Everything You Need to Know About Garage Door Windows

Date: August 8, 2018

With up to a 98.3% return on investment, it’s safe to say that replacing your garage door is a fantastic choice for adding value and curb appeal to your home. Be sure to give your new garage door added style and sophistication by incorporating windows into your design. Let’s take a look at some garage door window basics, the benefits of windows, and the options that are available to you.

Garage Door Window Terminology

When it comes to garage door windows, there may be a lot of terms you’re unfamiliar with. Here, we list out common phrases with their definitions so you can fully understand the components of your garage door windows.

• Garage Door Windows — Large areas of glass in a door that may or may not have inserts/grilles.
• Garage Door Lites — Smaller areas of glass in a single window area that are defined by inserts/grilles.
• Garage Door Window Inserts/Grilles — Divides a large pane of glass into smaller lites that mimic older, historical window unit styles.
• True Divided Lite (TDL) Windows — Each piece of glass is separated and has its own structural frame and interior stop. If one lite breaks, only the broken lite will need to be replaced. Because of the number of actual windows, this is a more expensive option.
• Simulated Divided Lite (SDL) Windows — A large, single pane of glass with decorative, exterior inserts/grilles that visually divide the large area of glass into smaller lites, giving the illusion of True Divided Lites. If there is breakage, the entire piece of window glass will need to be replaced.

Garage Door Window FAQs

What’s the Benefit of Having Garage Door Windows?

Window configurations can be worked into garage door designs to mimic and enhance the existing architecture of your home. The benefits don’t stop there, though! Garage door windows can be customized to suit a home’s unique style. They allow natural light to enter garages, helping to decrease energy bills and increase aesthetic appeal. Plus, you can choose between TDL and SDL windows to meet the needs of your budget.

Are Garage Door Windows Safe?

Yes! There are multiple options that you can choose to maximize garage safety and security. If you’re worried about visibility, textured and opaque specialty glass styles prevent anyone from seeing your garage interior, while still letting natural light in. If you’re worried about durability or potential break-ins, tempered and laminated specialty glass prevent breakage.

Can You Replace Garage Door Windows?

Our garage doors have incorporated stops that hold the window glass in place. These stops can be removed from the back of the door to replace broken glass or upgrade to a specialty glass.

Replacing or adding window inserts/grilles to a door can be complex and will depend on how the door was originally made. If your original garage door design incorporated inserts/grilles, they can be replaced with new ones. If the door was designed without inserts/grilles, it may not be possible to add any to it. You can consult with your door manufacturer to see if it’s a possibility for your door.

Garage Door Window Styles & Configurations

Garage door windows come in all shapes, sizes, and styles. They can be placed in any configuration on your doors that you desire. Take a look at the basic window styles and examples of typical, unique, and custom garage door window configurations.

Basic Garage Door Window Styles

Square Style Windows

This window style describes windows that have 90 degree angles in all corners.

Example:

Arched Style Windows

This style describes windows with bottom corners that have 90 degree angles, and top corners with angles that are less than 90 degrees.

Typical Garage Door Window Configurations

If you have a certain door style in mind but aren’t sure about the window configurations, don’t fret! We’ve listed the door styles out for you and provided information on the most popular glass configurations that go with them.

Swing Style Garage Doors

These doors commonly feature two sets of glass. Check out this example from our Symphony line:

Trifold Style Garage Doors

These doors commonly feature three sets of glass.

Bifold Style Garage Doors

These doors commonly feature four sets of glass. Check out this example from our Medallion line:

Barn Style Garage Doors

These doors commonly feature minimal glass accents, if any at all. Check out these two examples from our Medallion line:

With Glass

Without Glass

Unique Garage Door Window Configurations

While they’re not as commonly used, mullioned and prairie window configurations are still great options. Mullioned lites have a wide stile that separates sets of windows, while prairie lites have inserts/grilles that mirror the frame. Check out examples of these below:

Mullioned Lites

Prairie Lites

Custom Style Garage Door Window Configurations

All of our garage doors are completely customizable, and that includes windows configurations! Your garage door can feature any number of glass sets that you desire. Check out some of these examples:

Medallion Custom Door

Garage Door Window Glass Options

We offer a range of window glass options, allowing you to choose the perfect type that fits your needs. Take a look at our comparison guide to figure out whether standard or specialty glass would work best for your garage door.

