After homes, literally, garages are the most important investment made by many homeowners.

A garage safeguards other valuable investments, such as cars, recreational vehicles, tools and keepsakes.

"We make all of our garages with conventional framing, the same as a house," said Denny Steele, manager of Bull Dog Garage Builders in Valencia.

Steele, who has built garages for 20 years, said that like a house, all garages must meet state and local ordinances.

"When we meet a customer, it is to see the site, make sure the building they want will fit, and if it's legal to build, to their specifications as well as with the zoning," Steele said.

Bull Dog's top garages, available in almost any size, measured in 2-foot increments, are maintenance-free models.

"Maintenance-free includes vinyl siding, insulated steel garage doors and 25- to 40-year shingles on the roof," Steele said.

Quality A Garage of Youngstown, Ohio, has been in business for 16 years, constructing between 80 and 100 garages annually, with Butler being its main area of operation for five years.

"A lot of people now ask for two-story buildings, to convert the top to an apartment, business or simply storage space," said owner Martin Linton.

"We stay quite busy building everything from garages and carports to horse barns and other outbuildings," he said.

But with garages doubling as recreational spaces, Linton has expanded his interior work to include insulation and interior drywall. In some cases, garages become something else entirely.

"Possibly because of the current economy, people are investing more money into their homes and garages, in lieu of selling. I have done several homes this year where we converted the attached garage into a recreation room, kitchen, or spare bedroom, then built a separate attached garage," Linton said.

While most buyers want their garage to be built like, or become a part of, their home, the door is an exception.

Scott Wissinger, a sales and service employee at Gerry Giel Garage Doors in Butler, said advances in garage door technology are making products more reliable and more functional while staying pleasing to the eye.

"Mostly people are leaning toward higher-end insulated steel doors, due to the energy tax break," Wissinger said.

Buyers are eligible for a 30-percent tax break on such doors.

Less efficient wooden doors are becoming a rare sight.

"They are kind of a thing of the past, due to the upkeep. Now there are carriage-style doors that simulate the wooden doors," Wissinger said.

Those steel doors have an oak finish called "ultra-grain."

Garage door openers have remained relatively untouched, with the exception of Home-Link technology, which allows drivers to program their garage door opener's signal into a button on their vehicle's visor, saving the hassle and battery cost of a traditional remote.

Once the button is pressed, newer garage door openers benefit from more power and a smoother ride.

"The belt drive is much quieter than a chain-in-sprocket, and ¾-horsepower motors are preferred over ½-horsepower ones since they are more powerful," Wissinger said.

As opposed to chain drive, the ones with steel-belted drives are whisper-quiet and have a lifetime warranty. Nylon rollers in the door tracks, instead of steel, contribute to noise reduction.

However, there is still no such thing as a maintenance-free garage door.

"To do it properly, you should (perform) maintenance (on) your door once a year. Any movable part on the door should be lubricated and you should check the belt tension," Wissinger said.

Despite the nylon rollers, he said WD-40 or another such lubricant should be used on the door track, as well as the door's bearings.