhead door: here, the door is composed of a single panel that tilts upward to come and stay under the ceiling. This model can be motorized.
• The sliding door: thanks to a rail, the door is lodged along the wall. If it is difficult to motorize, it is also imperative that the wall section where it slides is cleared.
• The sectional door: composed of several panels that open vertically to slide to the ceiling, it can be motorized.
What about insulation?
A properly insulated door effectively protects against cold, but also heat. For optimal insulation of your home, choose doors whose Ud coefficient (expressed in W / m².K) is low because the smaller the value, the better the insulation.
If you have to spend time in your garage (because converted into a laundry room or DIY workshop), opt for doors whose walls are thick (minimum 40mm) so that the air does not infiltrate.
Regarding sound insulation, if you live a few steps away from a noisy road, choose wooden or PVC doors.
Maximize your security
The entrance and garage doors are very often the access chosen by burglars to break into a habitat.
To protect your main door, equip your lock with five locking points, but also with at least two hooks.
At the door of your garage, there are various options: install a safety bar on the inside of the door, a three-point closure, or a system of hooks. Note that a motorized door is more complicated to open manually for thieves.
In addition to a possible alarm, whether over any of your doors, it may be wise to set an automatic light that comes on when motion is detected. This security measure can deter anyone who roams around your home or wants to break in.
Why replace your doors?
It is essential to undertake work to change your access doors if they no longer allow you to maximize your energy performance, do not guarantee you enough security, or are heavily damaged.
A priori, replace them does not require too much work. Nevertheless, this can increase if the room is heavily damaged. Even if you are a do-it-yourselfer, and you can do this task alone, it is advisable to call on a professional in the sector to do this in the best possible way.