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newenglandsara2

should we replace these garage doors?

newenglandsara2
9 years ago

Hi All,

We recently bought a 1941 house, and we are doing a major renovation to it. We are trying to figure out what to do about the garage doors. They are pretty in style (windows in the center), but they have caked on paint that is starting to peel, and they don't have any safety features. (One is not automatic.) One garage installer told us that the doors are made out of Douglas Fir, but a painter implied that the front of the doors are plywood and can't be easily refinished to look good.

Our exterior painters are starting in about a week. One option would be for the painters to try to restore the doors as much as possible...and to add safety features. Another option is to get new doors for around $2400. The new doors would be from Garaga: pure white steel doors (made out of a bumpy texture) with raised panels and windows with insert panes on top. The new doors would work much better, but they don't seem to "go" with the character of the house. We are also worried that the bright white will look very bright against the age of the house....and that painting the doors will add further cost and maintenance. Getting nicer, new doors would probably bump us above our price range.

Any advice? Below is a photo of the existing garage doors and also the front of the house. I welcome input.

(By the way, this picture was taken before we owned the house, and the nice Mercedes is not our car!) :-)

Thanks so much!

Sara

Comments (13)

  • newenglandsara2
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Here is a photo of the front of the house to provide the bigger picture. (I can't take a current photo of the garage since there is a bright red dumpster in front of it now.) :-)

  • sas95
    9 years ago

    We just got Garaga doors (very happy with them). Do any of the colors they come in go better with your house than the bright white? It's hard to tell the color of the side of your house on my monitor, but I think they have more subdued, taupey options.

  • worthy
    9 years ago

    You can upgrade the openers without replacing the doors.

    Shiny steel doors are not my first choice unless price is paramount. They also dent easier and are harder to repair than wood. If the wood is solid and repairable at a reasonable price, I'd stick with them.

  • kirkhall
    9 years ago

    Your wood doors, if in good shape (no splits, etc) would be what I stick with. The opener and safety features can all be added. That has not a lot to do with the door itself.

    Good luck!

  • annkh_nd
    9 years ago

    "The new doors would work much better"

    Perhaps your old doors need some adjustment - is there a track slightly out of line? Lubrication needed? Or is it the safety features that concern you? That's an opener issue.

  • newenglandsara2
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thank you so much for the input! I think I am starting to see that the Douglas Fir doors--even though they need upgrading--would be really hard to replicate now for any sort of decent price. I am going to look into adding safety features and tuning them up a bit. (As for the Garaga doors, they are paintable but don't come with lots of color options since every house is a different shade.)

    I welcome additional input if any other suggestions come to mind.

    Thanks again!

    Sara

  • SaltiDawg
    9 years ago

    I think they look nice from a distance - I like the design and also the color. I'd look at repairing the doors and re-painting. Get some quotes on improving the tracks or features to meet your desires.

    Nice home - nice street appeal.

    This post was edited by saltidawg on Sun, Aug 31, 14 at 15:02

  • newenglandsara2
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thank you, saltidawg! I think I am coming to appreciate the doors via this thread. I also really appreciate your nice comments on our house! We always admired it from afar (we used to live around the corner), so we feel lucky to be moving in! :-)

    Thanks again!

    Sara

  • SaltiDawg
    9 years ago

    Sara,

    I learned the hard way that if you go to the Yellow Pages to select a garage door repairman, that it can get pricey. (Did I really say Yellow Pages? lol)

    You don't want an emergency response, just an estimate. Some folks come out in the morning to find their garage door inoperable and panic because they need to get to work. The 2/7 available guys come out but sometimes charge in the hundreds of dollars for the visit and/or have a huge "minimum."

    Also, there is a lot of bait and switch... quote you a couple of hundred and then add on new rollers, new tracks, new hinges, new springs, etc, etc. (obviously some of these things may well be needed.)

  • palimpsest
    9 years ago

    I don't think you would get anything at a reasonable price that looked as "correct" as those do with the house.

  • Fori
    9 years ago

    Scrape 'em, repair 'em, get new openers, and keep 'em. Everyone is wanting you to do what's easiest for THEM, but those are some nicely-styled doors and worth keeping.

  • rockybird
    9 years ago

    Definitely keep them. They are perfect for the house.

  • Suziqzer1
    9 years ago

    As the others have already said.. Keep the existing doors & get the necessary repairs done to them. They certainly go with the style of the home better than many newer ones will... unless you are ready to spend a lot of money on them for specialty doors.

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