By Steven Soderberg, Lorin Industries, Inc.
The once-in-a-century pandemic has caused great disruptions in our lives and in the economy, causing many problems, but also opening up new perspectives and possibilities. One surprising example is the garage door, the ubiquitous and increasingly prominent feature of single-family home design and construction.
The bad news is that supply-chain complications have led to a shortage of garage doors, which turns out to be a major contributing factor in slowing the pace of home building despite the unusually high demand for housing. Prices of garage doors have doubled or tripled, and very long lead times regularly delay closings and payment to builders.
The good news is that the supply chain disruptions have also led to manufacturers exploring alternative materials, most notably accelerating the adoption of anodized aluminum for their panels as an alternative to wood, painted steel, and fiberglass.
Engineers, designers, and manufacturers have preferred anodized aluminum for many commercial and residential building applications, due to its beauty, formability, and durability, and now garage door manufacturers are increasingly recognizing its positive benefits compared to outdated panel materials.
Anodized aluminum is not only a readily available option to garage door panel manufacturers for this scarce component, but they also provide a long-lasting luxury look.
Anodized aluminum provides a beautiful, lasting look with deep, rich and consistent color that makes a statement by reflecting and absorbing light in a way that paint simply cannot match.
Unlike painted metal, anodized aluminum is not flat, static, or one dimensional. Depending on the angle from which it is viewed, it can achieve ever changing looks due to variables such as the amount of light, time of day, or even the time of year.
Anodized aluminum is available in multiple colors. For garage door panels, Lorin is featuring from its collection of anodized aluminum, four distinct colors: ColorIn® BlackMatt offers a rich, consistent black matte finish with a unique degree of depth and striking reflective properties that won’t fade. ColorIn® Dark Bronze simulates the appearance of bronze. Lorin’s Medium Antique Copper option matches the appearance of antique copper, but, unlike copper, does not oxidize or patina. ClearMatt® is matte aluminum that showcases the beauty of natural metal with the unique finish that can only be achieved with Lorin anodized aluminum.
Read more about Lorin’s anodized aluminum for garage doors here: https://www.kb-resource.com/blogs/availability-aesthetics-durability-anodized-aluminum-garage-door-panels-offer-multiple-advantages/.