Garage Door Upgrade Continues to Return Home Renovation Value

DALLAS, Jan. 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Homeowners seeking a renovation project that will add long-term value and attract buyers should consider a facelift for their garage, a national study on remodeling costs and value has found.

At a time when buyers are evaluating homes based on curb appeal and online photos, the 2011-2012 Cost vs. Value Report released last month by Remodeling magazine confirms that replacement of a basic garage door with a mid-range or upscale model is one of the smartest and best value buys prior to a home sale.  

Statistics show that more than 90 percent of home buyers turn to the Internet first in their home searches, often basing their decisions to learn more about a property from the photos they see of a home's exterior. With large portions of a home's facade often comprised of a street-facing garage door, it's no surprise that garage door replacement is, for the second year in a row, rated among the best home renovation projects for returning value at resale. 

At 71.9 percent on average, mid-range garage door replacement is a top-five improvement for return on investment (ROI), the Cost vs. Value Report found, ahead of both bathroom and major kitchen remodels. Meanwhile, an upscale garage door replacement delivers a 71.1 percent ROI, making it the second highest-rated upscale improvement.   

The survey's results confirm what industry leaders, like Dallas-based Overhead Door Corporation, the nation's leading manufacturer of overhead doors and openers for residential, commercial and industrial construction applications, have been saying for years.

"Many homes incorporate a design that places a garage front and center to a home's view from the curb," said Joe Dachowicz, Vice President of Marketing at Overhead Door Corporation. "Because of this, garage door replacement is, and always has been, a great investment because it's a relatively low-cost improvement that makes a dramatic impact on a home's curb appeal." 

Along with enhanced curb appeal, garage door replacement can also deliver a boost to energy efficiency, Dachowicz said. Overhead Door's complete line of Thermacore® insulated steel garage doors feature a continuous layer of foamed-in-place polyurethane insulation sandwiched between two layers of rust-resistant, corrosion-resistant steel. Thermacore® doors also feature in-between section thermal seals and bulb-type bottom weather seals for superior resistance to moisture. 

"This year's Cost vs. Value Report revealed that homeowners continue to look for projects that improve curb appeal and reduce maintenance and operational costs," Dachowicz said. "By upgrading an old garage door with an insulated one, homeowners can achieve both goals with one project."

Finding the right garage door is easy, Dachowicz said, thanks to Overhead Door's Access Solutions Division network of 64 regional sales centers and more than 5,000 distributors in the U.S. and Canada, which carry Overhead Door and Wayne-Dalton brand products. Home owners can find a distributor using Overhead Door's online distributor locator.

The 2011-2012 Cost vs. Value survey determined that garage door replacement was a top-five value-returning project after evaluating a typical $1,500 cost to replace a basic garage door with a mid-range garage model. The survey determined the value of that replacement at home sale to be nearly $1,100. This equates to a 71.9 percent ROI and is the fourth-highest rated project a homeowner can undertake, according to the study. Meanwhile, the roughly $3,000 cost to replace a mid-range model with an upscale one had an estimated value at sale of about $2,130, equating to a 71.1 percent return. 

Now in its 25th year, the Cost vs. Value Report is conducted in partnership with the National Association of Realtors. Hanley Wood, publisher of Remodeling magazine, asks NAR members nationwide to evaluate a variety of home remodeling jobs and then project the ROI homeowners could expect to receive when they sell their homes. The study details not only the national average value returned on common renovation projects, but the expected ROI in nine U.S. regions and 80 U.S. cities. For access to detailed renovation data on the go, an iPhone-app is also available through the Apple iTunes store.   

About Overhead Door Corporation
Overhead Door Corporation, based in Dallas, Texas, is a leading manufacturer of doors and openers for residential, commercial, industrial and transportation applications. The company has four divisions: Access Solutions Division (ASD), which features the Overhead Door and Wayne-Dalton brands; The Genie® Company, manufacturer of remote-controlled garage door opening systems; Horton Automatics, a manufacturer of automatic entrance systems; and TODCO, the largest producer of truck doors for the transportation industry. Overhead Door Corporation created the original overhead garage door in 1921 and the first electric garage door opener in 1926. Overhead Door Corporation's ASD now employs more than 3,200 people, has 22 manufacturing facilities, 64 regional sales centers and more than 5,000 distributors and dealers that service national builders, national accounts, architects, general contractors and homeowners, as well as major retailers in the U.S. and Canada. Overhead Door Corporation is a subsidiary of Sanwa Holdings Corporation of Tokyo, Japan. For additional information, visit www.overheaddoor.com, our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter.

SOURCE Overhead Door Corporation