Types Of Garage Doors

  Over the years I have formed some very solid opinions about the makes of some of the doors out there. I have also had the pleasure and learning experience to have installed Everything from SteelCraft (my personal preference), Overhead's 297's (a close second) to Clopay's and Wayne Dalton's. Now this is just my opinion, Clopay and Wayne Dalton should NOT be making and selling doors. I'll leave it up to you to interpret what that means. Almost all of the installers I know including myself will not install these doors. That doesn't means that there isn't people out there that won't though. They don't last as long, are manufactured to lower standards and require more maintenance. So in the long run,they are not more economically feasable. They may seam like a good deal & cheaper to buy at the time however,they are not a door you would want to install in a garage you plan to use a lot.

   Steel-Crafts T-12 and Overhead's 297 are pretty much a standard R-10 door. The number indicates insulation value on the Steel-Crafts standard residential door. I have installed these doors in almost every application from straight installs to custom installations that require low heads room kits and double top tracks with very little to no trouble and most if not all are still working as they were intended.

  The T-16 and 597 are a little heavier and are rated R-16 and around R-15 respectively. These are better suited for insulated garages that you plan on heating on a regular basis. They're even more durable that the earlier mentioned doors due to more material used in their construction.

 If you are looking for curb appeal for a garage on the front of the house then models like the Renaissance, Ranchcraft,Vintage and Carriage Craft doors might suit your needs much better. The come with insulation values from R-10 to R-16. These doors offer more design options,especially with the Ren's and will definitely help build value for your home.

Here are some pics from the Steel-Craft website of the different models the offer.

The first is the Carraige Craft,

 This series is the Ranch Craft

 This is the Thermo-Craft,this is the basic door.