garage door?

[dazart]

Anyone ever look into building a garage door? The kind that raises up/down.

Mine is starting to get bad and I wondered how hard it would be to do. I think it would look awesome, just not sure how difficult it would be.

 

[pcooper]

I looked at my door, which is an insulated solid something or other door... it only has one spring on the top to assist in the lift. My concern would be making sure you have enough counter weight in spring to lift the door once put up. Otherwise, I'm of the opinion to go for it... I'd like to see someone do that, maybe with some kind of raised panels or something to fancy it up. I can't see it would be any different in construction than an entry door, and plenty of folks have done those with great success.

One thing I remember when building my shop was, it had to be certified hurricane spec, had to have this little sticker on it that said it was ok for new construction and hurricane spec. I was told if I were putting up another door as a replacement, I would not have to do that. Also HOA's might have something to say about that if you're in one.

 

[Chris C]

Go on the net and watch the videos on people trying to install/ remove the springs off of garage doors.... Especially the one with the guy who spent 5 months in the hospital after the tensioning bar he was using slipped out of his hand.

I had a spring fail and was going to replace it myself until I did a little research.... Best $100 I ever spent was having the overhead door man do it for me.

 

[dazart]

Oh yeah - there's no way I'm touching that spring.

I was thinking about just the door part - making it with wood.

 

[Gotcha6]

Using a good grade of wood like #1 fir for the rails & styles, it can be done with a router and a door panel bit set. As to the tension spring, I have installed and wound them, and it's definitely not something for amateurs with the wrong tools. You should be able to re use your old hinges or buy new online. Just remember the end hinges are numbered bottom to top to accommodate the taper in the track. Keep the hinge installations true and square to eliminate hinge binding and don't forget a back brace on wider doors.

 

[zdorsch]

Fine Homebuilding had an article a few years ago that made building garage doors look doable:

http://www.finehomebuilding.com/2012/03/08/dress-up-a-garage-door-with-insulated-carriage-doors

 

[jlwest]

Wood is much heavier than aluminum so be careful.

 

[Gofor]

I had a wood door originally when I moved into our house in FL. (16' double garage door). After it eventually started rotting out, I replaced it with a metal one. Of the two, I much preferred the metal , although the wood one had less heat transfer. The bolts for the hinge pieces etc did not wallow out, it was much easier to raise when the power was out, and with the stiffeners, had higher wind load resistance. If you do go the wooden door route, the springs will definitely need re-tensioning, and you may need to install heavier springs.

jmtcw

Go

 

[dazart]

Sounds like this may not be worth it.

 

[Jeff]

Sounds like this may not be worth it.

Agreed wholeheartedly!

 

[TENdriver]

If I could get a door made of helium and Unobtanium, it would still be too heavy! Spring broke as I was two steps from the door. Death or permanent serious injury from a falling door.

I had no idea how scary and dangerous those overhead doors really are.

 

[Donna Wynne]

Alain Vaillancourt on Youtube, in a multi-part video, built a single-car sized garage door in cedar from scratch. Even as small as that is, that was a big deal and it looks plenty heavy. I hate to think how heavy a 2-car door in wood would be, even mounting it section by section, then lifting it to install and tension the spring. Here's the link to Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5NBde_Acs0 . Alain's end product looked beautiful, but as such a huge project, his experience would only inspire me to leave something like that to beefy pros with the appropriate equipment -- and no fear of a huge steel spring and a very heavy door.

 

[chris_goris]

Sounds like this may not be worth it.

It would definitely be worth it. I plan on making 3 sets for my garage in the spring. Depending in the size of your door, youll probably need 10 foot sheets of plywood. Lots of doors (metal) are hung with one spring, if necessary you can add another. I will probably have my doors professionally installed once Im done.

 

[JGregJ]

When my wood doors needed replacing due to rot, I choose to go with heavily insulated metal doors and it has made a huge difference in keeping my garage shop temps stable.

 

[Joe Scharle]

Garage doors on houses I built in the 60s and 70s were always cedar frames with Masonite stamped panels. And no matter how many coats of paint applied, they always rotted. My current doors are wood grain stamped, walnut colored and hurricane rated. I built these for my last house to follow the house's colonial design. Each garage door weighs around 350 pounds. The side door is over 150. The reason for the weight is that the pattern is repeated for the inside, in reverse.
I wouldn't spend the effort again, as since then, I've seen aluminum doors in the same pattern for about the same cost.

​

 

[chris_goris]

Garage doors on houses I built in the 60s and 70s were always cedar frames with Masonite stamped panels. And no matter how many coats of paint applied, they always rotted. My current doors are wood grain stamped, walnut colored and hurricane rated. I built these for my last house to follow the house's colonial design. Each garage door weighs around 350 pounds. The side door is over 150. The reason for the weight is that the pattern is repeated for the inside, in reverse.
I wouldn't spend the effort again, as since then, I've seen aluminum doors in the same pattern for about the same cost.

​

Masonite never should have been used for exterior applications!

 

[Joe Scharle]

Chris, millions of houses had Masonite in exterior applications. Siding, garage doors, shutters, trim are a few that come to mind.

 

[Jeff]

Chris, millions of houses had Masonite in exterior applications. Siding, garage doors, shutters, trim are a few that come to mind.

Years of home building experience and touche'. The question is: How was that old fashion masonite protected so that it didn't rot or fall apart? Different stuff than today's masonite?

 

[Skymaster]

It was handled by a massive nation wide class action lawsuit, in which Masonite lost and sent out many many many checks.

 

[chris_goris]

Chris, millions of houses had Masonite in exterior applications. Siding, garage doors, shutters, trim are a few that come to mind.

Yep, asbestos too! but that never made it a good idea!.