Best garage door?
- Thread starter custom1
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Charles (in GA)
Well-known member
Do these need to match a house? or can they look a little more "industrial". Is this a detached garage? out in the country? In town? visible from the street?
Charles
Charles
Bencrx91
Well-known member
If you have Garaga in your area, get them, well worth the investment.
Insulation is R16 I think : http://www.garaga.com/garage-door-models.aspx
I bought 2 for my garage and I am very satisfied.
Insulation is R16 I think : http://www.garaga.com/garage-door-models.aspx
I bought 2 for my garage and I am very satisfied.
I'd say we're rural, the garage faces the road but is sorta behind the house. Looks are not as important as quality. I was going to go with a raised panel, but a friend said when you get that tall they look kind of odd. Maybe just go with a flush or thin stripe.
John
John
6768rogues
Banned
Talk to a company that puts in commercial garage doors. I have 3" thick foam filled doors with windows in one panel. I think they are Raynor, but I am not sure. Commercial doors are superior to residential units.
Ben, What model are your garaga doors? I got a quote for (2) Garaga model G-5000 solid, no windows, R-16 installed for $3106. The only other quote I have so far is for (2) Haas model# 616 R-12 for $2968.
6768, I don't think I have ever seen a door 3" thick. I will have to check out their website. All the companies I have called said it's a commercial door just because of the size.
John
6768, I don't think I have ever seen a door 3" thick. I will have to check out their website. All the companies I have called said it's a commercial door just because of the size.
John
nissan_crawler
Well-known member
I looked around quite a bit when I got a new door for my garage. The overhead door company (pace) in town had the best doors by far. Full steel wrap, 2 gauges lower than the next best door in town, r 9.6 insulation, 16x7 door. Cost me about $730 with all the necessary fasteners, the angle to attach the track to the ceiling, and the weather stripping.
I would not buy a door that wasn't a full steel wrap, personally. Much less fire hazard, easy to clean, hard to damage, and damn strong. I could pick up on end of the 16' panel and it wouldn't sag more than 2" across the span, and the panels are only 1.5" thick total.
Edit: Insulation is great. My garage is semi-heated from the house, and it went from 40* in winter up to 60* just with the insulated door, good weatherstripping, and the rubber seals between door panels.
I would not buy a door that wasn't a full steel wrap, personally. Much less fire hazard, easy to clean, hard to damage, and damn strong. I could pick up on end of the 16' panel and it wouldn't sag more than 2" across the span, and the panels are only 1.5" thick total.
Edit: Insulation is great. My garage is semi-heated from the house, and it went from 40* in winter up to 60* just with the insulated door, good weatherstripping, and the rubber seals between door panels.
Last edited:
MDH9252
Well-known member
John, check out the Amarr Door company's "Weathermaster" door. Steel on both sides, R value on the 1 3/8 standard door is around 11. Excellent door for the money....far better quality than the standard big chain stores.
I looked into the 2" commercial insulated doors... R value was around 15, but the price was very high.
I looked into the 2" commercial insulated doors... R value was around 15, but the price was very high.
nova65ss
Well-known member
The Amarr door actually was called the "Weatherguard" now it is the Stratford 3000. The R-Value is only 6.5 though, the Heritage 3000 is 2" thick and has an R-Value of about 9. If the R-Value is important to you I would look at their Olympus door it is a 2" thick door with an R-Value of R-14.
Ok, Got another quote today for (2) Wayne Dalton Model 5200 R-16 installed for $3121. I have a few more local places to call this week to get prices for Amarr. And on Saturday have a meeting with a guy I've bought a door from before that sells CHI brand. ( the one I bought before was not insulated, for a different project.) Anyone have experience with CHI? I think he will give me the best price.
Thanks Nova for the update on Amarr, I couldn't find weathergaurd on their site, now I know why.
Thanks Nova for the update on Amarr, I couldn't find weathergaurd on their site, now I know why.
Last year I needed some parts for an older door and talked to local garage door installer(we were contractorsfor 25+yrs)He had one amke on his own home that he wasn't happy.He recommended Garaga for my new garage.He said it was the 'only' door he could give an Made In America cert for,for commercial/govt work. Bob
I have a new Wayne Dalton Model 9400 Charleston. It has windows so it does reduce the R value. I like it very much, however the white on the V's dont match the white of the door. They are off a little and i am **** so it bothers me. I paid 2400.00 for a double door 20x8 and the top of the line liftmaster without the back up battery.
NSXSOON
Well-known member
Take a look at Hormann doors. I bought two of there doors three years ago when I built my home/garage addition and at the time they were the only company that could meet the Dade County building codes (toughest in the country) for an 18' x 9' high lift door.
