Clopay vs Raynor

[stiglet]

I have spent the last several weeks investigating replacing garage doors. After looking at many manufacturers and reading through all posts here and other places I have pretty much decided on either Clopay or Raynor. Below are quotes I have received and am leaning towards the Raynor solution. However, they are $160 more then Clopay. I am just trying to determine if the Raynor door justifies the price difference or if the doors are a wash;

Clopay (9x7 doors)

2x Premium 4300 door (25 gauge) and 2x Liftmaster 3280 installed for $2130

Raynor

2x Showcase (26 gauge) and 2x Raynor Aviator (3280 equivalent) intalled for $2290

Thanks,
Fil

 

[RKA]

Can't say whether the raynor is worth it, but I've got a pair I've been very happy with, and my parents also got a pair. Their marketing seems to advertise that they seal the joints between the panels to reduce heat loss and air leakage. If you have an insulated and climate controlled garage, I can attest that it's not just marketing BS. Of course that leaves the cheesy $5 weatherstrip around the perimeter, but that's another matter.

I also had a problem with the rebate on my doors. Once the issue was raised with someone at Raynor, I had a check within a week. Very good response on their part. The only con might be the lead time to order the doors whereas the clopays are typically on the shelf at the big box stores. I was told every order was built to order at the factory, there is no warehouse with stock sitting around. Don't know if that's really true.

 

[stiglet]

Thanks for your feedback. Not sure if the weather seal is a contractor issue or Raynor issue. I am not too concerned about the R factor as I heard a lot of that is quite unreliable and like you said marketing BS. But good to hear you have been happy with that aspect of the door.

 

[gygeneral]

Last week I just got 2 Raynor 9X7's and 2 Liftmaster 3800's installed. Also got them to put a lift on the door tracks so the doors hug the ceiling. this is well worth it. It does not cost a lot of $ and it makes your garage look taller. Can't speak to the quality as I haven't had them for a long time but I did lots of research and found the Raynor doors to be a good product. One thing I like is the door hinges are all powdercoated white, makes a nice clean finish. Apparently, you could also get the track powdercoated.

 

[Dave B.]

I've had 6 Raynor doors over time. They're good products and seem to seal well.

Raynor's openers are another story. I've had numerous problems with the motors and switchgear. I'd say that gygeneral made the right choice going with the Liftmaster 3800s. I've had two Liftmaster openers and have not had any problems with them.

 

[stiglet]

Interesting. I really didn't give the openers much thought. I figured they were pretty much the same as Liftmaster as they are both Chamberlin openers. Thanks for the information.

 

[78C-10]

I just had a pole barn built back in December 2012, it included two Raynor doors. Front door is 8x18 and rear door is 8x8, I love them. They look good and are insulated well, seem to seal well. They look heavy but I can lift either of them with one finger! I would suggest Raynor.

 

[sophijo]

Call this guy and ask him. What he doesn't know about garage doors ain't worth knowing!!

http://ddmgaragedoors.com/diy-instructions/

 

[upndown]

Just looked at the Raynor website, The openers are definately made by Chamberlain! They have been re-badging their openers for for others for a long time.

The older Raynors are a different story, chain drive with a belt and pulley drive system...Real piece of work!

 

[stiglet]

No one coming to Clopay defense? Feeling more confident about my decision of leaning towards Raynor. I will try to get some kind of price concession from the dealer to come closer to the Clopay dealers quote.

 

[Kevin C]

I have Clopays, but they are insulated ones from the Coachman line. No complaints, they were well made and finished. Since I live in a residential area, the insulation is good for sound deadening and weather. Mine were more like $3800 for two 8' x 8 doors, without openers ( I need to check the price).

The only gripe was the instructions were a bit piece meal. That and I wanted wind rated for 94 MPH ( code in my area). For some reason they upgraded and sent me a Florida kit rated for 125 MPH. The doors don't budge on a gusty day and they seem pretty much draft free.

 

[Dave B.]

Just looked at the Raynor website, The openers are definately made by Chamberlain! They have been re-badging their openers for for others for a long time.

The older Raynors are a different story, chain drive with a belt and pulley drive system...Real piece of work!

This could well be my situation. Our home was built in '99 and we bought it in 2004... and the doors and openers came with it.

This is one of the openers:


And these are the controls. The 'hard-wired' controls are so unreliable that we ended up mounting a remote on the wall so we didn't have to deal with them! We've been gradually replacing the Raynor remotes with the universal ones from "Clicker". We haven't had any problems with those.

 

[Todd.Brock]

Not sure if you are interested in other brands , but I had a 16x7 CHI door installed for 1175 with a hi lift kit, I installed my own LM 3800. It's something like r17, polyethylene? Insulation( not polystyrene). I have been happy with it. Just my.02

 

[stiglet]

My understanding is that R value in garage doors is pretty much marketing hype and not to be taken seriously. They Raynor salesperson pretty much told me that was the case when he first showed me his R-18 door. So I started to look at doors in the R-10 range. I did look at CHI and I believe they quoted me on 2283 doors. The main reason I decided against them was 27 gauge steel. I also looked at thermacore 194 door from overhead door. Decided against that door again because of thin steel.

I found this article interesting on R values in garage doors.

http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/energy-efficient-garage-doors

 

[nova65ss]

Raynor over Clopay is my vote!

 

[LX-Markham]

Had an insulated Clopay door in my last house, loved it. installed it myself, easy.
Just purchased and installed a new Clopay insulated commercial roll-up door. Came with some damaged slats, but they are replacing the damaged slats tomorrow.

 

[upndown]

Don't know if you're DIY or having them installed? Personally don't think you'll get hurt with either door, i'd be more concerned where your buying them or who's installing them! A couple hundred dollars either way doesn't mean Squat, If you have to wait on ordered parts or can't get anyone out to follow up if there is a problem!!

 

[shanker]

I've upgraded one of my cheapo 16x7 Garage doors with a used (from a friend's remodel where he built a shop and closed in his garage) Raynor insulated 150MPH Rated Windstorm garage door and the quality is FAR better than the cheap builder grade...even the tracks are about 3X the thickness...

The installer was telling me that he likes Raynor doors the best, mostly because the door track & roller hardware is better than other comparable competitors doors.

 

[Falcon67]

I've owned two of the cheapest Cloypay doors - one 8x7, one 16x7 - you can buy and both have done just fine. Easy to assemble, work like they should. I make my own insulation from 1/2 foam board. Works and it's very inexpensive. I've used both types of openers - left arm and right arm.

 

[stiglet]

Well I just signed the order with the Raynor installer. Got him to drop the price another $104. So the difference between the Raynor and Clopay was only $56. I am happy I got the door I was leaning towards. Now just need to wait to get it installed. Thanks to everyone for their input.

To upndown I made sure I used top notch installers. BBB Members with A+ ratings which have been in business for decades.

 

[upndown]

Good to hear! Now all you have to do is sit back and enjoy.