So You're Looking for a New Garage Door
There are lots of reasons to get a new garage door. It is the most prominent feature on the front of many homes, making it the most effective place to invest in curb appeal. Aesthetics aside, some doors (especially builder’s grade doors from the past 20 years) just wear out over time, developing stress fractures and bowing under their own weight. Or maybe your garage door had a close encounter with a vehicle (don’t feel bad it happens all the time). It can also be a great way to improve the energy efficiency of your home.
Whatever your goal is, we are here to help. Lets take a closer look at some of the common reasons for a new garage door.
Curb Appeal
On many houses the garage door is front and center, taking up 25% or more of the visible area. Most existing homes were built with a common wood or steel raised panel door — back in the day there weren’t many other options. There is a much greater selection available today.
Here are some of the available new door options:
Energy Efficiency
A new insulated garage door can do wonders for the temperature regulation in your garage. Wood and non-insulated steel doors have very low R-Values, if any at all.
The most popular doors we sell are 2″ insulated steel with a steel back and polystyrene core. Also known as “triple layer”, they are available in a wide range of styles, and are typically in the neighborhood of R-9.
If you are really trying to keep the place warm, or cool in the summer, you can move up to a triple layer door with polyurethane insulation. Doors like the Amarr Olympus OL3200 can be upwards of R-19! This can do wonders for the thermoregulation of your garage, and if there is living space above, your entire house.
There are a few factors to consider, as other aspects of your garage might negate the impact of a high R-value door. We are always happy to do a free onsite estimate where we will help figure out what door represents the best option for your home.
Garage Door Manufacturers
We carry a full line of residential garage doors from major manufacturers including Amarr, Hormann (formerly NorthWest Door), and Wayne Dalton.
Here is something most homeowners don’t take into account when choosing which garage door company to work with: 10 – 20% of new garage doors arrive at the local distribution center damaged. It’s a horrible problem across the industry and there does not seem to be any manufacturer that is capable of consistently delivering doors in pristine condition. To be fair, shipping is where most of the damage occurs, not necessarily the fault of the door manufacturer.
Here are some examples.
We carefully inspect every garage door section before we install it. If there is a problem with your order it will not cost you an extra dime!
Amarr is our preferred manufacturer because they make a quality product, offer a wide range of styles, and have always taken care of us when problems come up.
Garage Doors by Amarr
The Amarr Lincoln 3000 is our best selling model. It is a 2″ insulated steel door with a polystyrene core and steel back (triple layer construction).
- R-9.06
- Short Panel, Long Panel, or Flush (flat) designs
- 27 gauge face
- 27 gauge back
- 14 gauge hinges and hardware
- Three year parts warranty (upgrades available)
- Three year material/workmanship warranty
- Limited Lifetime paint warranty
- Three year Material & Workmanship warranty
- Lincoln Brochure
The Heritage 3000 is a tough garage door! It is, like the Lincoln 3000, a 2″ thick triple layer door, but with a 24 gauge face so it can take more abuse — perfect if you are worried about bicycles, tree branches, or basketballs making contact with your door. We offer the Heritage 3000 with upgraded, 25,000 “high cycle” springs and nylon 13 ball bearing rollers so it will be a really long time before any parts need to be replaced.
- R-9.06
- Short Panel, Long Panel, or Flush (flat) as well as carriage styles Bead Board, Recessed, and Long Panel Bead Board
- 24 gauge face
- 27 gauge back
- 14 gauge hinges and hardware
- Three year parts warranty (upgrades available)
- Limited Lifetime material/workmanship warranty
- Limited Lifetime paint warranty
- Heritage 3000 brochure
The Classica 3000 is Amarr’s flagship “carriage” style door with polyurethan insulation and a high R-value. It is available in a variety of beautiful designs. Amarr also offers the Classica in a modern “full view” design that is more economical than the aluminum framed Vista VI100.
- R-13.35
- Available in a variety of carriage designs as well as full view
- 25 gauge face
- 27 gauge back
- 14 gauge hinges and hardware
- Three year parts warranty (upgrades available)
- Limited Lifetime paint warranty
- Limited Lifetime material/workmanship warranty
- Classica Carriage Style brochure
- Classica Full View brochure
The Hillcrest 3000 is another 2″ insulated steel door. It is essentially the same door as the Lincoln 3000, but offered in carriage styles. It is not quite as fancy as the Classica, but is a very popular door none the less.
- R-9.06
- Bead Board, Recessed, Long Panel Bead Board designs
- 27 gauge face
- 27 gauge back
- 14 gauge hinges and hardware
- Three year parts warranty (upgrades available)
- Three year material/workmanship warranty
- Limited Lifetime paint warranty
- Hillcrest brochure
The Heritage 1000 is a heavy duty non-insulated “single layer” steel door. This is a great option if you don’t need an insulated door, but you do want a door that is relatively durable. It is offered in both standard and carriage styles.
- R value N/A
- Short Panel, Long Panel, Bead Board, Recessed, Long Panel Bead Board
- 24 gauge
- 14 gauge hinges and hardware
- Three year parts warranty (upgrades available)
- Three year material/workmanship warranty
- Limited Lifetime paint warranty
- Heritage brochure
The Lincoln 1000 is the most affordable door we offer. It is a standard duty non-insulated steel door, but nobody can tell the difference between it and the Lincoln 3000 from the street.
- R value N/A
- Short Panel, Long Panel, or Flush (flat)
- 25 gauge
- 14 gauge hinges and hardware
- Three year parts warranty (upgrades available)
- 15 year paint warranty
- One year Material/Workmanship warranty
- Lincoln Brochure
The Hillcrest 1000 is a standard duty non-insulated door offered in carriage styles. When viewed from the street it is indistinguishable from Hillcrest 3000.
- R value N/A
- Short Panel, Long Panel, or Flush (flat)
- 25 gauge
- 14 gauge hinges and hardware
- Three year parts warranty (upgrades available)
- 15 year paint warranty
- One year material/workmanship warranty
- Hillcrest brochure
Any Amarr model followed by “3138” is a 1 3/8″ thick insulated door with three layer construction. Unfortunately, we have received a large number of these doors with minor defects that have been a major hassle to correct. Until this problem is resolved we are not offering them, but hope to in the future.
In the unfortunate event that you have an existing 3138 that has been damaged, we can replace sections for you.
Any Amarr door with a 2000 after it is a two layer construction steel door. This is essentially a non-insulated 1000 series with insulated panels popped into the back of the door. Other manufacturers refer to their comparable doors as “vinyl back”.
In our opinion these doors are the worst of both worlds. They are, like the 1000 series options, not very durable. The insulated panels move around when the door moves, making annoying squeaking sounds. And because there is no steel back, the insulated panels can get damaged (we often see them chewed up by dogs or other animals).
The only situation where a 2000 series might be worthwhile is for customers who want to save a little, and have a door that faces South or West, getting hit by the summer sun. In this case the panels will knock down some of the heat that radiates into the garage. But considering the meager cost savings, most people are better served by a fully insulated 3000 series door.
All of our installations are backed by a five year labor guarantee.
Contact us today to schedule your free estimate:
Call or Text 503-545-5762
[email protected]
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