Types of Lift Garage Doors

The large garage door is oftentimes the first thing people pay attention to when they pass by your house or enter your front yard. That’s why, it is important to choose a garage door that enhances the appeal and matches the exterior design of your house.

​Aside from its visual appeal, it is also crucial that the door turns your garage into a functional place and saves as much space as possible. Here are five types of lift garage doors to consider when you go shopping. 

High lift garage door

A high lift garage door is the perfect option if you want to add headroom in a garage with a high ceiling. The tracks of this door extend past the top section of the door, climbing the wall, and starting the horizontal curve close to the ceiling. You are good to go with a high lift door if you have windows above the garage door opening.

​This way, the door support hardware will not spoil the window's appeal and restrict sunlight. A high lift door also goes a long way in securing much storage space up above, allowing to remove much stuff from the floor and enlarge the work area. With maximized workspace, you can turn your garage into a home gym, a wood workshop, or a small business.

Front and rear low headroom lift

If it is a shed or a garage with low ceiling, usually a front or rear low lift door is used. The rear low lift is used when the headroom over the garage door is 5-7 inches (13-18 cm), while the front rear lift is suitable when the headroom is 7-10 inches (18-25 cm). Since there is little room to perform the transition from the vertical lift to the horizontal curve, the tracks follow a different pattern than in high lift doors.

​They lift only the top section of the door, so the door opener has enough power to move the top section far along the ceiling. Once this is done, the low sections will follow smoothly and slowly until they become completely horizontal.

Inclined track garage door

If your garage's roof has a slope, you need an inclined track garage door. The inclined tracks follow the slope of the roof, projecting the door to the ceiling. The tracks are equipped with torsion springs that must be well balanced and strong to bring the door up. All three above-mentioned types of garage doors are divided into sections to allow for the ceiling curve.

Roll-up garage door

Another option for garages with low ceiling is roll-up garage door. The door is made up of steel slat sections that roll around a drum mounted above the garage opening. This device is compact and saves much space on the wall and ceiling. Please note that such a door has a low-key design and is mainly used in commercial buildings. However, if you love minimalism, you can go for it.

Tilt-up garage door

Tilt-up doors use a hinge mechanism to tilt into the garage, leaving a part of the door hanging over the front of the house, creating a canopy. Unlike previous types of doors, this one is not sectioned, but is rather made of one solid panel. The advantages of tilt-up garage doors are that they require little headroom to open and have fewer moving parts. At the same time, they are more vulnerable to harsh weather and wear and tear.