No more plain vanilla garage doors for today’s homeowners. According to a report published by Door & Access magazine, one out of every five residential garage doors sold in North America today is a carriage house style door.

Clopay’s Gallery Collection ranks among the top 5 most popular carriage house style garage doors sold by professional dealers who participated in the magazine’s survey.

Carriage house garage door category sales have tripled since 2005 and now account for almost 19 percent of dealers’ residential sales. Door & Access reporters attribute the growth to several factors.

Thanks to innovations in technology, garage door manufacturers have been able to close the affordability gap and introduce low-maintenance, steel carriage house design options that look like high-end wood doors. Dealers say that steel is the most requested construction material for this reason.

Increased curb appeal and resale value are also key contributors to the growing popularity of carriage house doors. “Homeowners don’t want their house to look like every other one on the block,” says Pat Lohse, Clopay’s vice president of marketing. “With so many different styles and colors available, carriage house garage doors are an easy and attractive way to make your exterior stand out.”

For those looking to add value to their homes, Remodeling magazine ranks garage door upgrades among the top 5 home improvement projects for return-on-investment, on average, nationwide. The most recent Cost vs. Value report shows that homeowners who spend between $1,500 and $2,700 on a new garage door can expect to recoup 75 percent of the cost at resale.

Clopay offers a variety of carriage house style garage door designs in steel, composite, and wood. The manufacturer recently received Home Builder Executive’s “2013 Gold Innovation Award” for its growing line of faux wood garage doors, which includes the Canyon Ridge® Collection Ultra-Grain® Series steel and composite carriage house door.

Call Superior Door Service to view Clopay’s residential carriage house garage door designs.