Fiberglass Garage Doors

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Garage doors are entry doors too

Entry doors to a house include not only the openings where people enter and exit, but also how vehicles get into and out of the garage. The garage door is likely to be a composite structure, made up of a steel frame but overlaid with wood, steel or fiberglass paneling.

One of the most popular manufacturers of such products is Wayne-Dalton, who actually collaborates with the famous residential fiberglass entry door company ThermaTru. Together they have created high quality, wood mimic fiberglass garage doors.

The advantages

The advantage of using fiberglass is well-known. The material is resistant to wood rot, warpage due to moisture, and forms of cracking and peeling due to salt-water corrosion. However, this doesn't mean the owner will never have to worry about maintenance or damage. Under pressure or impact, fiberglass garage doors can still become misshapened.

Mimicking wood

For owners interested in the beauty of wood grain, fiberglass garage doors can be made to mimic different kinds of wood. The kinds of grained textures that Wayne-Dalton offers, for example, include cherry wood, oak wood and mahogany wood mimics. These surfaces come in a variety of designs, which follow a few conventional guidelines. One of the main features of the surface design is the paneling. Closely spaced panels, vertical and horizontal paneling are a few of the possibilities. To many people, the detail of the wood grain texturing is very convincing, and fools most except for the sharpest eyes. The surface of the door is laid over an underlying steel framework which gives it the necessary structural integrity to withstand constant opening and shutting.

Great for heat insulation

For some reason, if you search on the internet, there are some claims that fiberglass garage doors have poor insulating properties. Nothing can be further from the truth. These doors come with special foam cores that are highly resistant to heat transfer. Energy specialists use something called the R-value which measures the heat resistivity, or the resistance to transmission of heat. R-values typically range from 6 to 7 for fiberglass, but much lower for wood. The foam core is full of air pockets which minimizes thermal transmission. Moreover, the foam core also dampens out noise coming from the street, to help insulate the interior of the garage from exterior noises.

Lites and Windows

Some garage doors also have small windows to let in a bit of light. In actuality, the fiberglass garage door can be made to be somewhat transparent to light, but the windows help increase the light level which can make it easier to move around inside the garage without having to turn on a light. The small windows are akin to lites on residential doors. One may choose from one of several types of glass. For example, acid etched glass makes it hard to see clearly into the interior while letting light through. It also makes it hard to see outside! That's why one can also opt for clear glass.

Accenting

Beyond glass, there are a number of accoutrements one can add to the garage door. For example, the metal lift handle can be custom designed. Lift handles come in different shapes and styles. At the corners one can also add metal brackets to accent the surface. Metal brackets can be made to match the lift handle in color, thickness, weight and style. Some people even put a knocker on the fiberglass garage door making it easier for neighbors to knock on the door.