Garage door build?

[live4ever]

Just got the bid for a new 15’ garage door on the house we’re rehabbing and boy, garage door prices sure have gone up!  Just about 3k for a standard short panel steel sectional, mid level insulation (R6.5) with no glass.  Add to that sticker shock that the short panels look a little too bizarrely spaced out in the 15’ width and I’m wondering if I ought to invest the time to just build a wood door.  Could possibly even do it with the reclaimed redwood/cedar siding we just tore off. 

Seems like a trivial (perhaps a bit mundane) woodworking project since I’d just be doing some basic frame and panel sections, nothing too crazy. 

Thoughts?  Experiences?  Inspiration?

 

[Packard]

I was thinking of replacing all the wood panels and the two glass windows on my garage doors with these 8mm thick, twin wall carbonate sheets.  I would add some matte film for privacy.

They would never need painting and they have some insulation value.  I would paint the frames satin black.

If you shop around these are relatively inexpensive.  Frequently used for green houses, they would bring a lot of light to the interior. On my doors, it just involves removing 1/4 round molding and replacing the plywood.

See: https://www.teksupply.com/prod/ts_polycarbonate_panels/116051.html

For my two doors, I would need 2 to 3 sheets (4’ x 8’ at $100.00 each).  The vendor is about one hour drive from my house, so no shipping cost (except gas).

 

[luvmytoolz]

I was thinking of replacing all the wood panels and the two glass windows on my garage doors with these 8mm thick, twin wall carbonate sheets.  I would add some matte film for privacy.

They would never need painting and they have some insulation value.  I would paint the frames satin black.

If you shop around these are relatively inexpensive.  Frequently used for green houses, they would bring a lot of light to the interior. On my doors, it just involves removing 1/4 round molding and replacing the plywood.

See: https://www.teksupply.com/prod/ts_polycarbonate_panels/116051.html

For my two doors, I would need 2 to 3 sheets (4’ x 8’ at $100.00 each).  The vendor is about one hour drive from my house, so no shipping cost (except gas).

Do you find they actually add any soundproofing? I've not found that to be the case with them myself.

 

[Cheese]

[sad]

Just got the bid for a new 15’ garage door on the house we’re rehabbing and boy, garage door prices sure have gone up!  Just about 3k for a standard short panel steel sectional, mid level insulation (R6.5) with no glass.  Add to that sticker shock that the short panels look a little too bizarrely spaced out in the 15’ width and I’m wondering if I ought to invest the time to just build a wood door.  Could possibly even do it with the reclaimed redwood/cedar siding we just tore off. 

Seems like a trivial (perhaps a bit mundane) woodworking project since I’d just be doing some basic frame and panel sections, nothing too crazy. 

Thoughts?  Experiences?  Inspiration?

I'm having an 18' x 7' steel door 2" thick quoted with R17 insulation. It also has glass thermopane tinted windows. I'll weigh in once the quote is finalized. It should look like this...although this one is a shorty.  [smile]

[attachimg=1]

 

[pettyconstruction]

I just repaired a garage door,bottom rail and a BMW got together .
Very straight forward , used a standard “cope and rail” bit .
I’ll find some pictures .
Charlie

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Packard]

I was thinking of replacing all the wood panels and the two glass windows on my garage doors with these 8mm thick, twin wall carbonate sheets.  I would add some matte film for privacy.

They would never need painting and they have some insulation value.  I would paint the frames satin black.

If you shop around these are relatively inexpensive.  Frequently used for green houses, they would bring a lot of light to the interior. On my doors, it just involves removing 1/4 round molding and replacing the plywood.

See: https://www.teksupply.com/prod/ts_polycarbonate_panels/116051.html

For my two doors, I would need 2 to 3 sheets (4’ x 8’ at $100.00 each).  The vendor is about one hour drive from my house, so no shipping cost (except gas).

Do you find they actually add any soundproofing? I've not found that to be the case with them myself.

I’ve been inside a small greenhouse made from these panels.  But it was a quiet yard and I did not experience any noises.

Solid 8mm polycarbonate sheets reduce sound by 34 db (I just looked this up) compared to glass of the same thickness.

But I see no claims that the dual wall sheets reduce sound levels, so I suspect that there is little or no advantage to the twin wall sheets in that regard.  They are thermal insulators. 

So, in a single sentence:  I don’t know if it reduces sound transmission. 

 

[Michael Kellough]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member]  that’s a very good looking door. What is the textured surface? Will it span the full 18 feet?

 

[Imemiter]

Thoughts?  Experiences?  Inspiration?

My ancient 12' wide overhead fell apart on me a year ago. At the time replacement bids were high and delays were long due to supply line issues. One guy told me they were salvaging any decent pulleys they could find. I went the DIY route and made three 36" carriage doors out of 8/4 fir and marine ply'd. There was some re-framing, trim and siding to do, but all told materials ran around $6k. Wood and glazing for the doors alone came to $1600. It took me a couple of months working after work and weekends.

