What should homeowners consider when shopping around for a garage door versus maintaining the old door they have?

Garage door springs are only good for so many cycles. The industry standard is 10,000 cycles. Since people use their front doors less and their garage doors more today, they don't last as long.

Garage doors get used more in the winter, but when it's bitter cold, springs become really brittle and are more prone to breaking.

Lack of lubrication of the door's gears can also cause problems, so we lubricate them as a standard practice during our service calls, which lengthens the lifetime of the door.

How safe are garage doors?

Garage door openers are safer these days. Options include pressure sensitive reversing systems and electronic eye reversing systems.

The systems we're authorized to sell come with a battery back-up that's quiet, automatic and charges itself. That way, if your electricity goes out, you're covered! It costs $425 to install and includes a keyless entry pad.

As for garage door code frequencies, there are 2 billion rolling codes to ensure no burglar gets yours. It's important to keep in mind, though, that there are a lot of shady door companies out there that think they're professionals, but have no business in the industry.

Customers quickly find out the hard way. We get calls every day from customers who hired a bad garage door company that did shoddy work and never returned for repairs.

Mass home builders put up the cheapest, one-panel steel garage doors they can find, which only last five to eight years, on average. One-panel steel garage doors are like 16-foot rolling beer cans!

On the other hand, insulated, double-plated, two-panel steel doors are well-manufactured and cost between $900 to $3,000 (for a custom- face overlay door).

How do aesthetics play a role in choosing a garage door?

Ninety percent of garage doors face the front of houses and can completely transform the look of your home.

Windows are nice, but they cost about $200 to $300 extra. Some people don't like that people can look into your garage and see your car and tools, so only 40 percent of customers buy garage doors with windows.

Swing-up garage doors, specifically, are no longer used in Ohio, but you'll still find them in California. We carry Clopay garage doors that are on display in our showroom.