Residential vs. Commercial Garage Doors

If you have been to this site before you may have noticed that on the <a href="http://www.omahagaragedoor.repair/garage-door-openers">openers</a> page there is a distinct separation between residential garage doors and garage door openers, and commercial garage doors and garage door openers. You might even be thinking to yourself, "I want the industrial style stuff these commercial places are getting". You could ask for that, and you will probably end up paying more for it and get almost none of the benefits that you paid extra for. This is because there is a reason that the commercial garage door openers and residential garage door openers are not sold under the same umbrella, and that is because the needs of those customers vary quite a lot. Granted that there may be a small number of people who fit into one category but could benefit from getting their garage door from the other but these are the anomalies and shouldn't inform your decisions on garage doors. If you can't be swayed by the simple titles of residential and commercial garage doors then feel free to continue reading to figure out for yourself just what is so different about the two categories and some of the distinctions between them, the main ones being the wear and tear put on the systems and the aesthetics.

A residential garage door has to look nice. That is one of the honest reasons that there is a split in the market. If you go to a mechanic garage or a shipping warehouse their garage doors are going to look extremely different from the ones you are used to seeing on your home. When you go to these businesses however you will probably not think twice about them looking out of place at all. You won't judge a business on the plainness of their garage door and how it doesn't really go with the rest of the building, because it doesn't make sense for them to really worry about that when they are getting a garage door installed. On the other hand however, your average homeowner cares a great deal about how their garage door looks because it will often be closed and visible and because it also serves as a reflection of the people who live their and the rest of their house. Most of the businesses I've mentioned (hopefully) don't have people living in them, and if they did they would most likely not care about the aesthetic appeal that their garage door was providing. With this in mind it is no wonder that most of the commercial garage doors we see are rather simple and made of the same material. They are easy to clean and maintain and that is about all that is actually worth taking into account for a business. On the other hand there are of course the more fanciful residential garage doors that are printed upon, designed or painted in ways so that they complement and match the houses they are attached to and don't look terribly out of place while they are closed.

While looks aren't everything they certainly are something when it comes to garage doors, so what else matters? The most important thing about a garage door is probably that it opens or closes. Seeing how it is a 'door' it is important that you are able to close it and open it whenever you like and that it stays put once you have done so. Again this is a big split between commercial garage door owners and residential garage door owners. The average home owner will probably open and close their garage door, let's say six times a day. That means opening and closing your garage door in the morning when you leave for work twice to account for two drivers. Then another two times when you come home after work and then two more times for if you go out for errands and come back using only one car. This is a pretty conservative estimate for how many times you use your garage door opener, but individuals may vary from day to day. However, six openings and closings doesn't sound to me like an outrageously low number for a family on a regular week day. On that same weekday one of the businesses I mentioned earlier could easily see ten times that number. Trucks making deliveries and dropping off parts or picking up parts to go out. Opening and closing different parts of a shop or moving shipments around quickly add up as these garage doors get used everyday all day often for hours longer than your traditional nine to five. This is where the reasoning comes in that they might need to be built a little differently. A commercial garage door has to be built to handle almost constant use oftentimes closing and opening constantly during an hour. Residential garage doors on the other hand just don't need to be built that way. This means that usually residential garage doors will last longer using parts that capitalize on the fact that they will be left in one position for a long time before needing to be used again. They also require less maintenance because of this.

If you are looking to buy a residential garage door then don't feel like you are getting an inferior product just because it isn't "commercial grade" because for what you want it is the superior product. The same can be said for anybody in the market for a commercial garage door who might think about going for a residential garage door and garage door opener. There is a reason that the two are separated, if you have serious doubts about which one is right for you then by all means share your concerns with a garage door professional. Otherwise it is most likely best for you to understand why you should stick to your category of garage door openers and why doing so will save you a great deal of hassle and expense. Whether it gets a nicer looking garage door for your home or a garage door that is built to be constantly on the move it is all about what type of garage door will suit your needs best.