Garage Doors Dunwoody GA

A Brief History Of Garage Doors, From Then Until Now

The garage door has had a relatively long enduring history with the American homeowner, going as far back as the invention of the car itself and the need for somewhere to park it. When it became apparent that the carriage house, which stored the horse and carriage, was no place for a car, a new more appropriate structure was created. So the garage, and garage door, came into being.

It was C. G. Johnson in 1921 in Detroit, MI, who invented the upward-lifting garage door and named his company, the Overhead Door Corporation that exists and thrives to this day. In 1926 he invented the electric garage door opener. C. G. Johnson and Overhead Door Corporation are often credited with the initial manufacturing of garage doors.

Early on, and through the depression era, swinging garage doors, or bi-parting doors, were commonplace. This garage door replaced side-mounted hinges with an overhead track. Then in the 1930’s, the bi-parting doors gave way to bypassing doors. They were suspended from a track that was overhanging, where they would slide past each other. After WWII, a single-piece overhead door, which was cheaper, replaced bi-parting garage doors. A great many of post-WWII homes still have this design. They are found on a wide range of homes, and were built in double and single widths.

The post-WWII housing was often built quickly to accommodate the returning veterans in their quest to move to the suburbs and start families. As such, they didn’t always retain the durability of the now factory-built garage doors of today. They were built with hinges that were spring counterbalanced, making the electric garage door opener difficult to install. In 1958, the first pre-painted, commercial steel garage doors.

Following a pursuit of appropriate materials with which to build garage doors, the wooden door eventually fell out of favor after a long run, given their need for ongoing maintenance and the tendency to weather. In the 1970’s, most wooden garage doors were replaced by galvanized steel doors, and although wood is a better insulator, the steel door makers added a polystyrene insulation between two layers of steel.

In 1979, 62 percent of new homes contained a 2-car garage and that meant an ever larger demand for garage doors. Fiberglass garage doors came next and then a variety of composites like vinyl covered aluminum, much like aluminum siding for the house, where it was easy to match the garage doors with the house. In the mid-1980’s steel raised-panel garage doors became dominant with continuing demand.

Today manufacturers offer a variety of residential garage doors in steel, fiberglass, aluminum, vinyl and wood designs, including rolling doors, sectionals in a range of colors, glass and much more. What is old is new again, and the carriage house design too has become new again. Manufacturers offered homeowners first wooden carriage house garage door designs, but given the disadvantages, instead of the more costly and high maintenance wood design, steel carriage house designs were then offered, more successfully.

Especially from the 1970’s and forward, the convenience of automated garage doors became in demand, in particular. Like all automated devices, automated garage doors offered homeowners and commercial entities the convenience of easier access. The biggest issue that arose was safety, or the lack of it and following a series of tragic accidents with children getting trapped and over 73 fatalities among children alone, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) stepped in and declared that non-reversing automatic garage door openers are unsafe. The additional advice provided, included keeping the remote away from young children.

Garage Doors have changed since the early days. All Four Seasons Garage Doors is on the leading edge of all the latest developments. Call us- (770) 517-7078 or click All Four Seasons Garage Doors Dunwoody GA