I don't think I'd want to take on making 15' OH panels, though. I've assisted pro installers on more than a couple of installations and to me it just isn't as satisfying as hanging a swinging door.

 

 

[live4ever]

Thoughts?  Experiences?  Inspiration?

My ancient 12' wide overhead fell apart on me a year ago. At the time replacement bids were high and delays were long due to supply line issues. One guy told me they were salvaging any decent pulleys they could find. I went the DIY route and made three 36" carriage doors out of 8/4 fir and marine ply'd. There was some re-framing, trim and siding to do, but all told materials ran around $6k. Wood and glazing for the doors alone came to $1600. It took me a couple of months working after work and weekends.

I don't think I'd want to take on making 15' OH panels, though. I've assisted pro installers on more than a couple of installations and to me it just isn't as satisfying as hanging a swinging door.

Appreciate the perspective.  Yes, can definitely see it not being as satisfying especially since I wouldn’t be doing anything custom.  Rehabbing a whole house is a delicate balance of budget and time, and my time may be better spent elsewhere.  Just miffed that not only are prices a lot higher than expected, but would end up with something not so aesthetically pleasing to boot.  When you appreciate proper proportions such as cabinet rails/stiles, window trim, etc., that kind of stuff can drive you mad.  [embarassed]

 

[Cheese]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member]  that’s a very good looking door. What is the textured surface? Will it span the full 18 feet?

Ya, I went from a 16' door to a 18' door, should make entry and exit easier.  [smile]

The door is a 2" thick, double sided steel, powder coated door with polyurethane insulation for a R-17.5/18 value. I'm pricing both the C.H.I. & the Midland flush panel doors in black with black tinted thermo-pane glass.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

I'm in the market for doors too. I considered making one of them myself about a year ago, but never got to it. The existing one is wood, old and waterlogged/damaged over time. The other one is fiberglass and showing its age too. That one really needs replaced for the insulation factor. It is the front door to my garage, where my new shop will eventually be going. Mine are much smaller though 7' x 8'.
I may get around to making the frame and panel style for the back one, but I'm not prepared to make an insulated door for the front.
Yes, it's odd, but I have a single-width/double-length garage, door on each end.

 

[Cheese]

My ancient 12' wide overhead fell apart on me a year ago. At the time replacement bids were high and delays were long due to supply line issues. One guy told me they were salvaging any decent pulleys they could find. I went the DIY route and made three 36" carriage doors out of 8/4 fir and marine ply'd. There was some re-framing, trim and siding to do, but all told materials ran around $6k. Wood and glazing for the doors alone came to $1600. It took me a couple of months working after work and weekends.

My ancient 8' wide overhead also fell apart on me a year ago.  [smile]  Years of snow, moisture, vibration and general ambivalence on my part took its toll. The complete lower panel of the door fell off and jammed the door in the half opened/half closed position...that was convenient.  [tongue]
Fasteners were rusted through and the holes in the wooden panel and the metal connectors were all elongated and needed to be plugged/welded and redrilled. Just a word of warning if your garage door starts to act strange by not closing completely or being reluctant to open.

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[keithwwalker]

This is one of my pet projects with my new Festool tools, to replace my old Single Panel garage doors.  They are the type that the door hinges up mid-height in one piece.  They are manual and very quiet with no rollers and track.

I will post photos later, but you can tell they use to come in a kit with nominal 4 foot sections that are fastened together into a single assembly.  Just framers and 1/4 plywood.  I am sure the design can be modified to have thicker 3/8 or even 1/2.

Only carriage house doors would be better, imo.  Today's stuff is bleh...

 

[WastedP]

I have built several hundred sectional wood garage doors, in sizes ranging from 4'x7' up to 20'x14'6".  These were essentially built as a big sandwich, not a cope and stick style like some of the national manufacturers sell.  An average door under ten feet in either direction generally required about $2k in materials when built from marine-grade ply and cedar, and would take about fifteen hours to build.  Building multiple doors to the same spec could shave quite a bit of time off that, maybe three doors in 35 hours.  Exceeding ten feet in either dimension, even by an inch, dramatically increases the materials and labor.

I have no idea what current prices are running on the steel (track, hinges, springs, etc) but I know it was skyrocketing two years ago, when you could find it.

The biggest challenge to building wood sectional doors is having a large enough workspace to do it.

 

[jeh]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member]  that’s a very good looking door. What is the textured surface? Will it span the full 18 feet?

Ya, I went from a 16' door to a 18' door, should make entry and exit easier.  [smile]

The door is a 2" thick, double sided steel, powder coated door with polyurethane insulation for a R-17.5/18 value. I'm pricing both the C.H.I. & the Midland flush panel doors in black with black tinted thermo-pane glass.

There cannot be enough side about having wider door openings. I'm yet to find any home build by the bit tract home builders that has anything but the narrowest doors.