Overhead Garage Doors

[bruiserx2]

I have been looking and have not been able to find a thread that discusses garage doors and what everyone looks for when purchasing one so I thought to start one.

We have decided to replace our old garage doors. The garage is part of the house with the living room and kitchen above it. The ceiling is insulated but the poured concrete walls are not.

Is it worth spending the extra money to get an insulated door and if so is a R13 good enough or should I get the R18. The other question is gauge steel. One is 26 gauge steel the other 24 gauge steel. Will it make that much of a difference to get the lower gauge steel.

These are the two doors we are looking at and both price include 1 new opener, 2 remotes and a keypad

Raynor Centura Doors
R18
24 Gauge Steel
2 inches thick
Insulated Glass
$2,415

Haas Platium Edition RHT 780
R 16
26 Gauge Steel
1?/4 thick
Insulated Glass
$1,915

$500 dollar difference, is it worth it

 

[oldhippy]

If you buy a door and it is not insulated and it comes down on something on the end it might ruin the door. I had a water meter key fall down under the door and it bent the door. It would not reverse before it ruined the door. With the insulated door it is strong enough to reverse before door is ruined. Our house door faces south and was pretty hot in the afternoons the insulated door keeps it more comefortable. We have the 1 1/4 insulated residental door. big dan

 

[timswi]

What size door are you looking at?

I have installed a bunch of Wayne Dalton doors for myself and my neighbors (DIY'er) I prefer their door over the Clopays..Very well built and the enclosed tortion spring is nice too...Also they have an opener called an i-drive that mounts to the tortion bar...Very nice set-up...I got no skin in that game, just speaking from experience.

Get at least the medium amount of insulation, you won't regret it.

If you're even a little bit handy, you can install one of these yourself and save some serious money.

Mine was a 16x8...very painless to install, by myself.

 

[bruiserx2]

They are standard doors 8 x 6'6"

I would be a little nervous installing them myself, Never done one and I want it done right. Also the ceiling height is only 7'4" so its tight

 

[mbohuntr]

I recently completed my first door, an 8x8 HAAS. I cut and framed an opening on the gable end of my garage. Pretty painless except that you were supposed to position the torque spring winder facing the matching color on the cable pulley. (red or black) and the winder had both red and black marks on it??? Of course I got it wrong.... this door was lined with 1" foam. Well worth it...

 

[dave1949]

If you want to heat your garage, or at least loose less heat ( you should because you have living space above), I would go for the 2" R18 door. It should help keep your floors above the garage warmer.

Also, whichever door you decide on, get the anti-vibration mount option for the opener/track so you won't be annoyed by the door vibrations in your living space.

I am like you, I want to be able to pick up the phone and call for service if needed. After one thunderstorm, both my openers needed new circuit boards.
Dave.

 

[mojoinco]

One could enter the model/brand name door in a search engine with the word 'forum' and/or 'review'. Having said that, I would not spend the $500 if all else is equal (door openers). There are only a couple of brands, with many being private labels of the others.

If you were planning on insulating the concrete walls, well, that's another thing altogether.

You should occasionally test your garage door opener over torque limiter clutch (crash sensor/reverse switch). That should be set so that it doesn't quite crush a roll of paper towels laid on its side (simulates a childs chest being crushed). Then it doesn't matter what the door crashes into/onto.

There are special door openers if you need to preserve all of the ceiling height possible (mounts next to the side rails on the header).

Some doors come with video instructions. It's like hanging a people door (except no lock set holes). All the work is pretty much in getting the rails correctly laid out. And pay attention to cranking up the door springs. Nothing too difficult, just pay attention. And have someone handy to hold things. Just like any other project.

 

[bruiserx2]

mojoinco I tried the forum route as well as review and compare and did not find anything that really answered specific questions. It mostly covered comparing door openers at best. Even the sites DIY, Hometime, This Old House etc did not have anything useful. Believe me I thought twice about entering it here but everyone has been so helpful and since I could not find anything in this forum I thought it might help others when it comes time for them.

I appreciate the feedback and have had the same thought Save the 500 bucks since the wall are not insulated. I just do not want to be penny wise. Also does the difference in Gauge of the steel make that much of a difference?

 

[mbohuntr]

The thinner ones will dent much easier. As well as rust thru faster. I haven't seen that many rust though. If you are moderately handy, you will have no problem installing them yourself. Just be real carefull when winding them up, they can really hurt you.

 

[timswi]

Bruiser...Peruse this site for some info...My door has been up for eight years with now issues whatsoever.

Wayne-Dalton | Residential and Commercial Door Systems