Glass Garage Door Buying Guide for North Carolina

So you’re in the market for a new garage door but aren’t sure where to start. Perhaps you’re in the mood for something sleek, stylish and different from your neighbors. Well, we’ve got three words for you — glass garage doors. Residential glass garage doors can make many houses look stunning and stand out from the rest. 

Most people expect to see boring white or opaque panels when they visit someone’s home and will often ignore them. A garage with glass doors can catch them off guard and provide a sense of sophistication to a part of the home that is not often considered sophisticated. This guide will help you decide whether glass-paned garage doors are for you and tell you all you need to know about them and where to buy them in North Carolina.

What Are Glass Garage Doors?

Glass garage doors are just that — garage doors with sturdy glass panels. While it may sound like a weak material to make a garage door out of, it can be quite resilient, especially when framed by other strong materials like aluminum. Glass paneled garage doors come in many colors and opacities, which allow you to bring as much or as little light as you want.

Pros of Glass Paneled Garage Doors

Glass garage doors have several benefits, including the following:

• Modern designs: The sleek design of a glass garage door can make your home look contemporary and elegant.
• Increased curb appeal: Glass garage doors can increase your home’s curb appeal and, in turn, increase your home’s value.
• A greater sense of size: See-through garage door windows can make the room feel larger.
• Greater efficiency: With glass panels, natural light can come through, reducing the need for interior lighting.
• An uninterrupted line of sight: Depending on where your garage is located, you can see beautiful scenic views while the door is closed.
• Security: Tempered glass and optional insulated glass will keep your garage secure against the elements and potential breakage.
• Low maintenance: Glass garage doors require little maintenance other than the occasional cleaning with glass cleaner.

Cons of Glass Paneled Garage Doors

While there are many pros to glass garage doors, they have a few concerns as well. Here are some things to keep in mind:

• Heaviness: Glass paneled garage doors can be weighty and require an upgraded garage door opener to handle the extra heft.
• Higher costs: Glass garage doors tend to be more expensive compared to traditional garage doors.
• A very specific appearance: The minimalist design of glass garage doors may clash with homes that don’t already possess a similarly modern look.
• A lack of insulation: Regular glass garage doors don’t offer much insulation. While optional insulated glass can offer increased insulation, it’s not quite as effective as traditional doors.
• Noticeable defects: If your glass garage door starts to break, the cracks will be noticeable.

How Much Does a Glass Garage Door Cost?

Glass overhead doors can often cost close to and over $1000. While you may occasionally find a garage door for a price closer to a thousand, the most common price range is over a thousand to several thousand dollars. Custom sizing requests and nonstandard materials could drive the price up even more. In addition, the average garage door installation can cost several hundred to over a thousand dollars, so you’ll have to consider that when you start budgeting.

How Can I Customize My Glass Garage Door?

We understand that everyone has their own tastes and visions for how they want their home to appear. It’s for this reason that residential glass garage doors come with many parts that can be customized.

1. Framework

A garage with glass doors generally incorporates a metal frame for each glass panel to help strengthen the overall door. Oftentimes the metal used for this framework is aluminum, and you can customize the color to your desired design.

2. The Glass Itself

The options for the glass used in glass panel garage doors are often tempered glass or clear acrylic, offering the appearance of glass. Tempered glass is much more resistant to breaking than standard glass. If it does sustain damage, it will break into smaller connected pieces that will present significantly less danger to nearby people. Acrylic is also more shatter-resistant than standard glass, although it’s more likely to scuff.

If these options still don’t sound strong enough, you could also install insulated glass to add an extra layer of protection. Insulated glass can make your garage more comfortable and conserve electricity during the heating and cooling seasons.

3. Glass Garage Door Window Styles

If you don’t want a garage door entirely made of glass, glass garage door windows come in many shapes and sizes based on your preferences. You could get windows that stretch the entire width or small windows to accent a portion of the door. Windows let you add glass elements to wooden and steel garage doors.

4. Opacity

The opacity of the glass can be adjusted to produce a variety of effects. Perhaps you don’t want to let in much light, or you want to increase privacy in your garage while enjoying the sleek look of a glass door. Whatever your reason, there’s an opacity option for you. Some popular options for glass garage door opacity include:

• Clear: Clear is the standard appearance of glass, completely transparent for full view doors.
• Obscured: This option uses textured glass that lets in some natural light without revealing anything inside the garage.
• Frosted: Frosting gives the glass a white appearance that diffuses natural light while obscuring visibility.
• Tinted: Tinted glass appears dark and semitransparent, allowing some visibility through the glass.
• Mirrored: Glass doors can also have a one-way mirror application. The outside face has a metallic appearance, while the inside face offers visibility outside.

5. Other Features

Here are a few other features available for glass garage doors: 

• Insulation: Insulation is an optional upgrade for glass garage doors that can be customized to some degree. While standard doors are uninsulated, insulated glass panels can increase energy efficiency.
• Color: The color of a glass garage door, also known as tint, can be customized to compliment whatever colors are already present in your home.
• Texture: The texture of the windows can be customized to have a non-smooth surface which can add an extra degree of gravitas.

What Are the Best Windows for Glass Garage Doors?

Many people stick to obscured or textured glass garage doors with aluminum framing that incorporates tempered, insulated glass. This can provide a sleek design to your garage that provides some of the key benefits of having a glass garage door while maintaining your privacy. The tempered or insulated glass will also make sure that your garage can resist the elements.

Where to Get Glass Garage Doors in North Carolina

Glass garage doors require professional installation. If installed improperly, they can cause potential harm to people and your belongings. Thankfully, you can trust the experienced team at Garage Door Specialists. which has been installing garage doors for over 45 years. Our team in North Carolina will be sure to carefully install the door to make certain that it’s secure and functional. 

Take a look at some of our modern glass and aluminum garage doors in our catalog to see what we have available. Then, request an estimate or give us a call so we can figure out how to best meet your needs.