Carriage Doors Vs. Bad Weather

[Munshaw]

So I've been lurking now for a few weeks, gleaning ideas from one thread or another for my spring 2014 garage build. Heading quickly towards a 28 x 40 x 10ft. high garage/wood shop. The house (to be built the following year) is an arts and crafts meets country style house with a strong emphasis on trim work, exposed rafter tails etc.

Anyhow, I'm working out the details of the garage plan, and I think I've settled on doing in-floor hot water heat (thanks Heating/AC forum!) and fully insulated above/below grade. I LOVE the look of carriage doors, and really fancy the idea of not having a track above the doors. A few threads pointed me towards a few online vendors of real-wood carriage doors, and I got a few quotes. Sticker shock quickly squashed my dreams of buying carriage doors!

I'm sort of a "DIY" guy, and don't mind spending time learning, and also taking my time to do things "right". I came across a Fine Homebuilding video that shows the construction of some carriage doors that, I think, look fantastic and seem quite structurally sound. The only thing I might add is a turn buckle/cable for tensioning the frame.... (to be determined).

http://http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/22199/project-house-weekly-wrap-episode-4-a-unique-way-to-build-carriage-house-style-garage-doors

Before I get too carried away designing/building these things, does anyone have any experience with carriage doors in a northern climate??? I want to build these things to be as air tight (good seals, jamb, sweeps etc.) as possible, but my primary concern is snow buildup infront of the doors. I see this as the biggest hurdle or this style of doors. At least one door will be automatic opening for my wife's vehicle. The other two will be manual. They will be insulated with 2" XPS inside as well, with double pane argon filled glass.

Anyone have automatic openers and have to deal with snow drifts infront of teh doors? These suckers will be heavy (200-300 lb. each?). I have a garage door opener in mind...

What do you guys think about a dedicated radiant heat loop to an apron extending out infront of the doors? I plan on heating the garage 24/7 (to a modest temp - 50-55) during the winter months (October - Mayish). Can anyone see this being a workable solution???

Sorry for my wordy post. I really like trying to think things through as much as possible before finalizing any design choices I make. It's tough when there's so many things to consider in a garage and house build, when you've never done it before! Luckly I have a lot of help from friends and family trade-wise, but the design work is all me....

Also, loving Garage Journal, wish I would have found it months ago. Lucky me its not too late to incorporate many of the ideas I've seen here

 

[kbs2244]

Snow in front of the door is the reason overhead doors were invented.
If you can afford it a heated driveway would do the trick.
But remember a 16 foot doorway means two 8 foot arcs to heat.

 

[Krodad]

I just finished the shell of my new building and the main door, which is 12x18 dual slider is what I was looking for on what will be the un-heated part of the shop as I have a couple tractors that go in there, and I wanted to stick with a traditional barn look.
However, even though these are pretty tight as far as sliders go, they will never be as tight as you can get an overhead door. By default, you have a certain amount of loose tolerances, and the fact that it slides means you have limited options in terms of sealing up the door. I've spent quite a lot of time looking at my situation and trying to determine a way to do this and every time I get an idea popped into my head, another "oh wait, that won't work" thing comes up.
there are some brush style strips that could work, but unless you have something worked out before you build the doors, you might have clearance problems. As of now, when the doors are snugged down with the cam latches there is very little light that get's through, so I'm just accepting things as they are.
Remember that if you want to have them as a remote power sliding door, then you can't have an inside cam latch either...so snugging them down against the opening framework is not an option either.

Once you add in the cost of the opener, are you really going to be any better off than a nice, architectural overhead? Or even pair of overheads? I know the custom style "fancy" overhead doors aren't cheap, but at least they can seal up better, never have to worry about a drift of snow or ice in the way of the door, etc.

In what will be the heated half of my shop I'm considering an overhead only...for the very same reasons.

 

[justanengineer]

If youve got an unheated/un-cooled shed, go for it. If you want a nice heated/air conditioned garage to work in, buy a commercial overhead door.

 

[jannan]

You might be interested in this:http://www.remodelaholic.com/2010/03/ugly-garage-door-be-gone-carriage-door-tutorial/
Get a used or cheap new door and go to work.

 

[Munshaw]

Some valid points. Sealing the door will be an issue, as will snow removal. Basically I'm trying to determine just how much of an issue it'll be...

If I decide not to go that route, a nicer architectural overhead door ( two seperate ones) will be my next choice, with faux carriage hardware. I do tend to prefer the real thing typically, and usually avoid "faux" anything, but I suppose that makes me a realist, and I don't want to end up doing more work dealing with door seals and snow removal than is necessary. Decisions decisions!