JediCat,

Thank you for posting this question. I work for Clopay and shared your question with our engineers, product development team, and customer service group to find out why a dealer would have given you this information. Clopay's Canyon Ridge Collection was engineered especially for the harsh climate conditions you are describing. The door is constructed of a durable, low-maintenance polymer that will not warp, crack, shrink, or rot, like natural wood can due to exposure. It features Clopay's Intellicore insulation technology and has a 20.4 R-value for year-round comfort.

We test all Clopay garage doors in a thermal chamber (oven / freezer) to gauge their performance in extreme temperatures. Doors are cycle tested at temperatures ranging from -20 to +180 degrees Fahrenheit and back multiple times to ensure performance. Since 1996, Clopay is the only residential garage door brand to earn the Good Housekeeping Seal for all of our garage doors, including the Canyon Ridge Collection. The Seal offers homeowners like yourself additional protection beyond Clopay's manufacturer warranty. If the product is found to be defective within two years of the date of purchase, Good Housekeeping will replace it or refund the purchase price. The Good Housekeeping Research Institute conducts its own independent testing of our doors to make sure each one meets their stringent standards in addition to our own.

We are glad to hear that you like the Canyon Ridge design and hope you will select it for your home. If you have additional questions, please contact us at 800-225-6729.

If the dealer has concerns, please encourage him to contact us or his account manager so we can address them.

Below is a link to a video that shows the rigorous temperature and strength testing performed on all of our Intellicore garage doors.

Also, so you are aware, Clopay also offers the Canyon Ridge Ultra-Grain Series carriage house door, which has an insulated steel base garage door with Ultra-Grain stain finish (the same as the Gallery Collection) and Clear Cypress composite overlays. Many design options are available with or without windows.

We hope this information is helpful in your decision-making process.

Here is a link that might be useful: Clopay Garage Door Testing Videos

This post was edited by Mischel on Mon, Sep 29, 14 at 15:18