Up and over garage doors are what many have come to know as a normal garage door. There are other varieties despite their dwindling numbers, but up and over garage doors have been developed to provide a fit to those with special considerations. This makes them suitable for most people in most settings. The development of so many options has, of course, led to a number of decisions that must be made when you select a garage door, but then with each decision, you come closer to having the best fit of garage door for you.

Consider these qualities of up and over garage doors:

Automatic

A number of up and over doors are available with motors. This allows for hands-free raising and lowering of them. In many cases, these motorised doors are equipped with remotes to allow the door to be raised remotely, from a vehicle for example. These are quite common, but for some installations, there may be little need for a motorised door.

If you are considering one for a storage facility or a barn’s garage you may find that a motorised option is not necessary and possibly less practical. In these cases, you can find ones that are opened manually and can be locked when closed. It is a simple practicality that may appeal to you.

Solid or Sectional

Up and over garage doors often come in two varieties. Solid ones are solid pieces of material. They are lifted up and over the garage in a single piece. These have obvious benefits and obvious negatives. They can be ornately decorated solid pieces of wood for example. The appearance is often a striking one when lowered and may maintain a seamless quality to the home. When they are lifted however they require a certain amount of space in front of them. This is due to the angling required to direct a solid straight piece up and over the garage space. As a result, you will have to open the garage door before anyone or anything is directly in front of the door. Likewise, it may reduce the amount of space that you have inside your garage. This may not be a problem unless your vehicle is a tight fit to a door.

Sectional pieces more than remedy the space difficulty. These garage doors are fabricated using various numbers of sections to create an entire door. At the connection of each section, the door can flex. This allows basically straight-up and straight-down retraction and lowering. It allows a vehicle to pull directly up to the door before raising it and to park directly inside the door without preventing the door from lowering. Some people do not like the appearance of sectional doors, though. There are many combinations of colours and some do have a nearly seamless appearance. Most, however, are noticeably sectional doors.

Materials

You will find quite different materials in solids and sectionals. The security aspect is fairly comparable. They both offer the option of windows, but it is not common to find a wooden sectional. There are some makers of custom doors, though. If you have something specific in mind you may be able to find an option that is similar.