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AKnate

AKnate

Icehole
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Mar 5, 2022
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Was working on adjusting the garage door yesterday and found the bottom is rusting out.
Almost seems like something was pissing on the door, like they had a dog vs rain water. Sure didn't smell good.


Anyhow, it made me think of replacing the doors. I cleaned up the rust and painted, though there's not much left on the bottom steel in a few spots l.

Current doors are 10 ft wide, 13ft tall and 1.4" thick. I'd guess only an R6 or 7.
Building is heated, it's below freezing around 5 months a year.

Generally doors here are 1.75-2" thick, around an R13-15, and even 3" exist

Does an R value improvement of ~7 make a big difference in holding heat?

Trying to get an idea if spending let's say 5k would save 5k on heating in x years. Last year it cost about $1500 to heat.

Other thing I'm considering is 1 wider door vs 2 skinny doors. Like an 18ft wide.
There's only about 14" between the 2 doors and 10ft wide is tight. My pickups will barely fit without pulling in the mirrors. Building is 29ft wide interior.
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More r value will hold heat more consistently, using less btu's.
That said, the hvac gurus will need to chime in for value of the upgrade.
Can you replace the bottom section?
Door to wall seal is another biggie I've found.
Mine is @2"
But here in the prk 20 above is :eek:

Only dinger on bigger width is the heat loss per open event.
Love big openings in the shop.
 
Clb said:
More r value will hold heat more consistently, using less btu's.
That said, the hvac gurus will need to chime in for value of the upgrade.
Can you replace the bottom section?
Door to wall seal is another biggie I've found.
Mine is @2"
But here in the prk 20 above is :eek:

Only dinger on bigger width is the heat loss per open event.
Love big openings in the shop.
Click to expand...
Waiting to hear from door place. The guy said it was a low end door.
 
It's like all the replacement window people. They convince you that the new windows insulate better than the old ones, except that they have crappy cheap installers who don't do it right. Then you get more air leaks and your heating bill goes up... You're better off with a $8 can of spray foam going around sealing air leaks and keeping your old windows.
 
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Almost $16k for a 20x13 and opener. Ouch.
 
I've got two doors in my shop. The opening through the trim is like 104" wide, so pretty tight, but everything on wheels that's road legal can fit through if it's short enough.

I feel like two doors is better because the opening is smaller when you do have to open a door. Less conditioned air will get out.

What about getting uninsulated door panels and sticking in your own 2" EPS or something inside the panels? Get 2" thick regular aluminum doors and cut EPS to fit in. Would save a bunch I bet.
 
I found standard size doors to be half the price (or less) than custom sizes. I went with a standard 12' wide by 14' tall for that reason. No opener because I'm cheap, and can work the chain pull just fine.

If you have a shitty bottom panel, change that panel. Or order a window panel for higher up the door and shuffle one down. Put some foam on the panels if you feel like it.

Windows and doors do not insulate anywhere near as good as a proper wall. Claims of 'better' are diminishing returns, like any energy-savings claim. 2% better than negligible - yay! :homer:
 
GLTHFJ60 said:
I've got two doors in my shop. The opening through the trim is like 104" wide, so pretty tight, but everything on wheels that's road legal can fit through if it's short enough.

I feel like two doors is better because the opening is smaller when you do have to open a door. Less conditioned air will get out.

What about getting uninsulated door panels and sticking in your own 2" EPS or something inside the panels? Get 2" thick regular aluminum doors and cut EPS to fit in. Would save a bunch I bet.
Click to expand...


18 and 20ft wide are standard.

Some options limited with only 13ft tall vs 14 though. Ideally would have a 16ft tall ceiling instead of 14.

Most stuff I own wouldn't fit or would be extremely tight. Like 1" on each side.

Really only things that would fit are a couple cars and small equipment. Trucks are all 8+ ft wide beds.

12ft wide is about the skinniest that's reasonable to fit without needing to fold mirrors. 10ft is doable with some mirrors, but it's tight.
 
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u2slow said:
I found standard size doors to be half the price (or less) than custom sizes. I went with a standard 12' wide by 14' tall for that reason. No opener because I'm cheap, and can work the chain pull just fine.

If you have a shitty bottom panel, change that panel. Or order a window panel for higher up the door and shuffle one down. Put some foam on the panels if you feel like it.

Windows and doors do not insulate anywhere near as good as a proper wall. Claims of 'better' are diminishing returns, like any energy-savings claim. 2% better than negligible - yay! :homer:
Click to expand...

Can't get panels for these doors. The company doesn't make them anymore and they aren't standard design. 1.4" thick is uncommon here, standard is 2" and best is 3"

I have no opener and it's a PITA to try pushing the door all the way up. Have to use a 2x4.
 
Rollup, Weld a chain ring onto the axle?
Track to 90* parralles the lid, yer fooked:eek:

Swap bottom and top?
 
I went from 2 smaller uninsulated doors to an insulated 18 footer. Even though it's the low end R6 model, it made a huge difference. I framed the sides and top in to take a standard size door.

While the 18' door is nice, it has a lot of flex when opening it. It has a regular center mounted opener. I am thinking of getting 1 that drives the roller for the torsion springs. It will clear up room for my hoist and cut down on the cringe factor.

Going to a single door also eliminated about 24' of edge seal. Was less area for potential air leaks.
 
Muckin_Slusher said:
Once you close in the carport in front of the door you'll have two doors between the heater area and outside, just like airlock doors at the mall.

Better start on that carport!

:flipoff2:
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No idea, haven't been to a mall in almost 30 years.
 
AKnate said:
18 and 20ft wide are standard.

Some options limited with only 13ft tall vs 14 though. Ideally would have a 16ft tall ceiling instead of 14.
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Just for comparison, get a price on a 12' tall door. Two foot increments are usually standard. I'd guess the extra foot is raising your cost substantially.
 
Got a couple more quotes and they are all more.

Highest one was just under 20k.

The orginal place, for an 18 wide and only 12.5ft tall is right over 10k.. the opener about $1500 of that.

12.5ft gives enough clearance to not need a high lift setup, so it's cheaper.
Do I need the extra 6"? Dunno. Most everything I have isn't that tall.

18 wide gives around 6ft on each side. After benches and whatever else against the walls it's pretty close to actual shop width and room to open doors... ie pull in straight with mirror near door opening.

My old door was 18 wide. Was rare I had 2 vehicles in the garage though.
 
Oh and google is retarded.

I asked how tall an RV sized door needs to be...

A large motor home or semi truck will need a door measuring 32 feet 2 inches wide by 24 feet by 1 inch tall.

love to see a 24ft tall Winniebango or van trailer!
 
I don't think my motorhome would fit a 12.5' door.
 
bdkw1 said:
I don't think my motorhome would fit a 12.5' door.
Click to expand...
The big ones are probably 13.5'

Had I designed the building, I'd have probably with 16ft ceiling and 14ft door.
 
Put the doors on hold. May end up extending the building next year. Already have to redo that wall and add an overhang, so while I'm at it.

Thinking 20ft and a ~20ft apron. Would make the building 30x62 and shop area 30x46
 
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