Garage door selection can seem overwhelming with so many options. Lets break things down & keep it simple. Our preferred brands are Clopay & Amarr.
Lets start with your needs
You may want something functional like an economy door or do you want something that will improve the curb appeal of your home? Maybe you want something different than what you see on most homes & going after a certain look or theme for your home.
What are my choices in insulation & is it worth the expense?
A garage door is a large investment so you want to make an informed decision. There is only one chance to do it right & you never regret buying quality but your needs should be considered first.
If your considering a higher end garage door & your wanting to improve the beauty of your home many people consider it money better spent if that garage door is on the face of your house. That said, I have had customers spend a lot of money on a door on the back of their house where it can’t be seen from the street. There is nothing wrong with owning quality.
On this site you will find a wealth of information. Feel free to call us for help.
Breakdown of Some of the Different Garage Doors
- Conventional “raised panel” doors like Value, Value Plus & Premium.
- “Carriage house” style doors like Grand Harbor or Coachman in either wood or steel. Grand Harbor is the more affordable, insulation optional (R-6.3) door.
- “Vintage style steel” like Gallery, an inexpensive step up from a raised panel door
- Glass with aluminum frame, or Clopay’s Avante. This is a door that has is great for any area you want a large window like the side of a living room or kitchen. Not just a garage.
- Insulated composite faux wood doors like Canyon Ridge. Don’t let the word composite fool you. This is hard to distinguish from real wood. It will withstand the weather better than wood. It has the highest R-value of any other door with R-20.4.
- Real wood doors like Classic Wood & Reserve Collection. The look & beauty of a fine cabinet on the front of your house.
- Carriage house style garage doors for pole barns or work shops or even your home. Amarr’s Classica.
Insulation
If insulation is important to you can choose from R-values that range from R-4.4 to R-18.4. An R-18.4 will give you the approximate R-value of a 2×6 wall insulated with fiberglass batt. The lower R-values may not seem like much but what it is mostly good for is a radiant barrier in the sun (think hot tin roof) & will have some sound deadening properties. The sheet metal skin of a garage door is good at transferring hot & cold. A door on the west side of your house that catches the afternoon sun will heat up your garage the most. These factors (and more) are not taken into account when calculating R-value, which is a theoretical number but it’s a reference.
If your serious about keeping any space like a garage climate controlled & it’s going to be used a lot, the more the better. If the garage is used only for parking your car & the walls & ceiling are insulated this will keep your house insulated, so you may not need it or at least very little.
Another advantage of an insulated door is the inside of the garage door stays cleaner. The voids & folds are filled with insulation so there isn’t any dirt, bugs & spiderwebs to collect, to me this is a huge plus!
Read my post Do You Need an Insulated or Non-Insulated Garage Door?
Different Types of Insulation
There are 2 kinds of insulation available, polyurethane & polystyrene. Polyurethane, AKA intellicore is by far the best, 2″ will give you the R-value of R-18.4 (equivalent to 6″ of fiberglass batt). It is injection molded into the door & is very strong. If you have teenage kids throwing basketballs at the door this is what you want. Polystyrene has an available R-value R-4.4 to R-6.3. See my post about the InteliCore advantage.
To compare polystyrene to polyurethane with a 2″ door, R-6.3 vs R-18.4.
Also if you want a quiet garage door insulation will help, especially if it’s a 3 layer door (steel/insulation/steel). This is especially important if a bedroom is next to the garage. An uninsulated door is like a drum reverberating any noise & vibration. A quiet garage door opener will also help, more on this in my post on Garage Door Opener Selection.
Paint Warranties
Paint warranties vary from 15 years for the uninsulated Value series & the Gallery GD5S to 25 year & many have lifetime warranties.
For a look of stained real wood grain on a steel door consider the Ultra Grain paint option. This is very beautiful & has the look of real wood but it’s limited to some 2 & 3 layer doors (steel/insulation, steel/insulation/steel).
This a a brief overview so if you have any questions free to call or email. I service Nashville, Clarksville & all middle TN. I am happy to answer all question, even those regarding you repairing your door yourself.