Turning your garage into an art studio is a great way to optimise your space and give yourself a private spot to work on your craft. However, while setting up your studio, you may want to make sure your garage door is up to the task. Here are some tips, ideas and modifications you may want to implement:

1. Keep the garage door working and well maintained.

When people convert garages into living area, they sometimes build walls over where the roller doors are. For a lounge or a spare bedroom, this may be a great option, but for an art studio, you should keep the door intact. When you have a roller door you can open, it gives you a lot of possibilities from plein air painting, to creating ventilation while you work on a piece that involves a lot of paints or other materials with lots of VOCs (volatile organic compounds).

2. Consider adding a screen.

Unfortunately, whether you have your garage door open to provide an inspiring view or to allow in fresh air, leaves and other debris can blow in. That can mar your art or make your garage messy. To block out these elements, consider adding a screen to your garage door.

A screen hangs behind your roller door when it's closed, and then, when you open it, it covers the whole area, keeping out bugs and debris. You can buy a range of different screens, but privacy screens, in particular, allow you to look out, but they don't allow passersby the ability to look in and see your work in progress. If you like privacy while you work, a screen is a must.

3. Insist upon windows.

In most cases, it's impossible to keep your roller doors open all the time, and if you want to maximise the light in your studio, you may want to insist upon windows for your garage door. Keep in mind that in most cases, glass adds extra weight to your garage door, and as a result, if you add your own windows, you will need to work with a garage door repair person to adjust the drive chain on your garage door opener so it can accommodate the extra weight.

In addition to boosting light, windows can also help with ventilation. As a result, whether you are adding windows to an existing garage door or buying a garage door with built-in windows, you want ones that can open.

4. Add insulation to your garage door.

In almost every case where you convert a garage to a living space, you will need to insulate your door. Extra insulation helps keep hot air out during the summer and cold air out during the winter, and it also supports your heating or cooling efforts.

For people who are using their garages as living spaces, insulating the door keeps the space comfortable and helps avoid lofty heating and cooling bills. However, for people making the garage into an art studio, the insulation protects the art as well. In extreme temperatures, your paints may age prematurely, wood may warp, and your other materials may be affected as well.

To insulate your garage door, you can add a layer of spray insulation. Alternatively, you can purchase a kit designed for insulating garage doors. These kits contain pieces of foam board that you essentially glue onto the sections of your garage door.

5. Remember light and glare when painting or insulating your garage door.

Some garage door insulation kits contain insulating sheets with a radiant barrier featuring a metallic look. Ideally, you want to avoid this when adding insulation, as the metal can cause the light to bounce around which is not ideal when you are trying to create art. Similarly, if you decide to paint the inside of your garage door, stay away from light colours or metals that encourage the light to bounce around too much.

Want more tips on modifying your current garage door or buying a new one for your art studio? Then, contact a garage door expert from a company like Best Doors today.