Garage Door Decisions

[pmpski_1]

We decided to get new garage doors this year, and it's long overdue. I looked at the big box stores and Amarr, and we figured out what we wanted.

And then I decided to come here and see what other folks were doing.

Our rock solid decision is now as solid as a bowl of gravy.

What it comes down to is whether to go with a roll up on the third bay, which faces the street. A rollup door would keep my clearance, but you all know the downsides - looks, not so great, and very little insulation.

On top of that, we're definitely changing the entire color of the house in the future, and we don't have the colors picked yet.

So I need to make a decision. Get some nice overhead doors that would look good with the house and lose my clearance, or go with the rollup.

If I go with the rollup, I would probably go with a plain door for the main garage and then add a powdercoated slat type rollup later on after we decide on the colors and paint the house. Of course, if we have money for the paint there may be no extra for the door at that time...

The third bay is just a shop - no lift for now, nothing special, but it has come in handy with being able to take engines out without worrying about the clearance. Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

That's where y'all come in. What am I not thinking of? Anyone here not go with the rollup and regret it? Anyone here hate the rollup? Anyone have pictures of thier slat type rollup?

 

[autoclassicnut]

Try Martindoor.com we got the overhead insulated one for our shop, they have some nice residential ones too. best thing was the quiet door opener. It's the DC3700e 1/2 hp belt driven one, quiet as a mouse....you have to stop talking to even hear it!

 

[Tech Guy]

You talking about residential rollup doors or commercial type ? I went with a Garaga rollup-2" insulated and its been great. Came white as I wasnt ready to paint the outside yet.

 

[pmpski_1]

You talking about residential rollup doors or commercial type ? I went with a Garaga rollup-2" insulated and its been great. Came white as I wasnt ready to paint the outside yet.

There are a couple roll ups that I've looked at based on threads here. You have any pics? Are you going to paint it? I thought about painting the rollup, but it seems like that may be more maintenance in the long run.

 

[pmpski_1]

Try Martindoor.com we got the overhead insulated one for our shop, they have some nice residential ones too. best thing was the quiet door opener. It's the DC3700e 1/2 hp belt driven one, quiet as a mouse....you have to stop talking to even hear it!

Martin doors are nice, but they're out of our price range. I can get two Amarr doors and a new opener for the price of a single Martin.

 

[ddawg16]

Have you considered a carriage door? Besides the type that swing out, they also have the type that go up.....

 

[pmpski_1]

Have you considered a carriage door? Besides the type that swing out, they also have the type that go up.....

Yep, but there are a couple problems with those.

1. Expense, although I could probably build them myself for a bit less.
2. The eave goes too low over the door opening. I would have to trim about 2 inches off the backing board behind the gutter to provide clearance for the door to swing out, and I'm not interested in doors that swing in.

When you talk about the kind that go up, I assume you mean the solid ones that go up and out. I think both points would apply there as well.

Carriage doors were my original choice here because they would provide overhead clearance, insulation, and they would look awesome from the street.

Something just occurred to me - for point number two, instead of cutting the backing board to make clearance, I could just make the door opening shorter. It's not like I'd be losing anything since I would have to clear the gutter to get in the door anyway....That may just be the way to go.

 

[pmpski_1]

My Father came out here for "vacation" and helped me build some carriage doors. We have a simple design and so far things are going well. I've been taking pictures along the way and will post them once the build is complete.

We went with a roll up on our main garage and 2 months after writing the check we still don't have doors. One excuse after the other from the installer\salesperson, so we finally got a refund and will be going with another company. We originally went through Costco to get the doors. Now we're going with a door company directly. We'll see how that turns out.