It wasn't that long ago that garage doors were used only to -- well -- protect the garage and its contents. But recently that has changed. Creative home and business owners are now frequently using garage doors in unexpected ways and locations. Why? Because today's garage doors are not just a convenient way to protect a large opening. They can also open up a building to the outside world, and some garage doors -- especially glass ones -- are also very beautiful. The following are a few creative ways you can incorporate garage doors into your structure.

To Create Interior Office Spaces

In some large offices with open floor plans, creative Millennials have started using garage doors to carve out private space as needed. When the garage doors are up, the office area is airy, open and free flowing, which is popular with many start-ups and high-tech companies, such as Google. But even in these types of offices, there are still times when employees need private spaces. For example, it's hard to hold a business meeting out in the open, so for those times, garage doors can be pulled down to create conference rooms of varying sizes. 

Opening a Structure to the Outside

On nice days, restaurant and bar patrons often enjoy having their meals al fresco, so a number of these types of businesses have decided to replace a wall or two with glass garage doors. Why? Because when the doors are up, this allows free flowing movement for patrons and employees between the interior and exterior of the building. It also helps servers out because they no longer have to negotiate large trays of food through a narrow door. In addition, the open wall space gives the entire restaurant or bar a more airy atmosphere. 

Surprisingly, a number of homeowners are also using garage doors to create an airier atmosphere in their houses. When down, a glass garage door looks just like a large floor-to-ceiling window. But when raised, the home takes on a larger feeling, especially if the area just outside the garage door has been turned into an outdoor living space. 

Barns

Some barn owners have also turned to using garage doors instead of standard doors. With horses, it is best to use taller doors designed for recreational vehicles, as traditional garage doors may be too low and a rearing horse could strike its head. Barn owners have found that garage doors do have their good and bad points, including:

Pros:

• Easy to open, especially if you choose to install a remote-controlled garage door. 
• Door can be closed from a distance with the remote.
• Can give a barn an airier feeling when open.
• Up-and-over garage doors won't get blocked by snow like a traditional sliding barn door can. 

Cons:

• They can't be partially cracked on days when you want to get just a little air in the barn. Of course, you can always partially raise the garage door for a similar effect. 

Garage Door Maintenance

If you do decide to have garage doors installed, make sure that the company that does the work leaves you the manual in the event that you run into problems with the door. It's also important to have the phone number of a 24-hour emergency garage door service, because the last thing you want is to have your entire house or business left open to the outside world because of a broken door. 

And if one of your springs should break, you will need to call a garage door service immediately. Garage doors are heavy and difficult for non-professionals to work on and can be dangerous if they should fall. So that is why it is always in everyone's best interest to call a garage door repair service as soon as possible in the event of a broken spring.