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Stylish Steel Garage Doors
comments (1) April 29th, 2009 in Blogs
Robyn Doyon-Aitken, producer
The cost and the maintenance needs of a wood door can be more than twice that of a steel version.
Photo: Charles Miller
by Tom and Maggie Evart
Coachman Collection
| ■ Manufactured by Clopay ■ 800-225-6729; www.clopaydoor.com ■ Cost of model shown here: about $2000 |
When my wife and I purchased a 25-year-old home, we knew we would be making changes to give the house more character. Because the garage door was such a prominent feature, we made it a priority to find an attractive replacement, maybe even an authentic-looking carriage-house-style door.
We liked the benefits offered by an insulated steel door, but most had windows with a “snapped-in” look. We knew from experience that the plastic frames around the glass on these doors usually turned yellow over time. On the other hand, both the cost and the maintenance needs of a wood door were more than twice that of a steel version. We planned to paint the door to match our house, so the material simply needed to be paint grade. After inspecting numerous steel and custom-wood garage doors and receiving multiple quotes, we decided on one of the 11 insulated steel carriage-house-style doors manufactured by Clopay. We paid about half the price of a raw (not even primed) wood door, and the Clopay door came primed and ready for a final finish. After we prepped the surface with diluted TSP, we applied an exterior acrylic latex paint, per the manufacturer’s recommendation.
We’ve had the door for about two years now, and we continue to be pleased with its appearance and performance.
—Tom and Maggie Evart live in Lake Oswego, Ore.
posted in: Blogs, doors, garage
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