There's more to choosing a garage door in an historic district than price.

Richard Johnson, who owns a home on East Market Street in Bethlehem, took his research to City Hall Aug. 3 for the monthly Historical and Architectural Review Board meeting. Johnson has three garage doors that are past their prime and in need of being replaced.

This wasn't his first time before HARB. At a prior meeting, the members asked Johnson to look into getting panel garage doors that are smooth, versus the rippled surface of molded doors created to look like wood. Board member Marsha Fritz was quick to point out with another resident that it's a false assumption that wood surfaces are uneven. Wood surfaces like that of clapboard are smooth, she said.

Through his research, Johnson found garage doors that fit his needs, but one thing was a problem. They didn't match HARB's recommendation to be smooth. So he did some research and came to the meeting with a variety of photos and findings to share with the members.

"I walked 21 blocks in Bethlehem," Johnson said, "and I took a survey of what the doors consisted of."

Most of his trek was through the alleys. What he found consisted of more than 45 garage doors, with two that were steel paneled and only five that faced a traveled street. All of the rest were in the alleys, where no one travalleys, where no one travels, Johnson said.

He also researched what manufacturers are making from wood and discovered that the wood doors are styled like carriage doors, Johnson said, with hinges on the side. This style means that the doors open like regular doors. They don't go up like most garage doors do today.

So Johnson proposed a grain-style, three-layered door with a baked enamel surface. He said it is thicker than most metal garage doors, but still economical. The better-quality metal door will last longer than those that are thinner. He said he found many examples of that type of garage door within the historic district.

"It's very, very difficult to get a smooth surface in a paneled door," he told HARB.

Johnson added that the textured panels hide dings, which is a benefit over a smooth surface door because it looks more attractive longer.

He told HARB the forest green garage doors he chose were the closest to what he already has installed.

Fred Bonsall, chairman of the review board, said he didn't think that what Johnson chose was detrimental to the district.

The board decided to approve the garage doors Johnson wants to purchase. They noted that he did his best to find a smooth paneled garage door, but was not able to find it. For that reason, the textured garage doors were approved.