What Online Preview Tools for New Garage Doors Won’t Reveal

When shopping around for new garage doors, the preview tool on many websites can really help you get a good visual of what your new doors might look like. The tool does a pretty decent job at figuring out where your garage door should go and provides various options and styles to give you a sense of the overall look and feel. These tools aren’t perfect, though, and there are a lot of details that you might not find out about until the installation.

Positioning and Structure

The preview tool is, essentially, just an image overlay to give you a rough visual of how the design of your garage door might look, so it really only takes scaling and visual appearance into account. While it might look to be a good size and fit on the online viewer, the layout and structure of your garage might not be fully compatible with the door model depending on the size and mechanisms of the door. Extra work might need to be performed to set up anchor points for the tracks and roller system, or depending on where the wall supports are situated, the door itself might not fit if there are support beams in the front-facing wall of the garage.

Mechanisms and Hardware

Since the preview tools only show you an outside look at the doors, you aren’t going to get an idea of what the inside of the garage will look like and what the layout of the hardware and mechanisms will be. Depending on the way your garage is set up – for example, if you have a peaked garage and use the peak for storage – some garage doors might not be as compatible without some additional work or adjustments. It also doesn’t show you what exactly is involved with operating the garage door, what the hardware looks like, or how the mechanisms work. These are all very important aspects to plan for since there are certain space and stability requirements to ensure the tracks and other hardware will not only fit but also be stable enough to hold the garage door up in both the open and closed positions.

Inspection and Estimates

While an online garage door preview will help imagine what your door will look like once complete, it isn’t going to replace a traditional inspection process. The inspection and estimate process is where you’ll see if the door you like is going to be a good fit for your garage and if it will work with your garage setup. This includes things like taking measurements and looking for strong support structures to mount the track onto, or seeing if it’s possible to build a support system for the tracks if need be. Any of these extra modifications or alterations to your garage could start increasing the cost of the installation. While it’s oftentimes possible to make some modifications if your selected door isn’t going to work as is, if you’re looking to keep the cost low you might have to settle on a more compatible door with your garage.

Quality of Motion

Most online previews are still images you can cycle through and edit to add different options and features. As such, the preview isn’t going to show you how the door opens and closes, the speed at which it moves, if the movement is smooth all the way through, or give you an idea of how noisy the door will be when it opens or closes. You also won’t get an idea of how the garage will look with the door open, though not many people tend to leave their garage doors open very often.

Repair Work

Sometimes repair work will need to be done, especially if you’re replacing an older garage door that’s not worth it to repair or is broken beyond repair. This can range from replacing makeshift supports for tracks, sanding, or evening out damaged sections of the door frame, among other things. The damage left behind from your old garage door isn’t going to show up on the online preview tools, and really is only going to be able to be looked at in detail during the inspection and removal/installation process. These repairs could also add to the cost of the installation.

What to Do If You Need New Garage Doors

If your old garage doors need to be replaced, or you’re looking to get new garage doors, reach out to Precision Doors to get the process started. Once you set up a consultation appointment, a garage door repair specialist will come and inspect your garage and measure the dimensions of your new garage door. Once the inspection is done, and there are no other problems or repairs that need to be completed to accommodate the door installation, the door will be ordered, assembled, and delivered. From there, the garage door specialist will install the door for you, usually finishing the job the same day. After testing everything and making sure there are no problems with the door, you’ll get your maintenance instructions and warranty packet, and you’ll be the proud owner of a brand-new garage door. If you need a new garage door or are just looking for a service call, don’t hesitate to call Precision Door Mission Viejo today.