FRESNO, Calif. — In Felicia Kitay's neighborhood, many of the homes have older garage doors that flip out to open. When one of her home's three-car garage doors "started acting up," she started searching for a new door. In the process of doing that, another door stopped working.

"They were crooked and horrible," said Kitay, a 45-year-old secretary who got new doors about a year ago.

As she looked for new doors for her garage, she had some ideas of what she wanted, such as windows.

"We had the wooden crank-out windows" on the house, she said. "I wanted the window panes (on the garage door) to match the windows in the house. I wanted the whole view to be the same. And I wanted a little light to come in."

Her new doors have windows similar to those on her home. "They're quiet. They're dependable and they're really attractive," she said.

Shopping for garage doors isn't a simple and easy task. You'd be amazed at the number of styles, decorative details and materials you can choose from.

"There are so many options," said Misty Esau, the office manager of Phillips Garage Door in Clovis, Calif. "So, depending on the look of the home, you can go with a lot of different styles."

To help you prepare for your search, here are some areas to consider:

• Roll up or flip out?

Sectional roll-up garage doors have three to four panels, and are 7 or 8 feet tall for single- or double-car garages or 14 feet for recreational vehicles. The doors have rollers that move along tracks. Shafts with torsion springs sit above the doors, attached with cable pulleys. The springs allow you to pick up the doors without them being dead weight, said Jerry Guinn, president of Fresno Overhead Door Co. "It's the counterbalance."

To use garage doors, there must be enough overhead above the door opening, at least 15 inches for standard ones. However, conversion kits are available for the track to allow for smaller overhead spaces. These need a minimum of 5 inches.

In older homes, garages may not allow enough room for these newer doors. The traditional garage doors that flip out or tilt out must be used, and they can still be bought — for now.

• Metal or wood?

Sectional garage doors can be made of aluminum, copper or the most common material, steel. Steel doors can be 24- to 27-gauge, with 24 being the thickest. Metal doors can be plain with no windows, have decorative hardware to give them a carriage house look, and have various raised or recessed panel designs.

The cost of basic noninsulated, 25-gauge steel doors for a single car garage can start at about $500 to $600, depending upon the style.

Wood options include recycled composite wood or solid wood. Composite wood garage doors can start at $1,000 to $2,000, depending on the style. Solid wood ones can start at $2,700 to $3,750, depending upon design and wood type.

• Safety and security

Some people might decide against windows on their garages because of safety concerns — namely, people peeking in. An option is frosted glass similar to that on shower doors. "It allows light to come in, but you can't see in," Esau said. The windows also can be tinted.

There are other benefits to getting windows, too.

"The biggest (selling point) on windows, or why we recommend them, is they're a large part of the front of your house," she said.

Window panels are available in short lengths (12 to 24 inches) and long (about 36 inches). Windows come in a number of styles; Windows typically are glass, but some manufacturers offer clear acrylic instead; it's harder to break, Guinn said.

If you're worried about fingers getting pinched in gaps between panels or in the rollers and tracks, some manufacturers make safety features, such as finger shields, for their doors.

• Ventilation

Basic garage doors don't have any kind of backing on the inside. If your garage was insulated during construction, you might consider getting an insulated garage door, too.

While it can help keep the garage a little cooler, where it will help the most is with radiant heat, Esau said. If you or your children touch the door from the inside, it won't be burning hot. Insulated doors have foam inside and some sort of backing, such as vinyl or steel.

But "if the garage isn't insulated and Sheetrocked, it doesn't make sense," she said.

Insulated models cost about $225 more than uninsulated ones, she said.

n Garage door opener options

There are three basic types of electric rail-type garage door openers: chain, screw and belt. A chain-drive opener has a chain that runs along the rail that helps open the door. It can be noisy and should be lubricated annually. Over time, the gear in the motor can strip and will need to be replaced.

A screw-drive opener has a long screw in the rail to help open the door. Older models should be lubricated. A small piece slides back and forth on the rail as the door opens and closes. The teeth inside the trolley can strip over time.

A belt-drive opener is similar to the chain-drive but uses a belt to help open the garage door. Some models come with backup batteries for short-term power outages. "It has no slack like a chain," Guinn said. If you have a heavy door, such as a wood one, a belt-drive opener is recommended to handle the weight. If the door is used often throughout the day, get one with higher horsepower.

An alternative to these door openers is one that uses no rail. Typically, the opener is attached to the bar that holds the spring. It opens the door by turning the bar. Cost of these openers start at $750 installed at Phillips Garage Door.

Openers typically come with sensors that should be placed no higher than 6 inches above the garage floor. They also may come with keyless-entry pads that you can install outside of the garage and remote controls. Burglars using the pads to get in haven't been a concern in the past, Lopez said.

Also, many garage doors have sliding locks. When you install a garage door opener, be sure to disable or remove it. You can damage the opener if your spouse slides the lock into place and then you try to open the garage when you come home later.

• Care tips

To make sure your garage door continues to operate, here are some maintenance suggestions from Esau and Guinn.

Lubricate all moving parts, such as hinges and the roller stems attached to the garage, every six months with a product such as WD-40. It's not necessary to lubricate the tracks on either side of the door.

Lubricate the spring above the door. You can use WD-40 or lightly pour on clean motor oil, Esau said. Wipe off any extra from the bottom.

If the spring breaks, do not touch it or try to adjust it. You can hurt yourself. Call a garage door expert to fix it.

If the garage door opens but won't close and you have an opener, check the sensors. Make sure they're aligned and aren't tilted. Use a Q-tip to clean the sensors of dust, dirt and cobwebs. Check the wires attached to the sensors to make sure they're still connected.

Don't lean brooms and other items with handles against the tracks. Should one fall into the track, it can prevent the door from closing properly.