How to Clean Garage Door Windows & Lites

Keep your garage door looking pristine by cleaning the windows regularly. Simply use this simple procedure!

What you’ll need:

• Distilled water
• White vinegar
• Empty spray bottle
• Clean, microfiber cloth
• Cotton swabs or soft toothbrush
• Newspaper

1. Mix one part white vinegar with four parts water in the spray bottle.
2. Spray the mixture on the microfiber cloth.
3. Start on either the interior or exterior side of the garage door. Rub the glass surface in a circular motion, then wipe vertically and horizontally to remove all spots and leave a clean, streak-free shine.
4. Spray the end of a cotton swab or soft toothbrush.
5. Use the swab or toothbrush to remove any dirt or debris at the corners or edges of the windows.
6. Polish the glass by buffing the surface with a newspaper.
7. Repeat on the other side of the garage door windows.

19 Homemade Garage Door Plans You Can DIY Easily

Powered garage doors can be extremely expensive to buy – and they’re not cheap when it’s time to repair them, either. This means there’s lots of money to be saved by those willing to try to improvise designs by themselves.

If that sounds like something you might be interested, we’ve had a look online to see what other people have been doing – and here are our top 19 DIY garage door plans that you might want to attempt at home.

1. Garage Door Makeover

Garage doors don’t come cheap, especially when you need them for a vintage home. But if you want to save yourself some cash, you can try making one yourself instead – as long as you have the right plan to follow.

With these instructions, you’re given a list of the tools and materials you need, and the plan then takes you through all the necessary steps to complete the project successfully. A well-written and detailed plan that’s well worth checking out.

2. A Wood One-Piece Garage Door

In this video, this YouTuber shows you how he made a one-piece garage door from a sheet of wood. Most of it consists of a time-lapse shot that shows them working on it, and it’s fun to watch as the project takes shape.

It’s simple to copy too, so you shouldn’t have any trouble replicating this idea at home if you want to make one of your own.

3. Homemade Carriage House Garage Doors

If you’re looking for a plan that will show you how to build classic carriage house garage doors, you’ve come to the right place.

The plans on the Instructables website are always well-written, easy to follow and accompanied by lots of useful photos and illustrations – and this one is no exception.

We love the garage doors in the first photo – and if you want the same for your home, this plan will show you how to do it.

4. Installing an Overhead Garage Door

If you have a garage door and you need to know how to install it, this video could be what you are looking for.

The presenter in the video explains everything you need to know carefully and in great detail, so if you aren’t feeling confident about doing it yourself, this video should help.

It’s a long video, but after watching it through, you should feel much more ready to install your garage door without the need to call in a pro.

5. How to Build a Garage Door

As this blog points out, garage doors can be expensive, but if you have the right equipment and skills – and a desire to have a go yourself – it’s possible to build one yourself for a lot less.

The instructions are easy to follow – although to be honest, a few images would have helped – and by following these simple steps, you will be able to build a garage door of your own.

6. Build Carriage Doors for Garage

Here’s a great video plan if you’re looking for instructions to build a set of carriage doors for your garage. We like the way he starts out with his sketches to make clear what he wants to achieve.

He then takes you through all the steps he took to turn the diagrams into reality – and we have to say, we love the results. Another interesting and useful plan to watch.

7. Inexpensive DIY Garage Door

In this plan, you will learn how to save yourself potentially thousands of dollars by making your own DIY garage door instead of buying one and having it installed by a professional.

As this blog page explains, there are several different types to choose from – you simply need to decide which one you prefer and then set about making it.

