Denver's garages are as varied as its neighborhoods. Bungalows and Denver Squares in the older parts of the city often have a detached garage on the alley, built long before anyone drove an SUV. Postwar ranch homes have attached single or double garages, and newer construction includes townhomes with tuck-under garages and large homes at the city's edges.
The climate adds its own pressures: dry air and strong sun at a mile high, freeze-thaw cycles all winter, heavy wet spring snow and frequent hail along the Front Range. This page is about Denver, Colorado, not the North Carolina town of the same name, and covers what breaks, why, and what to do about it.
Alley garages and older detached doors
Plenty of detached alley garages in central Denver still have one-piece doors, aging wood sectional doors or a manual door that has never had an opener. Typical problems include rotted bottom panels, sagging framing that pinches the door and too little headroom for a modern track system.
Most of these garages can take a new sectional door with low-headroom track hardware, and a wall-mount opener frees the ceiling where space is tight. Because an alley garage is out of sight from the house, a smart opener that warns you when the door is left open is a sensible security upgrade.
Hail, sun and dry air
Front Range hail can dent a thin steel door in minutes. If you are replacing one, an insulated door with a thicker skin, or a composite door, holds up better and hides small dings. After a storm, document the damage with photos and speak to your insurer before repairs start.
Dry air and high-altitude sun are hard on wood. Wood doors, and the wood jambs and trim around steel doors, crack and peel unless they are painted or sealed regularly. Side and top weatherstripping shrinks and hardens too, leaving gaps that let in snow and cold air.
Snow, slush and magnesium chloride
Colorado road crews commonly use magnesium chloride and other deicers, and cars carry that slush into the garage all winter. It pools along the bottom of the door, where it attacks the seal retainer, the lower section's steel skin and the bottom brackets that anchor the lift cables. Rust there is more than cosmetic, because a corroded bottom bracket can let go under cable tension.
Rinse the floor near the door now and then during winter, keep any floor drain clear, and have a technician inspect the bottom brackets and cables once a year. March is often one of Denver's snowiest months, so do not put winter habits away too early.
Springs and cables in freeze-thaw country
Cold snaps have a way of finishing off springs that were already worn, and lift cables fray where they wrap the drums, especially once rust has set in. Look, but do not touch. A gap in a spring coil, a frayed strand or a cable that has jumped its drum means stop using the door and call for service, because those parts carry extreme tension.
Upgrading a Denver garage door
When it is time for something new, these upgrades suit local conditions:
- Insulated doors with a polyurethane core for attached garages and garages with living space above.
- Low-headroom track kits for older detached garages.
- Reinforcing struts on wide double doors.
- Belt-drive or wall-mount openers with battery backup for quiet operation and outage protection.
- Carriage-house styles for bungalows and Tudors, and flush modern panels for new infill homes.
Historic districts
If your home sits in a designated historic district or is an individual landmark, exterior changes may need review by the city's landmark preservation staff. Check before choosing a style that departs from the original, and keep the paperwork handy for your installer.
Last updated by the American Garage Door Team.