Rotted overhead garage door.

[Notat Home]

I have an overhead garage door that is apparently made of a composite skin over composite bracing. Although painted, it appears to soak up rainwater and rot. I tried patching it with bondo, but that didn't work. So now I'm looking for a replacement that is impervious to water.

The dealers around here have wood doors, and steel doors. They claim the finish will protect them, but I'm not confident since wood rots and steel corrodes.

Are there better options. I would think fiberglass or aluminum would be better.

[Ed Pawlowski]

My steel door is by Overhead Door. After 12 years, it is still in perfect condition. Yes, aluminum may be better (and more expensive), but this is working for me.

They have fiberglass also.

[krw]

Nothing wrong with either. Wood will require a bit more maintenance.

Fiberglass overhead doors suck. They're translucent and very light (easy to damage). Aluminum will cost an arm and a leg and probably still not be strong enough. If I were buying a new door it would be steel (probably with insulation and interior panels to quiet it some).

[trader4]

Wood rots and steel rusts if water is allowed to get to it. I have 30 year old garage doors and no rot here. You do have to keep them painted and make sure water isn't getting to them in ways in should not. Haven't done anything special here and they are still in great shape.

[dpb]

On 3/31/2013 5:52 PM, [e-mail] wrote: ...

There are two Raynor fiberglass OH doors here that are at least 40 yr of age and are still just fine. They aren't particularly attractive, granted, but it's a standalone garage on a farmstead so that doesn't bother me much (as in any). And, the translucence is kinda a nice thing from a light standpoint if there isn't sufficient other light.

OTOH, there are also fiberglass OH doors of the ilk of residential exterior doors that are can be quite attractive and not at all insubstantial (of course, the price isn't, either, but none of anything that aren't just cheap are).

[DerbyDad03]

I have no idea how old my wooden garage door is but it's been here as long as I have, going on 30 years. No rot whatsoever. I wouldn't be surprised if it was original to the 55 YO house.

On the other hand, one of the rails that (used to) go down into the concrete rusted out and there's a gap of about an inch between the slab and the bottom of the rail. It's not a problem because it's secured to the block just above the gap and since the bottom is no longer in contact with anything, it stopped "receding" years ago. :-)

[Dan Espen]

I replaced my 40+ y/o double wooden door last year.

The main problem was a gap on one side and they looked old. There was no wood rot. I don't think the door warped to cause the gap. It might have been 40 years of settling.

I mainly replaced them to upgrade the appearance.

My previous house, I had some +50 year old wood doors in perfect condition.

I conclude that real wood will last a _really_ long time.

I had Jaeger Lumber install some steel clad doors. They look great and don't make a huge noise when being opened. Good enough for me.

[krw]

My mother had one in her house, thirty years ago. What a PITA. It was always breaking. Illumination in the daytime was fine but not so nice the other way around at night. You could see shadows from everything in the front half of the garage.

I'll pass. Steel is so much better.

Fiberglass entry doors are nice. Overhead, not so much. Having had every type of OH door, I far prefer steel, with (*real*) wood being a close second. The only real problem with wood is its weight.

[clare]

A fiberglass door - made like fiberglass entry doors, would be the cat's MEOW

[DerbyDad03]

How about a garage door "engineered with an artfully molded wood-grain fiberglass surface concealing durable steel construction", Polyurethane foamed-in-place-insulation, and "optional insulated glass for improved thermal performance"?

No translucency issues because of the steel core, some light because of the windows, energy efficient and "the warmth and beauty of wood with less maintenance".

What more could you ask for? ;-)

or-model-9800.aspx

[DerbyDad03]

If the garage door was made like an entry door, it wouldn't fit very well. ;-)

[dpb]

...

Well, these have been installed for 40+ and haven't broken yet (well, other than the two panels dad replaced when he once started to back out thinking had waited long enough for the opener but it didn't operate for some reason.... :) ). The two replacement panels are nearly probably over 20 by now; I don't know just what year it was he did that but had been a while when we came back in '99...

I acknowledged they're not much to look at for an attached garage but this is detached and so there's "nothing to see here, folks"...

Just commenting that afaiac they're perfectly adequate operationally for an inexpensive solution--surely can't complain about the longevity. Don't know what/why ones you're familiar with would have had problems never having seen them, of course.

[clare]

Do I give you too much credit? I believe you are smart enough to know what I meant.

[krw]

...and too heavy to lift.

[Ed Pawlowski]

Some of us saw the humor in that remark.

[Frank]

I replaced my wooden door with steel too. It's about the same age as yours and still looks as good as new with no corrosion.

[krw]

I call that a steel door. ;-)

[krw]

My mother's started breaking in the first few years. I was constantly trying to put it back together. They're so light and flexible that the banding at the top and bottom would snap, making it work more like a piece of cooked linguini. PITA. Never again! Steel has all of the nice properties of fiberglass and a lot of its own.

Steel is no more expensive.

[DerbyDad03]

Perhaps I give *you* too much credit. Did you really think I was being serious?

[clare]

I don't think he was thinking of a "cat door"