Garage door problem :

firehawkmph

When you start going overly wide, the door prices go up very quickly. That price does not sound out of line if it is a good quality steel insulated door. 20' is very wide for a residential door. Going from 16' to 18' double the cost of the door. It's cheaper to go higher than wider.
Mike Hawkins

ThatDaveGuy

Exactly, it is not out-of-line for a good quality door, but there are oversized residentials made that are just stretched versions of the regular 16's, some by companies whose regular product is scraddy to start with. The issue with any of them is the flexing of those long sections when the door is up, steel doors tend to sag, necessitating addon braces, which means more weight/section when horizontal.

At that price I'd have to check commercial door prices (often more bang for the buck since residentials get "dressed up" with textures, lights, aesthetic addons that jack the price up). 20' is a lot of door, I have to wonder if it's necessary, a center pillar and 2- 9's would be less expensive and far more stable and secure just for example.

Alan did the smart thing by getting a professional opinion, but there can be huge markups in that line (I know, they paid my bills for years ). If he's gonna fix it, he needs to fix it right and not just a "for now" fix that has him posting here again in a couple of years.

Alan

I'm not sure I Didn't talk to the guy, my wife did. I'll ask her. Why do you ask, does it seem high? New rails, springs, door, installed for 2300.

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Journeyman Plumber

ThatDaveGuy

Curious more than anything but construction quality varies wildly when it comes to garage doors. There are some I literally wouldn't take for free, and I've seen doors that were trash in less than a year. Like everything, going cheap can be the most expensive option in the long run. That's a very large door for something non-commercial so you want it right.

Again, just 'cuz I'm curious, did you take any pics of your current one?

Alan

No pictures at the moment. Any advice on brands to stay away from?

Garage door guy didn't give anything in writing yet and didn't specify a brand. Getting a 2nd quote on Monday from another company.

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Journeyman Plumber

Alan

I didn't really think of that, could I get a garage door guy to put a 2' section of wall in the middle, or would I have to get someone else to come do it? It's not a matter of ability, it's a timing thing. I just don't have the time to screw with it.

Edit : You'd have to factor in the price of at least one opener into the cost of 2 doors, if not two openers so that they match.

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Journeyman Plumber

ThatDaveGuy

I wouldn't badmouth anyone's product, but I do know a guy that had a Clopay door in his truck, when he stopped to grab a bite someone broke in and left two more Clopays in the back.

2-9's was really just a random-haven't had enough coffee yet- thought, not a recommendation, but doing that sort of thing is actually fairly common w/ residential door service, depending on the specific company used. I did a ton of work in Washington DC, and I'd say 70% required some alteration of the opening, mainly because they have old carriage houses which used narrower/taller openings. The point was that a 20' door is very different from a 16', 25% wider sections essentially made the same way. It takes a lot to keep that straight and rigid as it tracks to the horizontal when opening.

Even easier, have it built in 2' on either side and get a 16' w/ one opener

I mentioned commercials, and a lot of people don't like their aesthetics because they want those nice looking stile and panel layouts, but typical commercial doors have horizontal ribs that make a huge difference structurally whereas the flat stile stampings on res act like hinge points when the sections are horizontal, plus tracks, hinges, hardware,etc. are generally heavier gauge material on a comm.

Whatever you decide go with torsion springs.

Alan

Thanks for all the insight, I really appreciate it.

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Journeyman Plumber

Alan

Found the paperwork he left behind yesterday, it's a Wayne Dalton door.

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Journeyman Plumber

firehawkmph

Alan,
Not a big wayne dalton fan. They do make various lines of doors from really lightweight junk to commercial doors that aren't bad. It depends which one you are getting. As a general rule, I would look for something better. As talked about earlier, It probably would be cheaper for you to have a carpenter frame in each side 2' and go with a standard 16' x 7' door. A good quality 16' door can be had for $1000 or less.
Mike Hawkins

ThatDaveGuy

There are quite a few "brands" of garage doors but actually very few residentials that anything more than just barely enough to hang in an opening. There's nowhere near the money in them so if they can save pennies on lighter gauge steel, or just gluing them together w/ LiquidNails, then they do. A few stock sizes of mix-n-match springs that are "close enough" is cheaper than the right ones. Plastic bushings are cheaper than bearings. Like anything else, you get what you pay for and the cheapest one usually ends up costing the most in the long run.

Personally, (remembering that free advice is worth what you paid for it), I wouldn't pony up $2700 on a WayneDalton w/ whatever opener they use (Genie? <shudder>). I know what I'd choose but I'm not sure it's considered kosher here to advocate a particular brand of product.