The first thing that comes to mind for most people when it comes to the garage, is car parking space. But it was not always like that. Let’s talk about garage door history.
Did you know?
An interesting fact you probably did not know: the basic idea of a garage existed even before cars were invented. The main use of the garage was to park carriages, and at a later stage, the garage was used to house horses and other means of transportation.
The change starts:
As the time passed and the garage purpose changed, the garage door had to tag along and change accordingly. In the beginning, a garage door was mostly made of wood and opened outwards manually. Today, although you can still find wooden doors in the market, most garage doors are made of aluminum, vinyl, and steel. These materials are lighter and more durable and therefore require less maintenance. Not to mention that they are better for the environment.
The development of technology has made it easier for all of us when it comes to convenience when opening the garage door. While in the past you had to open the door manually, today you can open your garage door with a simple push of a button and in recent years even through your smartphone.
In the early years of 1900, the first automobile was invented by Henry Ford, and by 1913 he started mass producing vehicles in America.
The first automobile had no roof, so they had to find shelter to protect it from the rain. In those days, the vehicles were parked inside the carriage houses and barns together with the horses. Carriage houses were rarely attached to homes, unlike today’s homes that have attached garages. The function of the carriage house, translated into today’s garage.
the first overhead garage door
In 1921 C.G. Johnson invented the first overhead garage door. The door was operated manually and was the basis for the garage door we know and use today. A few years later he took another big step by inventing the electric door opener. Remember that the doors those days were made of wood? Wooden doors are very heavy. The significant improvement today is that people do not need to open and close the door manually.
In the 50’s and ’60s, they began to make vehicles for families which, of course, needed to be larger. In addition, people purchased more than one vehicle per household, which led to the need for larger and more spacious garages. Also, In those years the garage began to get closer to the house physically.
During the 70’s, people understood that they needed to find a suitable alternative for the wooden door. It was a very heavy door that needed a lot of maintenance. During the 70’s and then in the 80’s manufacturers started to use aluminum, steel, and fiberglass for making garage doors.
Unfortunately, in the 80’s there were many garage door accidents and even a few deaths due to the carelessness of operating garage door openers.
garage door safety
This led to the beginning of the awareness and importance of garage door safety. In the early 90’s the regulation and law enforced the obligation to install safety sensors in any automatic garage door opener.
And now…
In the 2000s, vintage designs began to emerge again alongside modern-style designs.
The Evaluation of garage doors and openers has come a long way since the beginning of time. Today garage door openers are much safer and very affordable. The variety of garage doors and designs today is endless lots of colour choices and lots of modern designs.
Have questions about garage door history? Need help finding the perfect door for you? Feel free to read “What should you consider when you come to choose your new garage door?” or just pick up the phone and our expert consultants will be happy to help!