These are the strongest and best built residential doors I have ever seen. Hormann is the largest door manufacture in Europe with there headquarters in Germany. Several years ago they set up a large plant here in the US, Tennessee I think, to supply the US market. German engineering and US manufacturing... can't get much better than that!!!
http://www.hormann.us/us/en/index.php
These are the strongest and best built residential doors I have ever seen. Hormann is the largest door manufacture in Europe with there headquarters in Germany. Several years ago they set up a large plant here in the US, Tennessee I think, to supply the US market. German engineering and US manufacturing... can't get much better than that!!!
http://www.hormann.us/us/en/index.php
Thanks for all the good info guys! So far I'm leaning toward the Garaga. But not sure yet. If you were thinking (like I did) that these quotes are a little high, its partly because of the need for low headroom tracks. I have a finished opening of 10' 10 1/2" and then 16" of header to the ceiling. So if I get a 11" high door I only have 14 1/2" above the door. I want to have openers later. This makes it really close for standard tracks. One company told me just go with the low headroom track and hold them up off the floor an inch or two, then when the door is up it will be completely out of the way of the opening. (does this make sense) I want as much height as possible to accommodate an RV later.
John
John
nova65ss
Well-known member
With 14 1/2 " of headroom you should be able to fit standard 12 radius track and an opener no problem. If you use sidemount openers there is no doubt it will work. I would only use low headroom track as a last alternative. They can also cut an inch or two off the verticals and definitely fit 12r and a drawbar operator.
I chose Haas doors for my garage. http://www.haasdoor.com/ I liked their 16.8 R value door, which uses an injected foam to fill all the voids in the door. Many doors just use a solid foam "block" insert, which leaves gaps in the insulation.
6768rogues
Banned
As a follow up on my 3" thick doors, they have windows that are real glass and double pane insulated. The doors have been performing well since 1993; I just replaced a wheel last week for the first time. There is one 16x7 and one 12x12, and they both have operators.
Do all these brands (Amarr, Haas, etc.) have the thermal break, where the outside and inside skins don't touch? Or is that just a gimmick?
Nova, I thought I could make standard track work. I have just been getting the quotes over the phone, so I think they have been reluctant to say it would work until they come out and measure, so they're just giving a worst case price.
I'm going to have to make a chart with all the pros and cons and prices and such. Maybe with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back.
John
Nova, I thought I could make standard track work. I have just been getting the quotes over the phone, so I think they have been reluctant to say it would work until they come out and measure, so they're just giving a worst case price.
I'm going to have to make a chart with all the pros and cons and prices and such. Maybe with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back.
John
Ok, I F-I-N-A-L-L-Y got my doors installed. I would like to thank everyone that replied. I appreciate all of your opinions and links.
I ended up going with the Garaga model G-5000, R-16. Got the price down to $3000 for the two doors installed. The feature that sold me the most is the perimeter seal, which they call a triple seal. It has one flap that goes behind the molding against the jamb and two flaps that contact the door surface. They also have a good seal between the panels with a true thermal break. There is no point putting up an R-16 door if the air can get around or thru it.
Another selling point was the company rep himself. I talked to a good many and a few came out to measure. Most didn't take the time to listen to my concerns ( head room for the openers, the floor is not in yet, etc), and one was down right rude. He was suppose to call me back with a quote, and when I called him after a month of waiting he ask me what I didn't like about the competition since I was still looking. WTH?? Why don't people just do their job? Anyway the Garaga guy actually listened and we decided to go with a 10' 9'' door and standard 12" radius track. I didn't want to go with the low headroom track, mainly because the cables hang outside the track so far. This left a 1 1/2" gap at the top of the door that required a filler strip.
Here are some pics.
I ended up going with the Garaga model G-5000, R-16. Got the price down to $3000 for the two doors installed. The feature that sold me the most is the perimeter seal, which they call a triple seal. It has one flap that goes behind the molding against the jamb and two flaps that contact the door surface. They also have a good seal between the panels with a true thermal break. There is no point putting up an R-16 door if the air can get around or thru it.
Another selling point was the company rep himself. I talked to a good many and a few came out to measure. Most didn't take the time to listen to my concerns ( head room for the openers, the floor is not in yet, etc), and one was down right rude. He was suppose to call me back with a quote, and when I called him after a month of waiting he ask me what I didn't like about the competition since I was still looking. WTH?? Why don't people just do their job? Anyway the Garaga guy actually listened and we decided to go with a 10' 9'' door and standard 12" radius track. I didn't want to go with the low headroom track, mainly because the cables hang outside the track so far. This left a 1 1/2" gap at the top of the door that required a filler strip.
Here are some pics.