8. Replacing Garage Doors with Barn Doors

As you will probably be aware, mechanical chain-driven garage doors can sometimes be more trouble than they are worth. They are expensive to buy, are prone to going wrong – and can cost a fortune if you need to repair or replace them.

Instead, here’s a simpler solution – take off your old garage door and install a barn door instead. Want to know how? Then check out this video.

9. Easy DIY Steps to Build a Sliding Door for Your Garage

Here is a guide for making a sliding door for your garage in eight easy steps. If you search online, you might find some sites telling that DIYing garage doors can be dangerous.

However, if we’re talking about this kind of sliding door, there’s much less to worry about. A clear plan with lots of useful information – well worth a read.

10. How to Make a Wood Garage Door

There are lots of intricate and complicated plans for DIY garage doors that will cost you almost as much as buying a new one.

This plan, on the other hand, is super-simple, will cost you no more than $200 and can be completed in only one day.

If that sounds like the kind of plan you’re looking for, it’s well worth a watch.

11. DIY Ideas for Garage Door Makeovers

This plan is a little different. It doesn’t show you how to make a garage door – instead, it gives you five ideas for how to give your existing garage door a fresh new look.

We love the photos, and the ideas are very easy to copy, so if you want to give your home a makeover, this is a great source of inspiration.

12. Building Custom Cheap Garage Doors

In this video, we see how a YouTuber built his own custom garage doors as part of a larger project to construct a whole garage himself.

In fact, as he explains in the introduction to this video, these doors were a challenge that he didn’t particularly relish.

However, he got the job done, and you can see how by watching his video.

13. Ways to Fix Your Garage Door

If your garage door is giving you problems, you might need to get on the phone and call in a repairman. Except that might set you back quite a bit of money – which will be a waste if it’s something you can fix yourself.

In this plan, you’ll find out about three common garage door issues and how to fix them. Worth trying before you pick up the phone.

14. DIY Garage Door Upgrades

In this video, we learn how to make three simple upgrades to garage doors that you can DIY in one day or less.

As we’ve mentioned before, you don’t always have to call out a pro to take care of all the garage door-related work that might need to be done.

Instead, there’s plenty you can finish by yourself – as this video demonstrates.

15. When to DIY and When Not to DIY a Garage Door

As we’ve already mentioned, sometimes doing DIY work on a garage door can be dangerous if you don’t have the right knowledge or skills.

That means, before deciding whether to undertake a DIY project, you need to be realistic about whether your abilities will be up to the task.

To help you decide, you can check out this blog first and then make a more informed choice.

16. Hangar Style Bifold Door

This is a video showing you how this YouTuber made a very “DIY” door for his shed – he calls it a shed, but it may as well be a garage, and you can build doors like these for your garage too.

The design is actually quite ingenious, and if you think you might want to have a go at making something like this yourself, this video has all the info you need.

17. DIY Garage Door Installation Instructions

This page isn’t exactly a plan for building a DIY garage door – however, it still contains some useful information that you might need to know if you are thinking about having a go.

It has plenty of invaluable tips for before you start, making it worth a look before you kick off your project.

18. DIY Electric Garage Door: Crazy but it Works

First of all, we love the intriguing title of this YouTube video – if that doesn’t make you want to watch it, we don’t know what will.

Once you start watching, though, you’ll see that it lives up to its name. A creative idea, for sure, but if it works…well, why not?

19. Garage Door Won’t Open: DIY Garage Door Repair Tricks

Here is another page that gives you some advice about how to carry out DIY repairs on your garage door rather than building a new one or replacing it entirely.

Sometimes when a garage door isn’t working perfectly, people just call out the repairman without even trying to look for the problem.

However, if you read this page and follow these simple steps, you might not need to call anybody out because you can fix it yourself.

A challenging project – but still possible

Making your own garage door isn’t as simple as something like painting a fence, but if you have the skills and determination, it’s something that’s perfectly achievable.

We’ve seen some highly creative ideas while searching for these plans for you. We hope you enjoyed reading and watching them as much as we did finding them – and above all, we hope we’ve helped you find what you need for your own DIY garage door project.