Q for those of you who have bought a garage door recently

[luv2cook]

DH, how I love the man, forgot to close the back end of his SUV last Saturday after a trip to PetsMart. The door was closed and when we went to open it, the door caught on the back end of the hatch back part. Long story short, it shattered ALL the glass and threw it off the tracks; hence the need for a new garage door. This door is extremely old. Fixing it is a stupid option -- plus it's ugggggllllly.

So. I spent several hours trying to figure out what a good garage door is. We definitely need insulation. We get afternoon sun and we have a refrigerator in our garage. We definitely want steel. Wood is out. I've looked at Clopay, Haas, Lowe's brand, & Amarr.

Do any of you have any of these brand of doors? insulated, 1 3/4 or higher, flush with windows. If any of you have a 16x7 door and your door matches my "criteria" how much did you pay and where did you get it? Local or National. I am just shocked at how expensive garage doors are. yes, you can get a noninsulated one.

While I'm at it, what brand garage door openers do ya'll have? So far the top rated ones seem to be Chamberlain which is LiftMaster, Craftsman & Genie.
We're interested in the belt drive. Can't decide between 1/2 hp or 3/4 hp! Terrible. All over a stupid door!!!!!

Plus, the guy who came out to give us a bid said our wheels are about to fall off! Nice, eh?

[Beth]

I can relate. We replaced the door at the last house when it came of the tracks and buckled -- after a dent from the previous owner and another from our kids closing the door with the tailgate of the van open. That was from Overhead Door, maybe their own brand, insulated but no glass. We replaced the opener (I think a Craftsman because it had a lifetime warranty?) at the same time. That's been 5+ years and I don't remember more than that.

We also replaced the one here. I don't think it failed, but it was old, noisy and we wanted a new look, insulation and a quieter opener. We got an Amarr door in a carriage house style, insulated, no glass. We also replaced the opener -- with a Chamberlain this time. I believe it is a belt drive (last one was screw drive?) and is a 3/4 or 1 HP if I recall correctly. They said the carriage house needed a heavier one. It's worked like a charm.

We've been very happy with both jobs, but especially the Amarr/Chamberlain and the company that put it in for us. I had an electrician here last week and he commented on how quiet the opener was. I also like the fact that the newer ones close slowly (for safety) but open quickly. I don't remember the name of the company that did it, but I think it was something real difficult like Joe's Garage Doors. They are the Amarr dealer listed in Tomball. They were great to work with (honest, on time, good work, no problems and good people). They even offered to check for overstocks or other lower priced options on top of being less to begin with. I think we saved about $1000. My dad also use them and was happy (perhaps a harder test). You may have to leave a message when you call, but the wait was worth it.

While I whole-heartedly recommend the dealer we used, I think Costsco also sells the Amarr doors and might offer a good price.

[Slowcooker]

We put a Clopay door on our last house, and we were very happy with it (about 2 years before we moved). I don't remember what we paid for it, but we purchased it at Home Depot.

[luv2cook]

I got another quote for an Amarr door today. The first bid was from Overhead door. The second bid was from Action Garage Door. They are BBB listed and have been in business for years. The guy that came out today was extremely confident. They're going to throw in the garage door opener for $60 less. It's a LiftMaster which is made by Chamberlain. I am disturbed that the door closes slowly. I hate waiting!

If we want flush, we have to go with a lesser door, a 1 3/8 thickness but still insulated. If we want gray, ditto. If we want to give up the above, either one, we can have whatever we want.

Sam's had a Clopay door for $937 but then you had to pay someone to put it in.

[Beth]

It isn't that slow closing -- maybe not slower than what we had before. I think it may be more that it opens quickly, which is good.

Overhead Dood was one of those that was higher on our second job, but they have different locations and I think they are franchises.