A carriage-house door with a woodgrain face softens a brick or stucco front, and out here it also has to stand up to wind, hail and blowing grit. Express Garage Doors helps homeowners around Amarillo choose wood-look steel, composite or real wood with the weather in mind, then hangs and balances the door. The estimate is free and in writing.
Tell us what the door is doing. The estimate is free and you can say no.
A carriage-house door takes its look from the hinged doors on old barns and coach houses. It doesn't swing, though. It is a sectional door that rolls up overhead, dressed with overlays that suggest two leaves meeting in the middle, vertical boards, a brace in the lower panels, decorative handles and strap hinges, and often a row of windows along the top.
On a ranch house with a long, low front, a carriage pattern breaks up a wide plain door and makes the garage look like part of the house instead of a slab of steel beside it.
Real wood looks wonderful and asks a lot here. The dry air pulls moisture out of the boards, the sun is strong at this altitude, and wind-driven grit scours the finish on the side that faces the weather. Hail can dent or split a wood face that steel would shrug off.
A wood door that is going to last needs its finish renewed regularly and its bottom edge kept sealed. Some owners enjoy that; for everyone else, the woodgrain options below give the same face with a fraction of the upkeep.
Wood also shrinks noticeably in the dry months, so the joints of a wood door open slightly and let the dust in unless the finish is kept up and the door was built to allow for the movement.
A woodgrain steel carriage door can be ordered wind-rated, meaning thicker skins and hardware built to keep the door straight and in its track when a gust hits, and on an open lot that rating matters more than the pattern. An insulated core between two steel skins makes the door stiffer against hail as well, and a textured woodgrain face hides small dents better than a smooth one.
Composite doors take a texture and finish that come closer still to stained wood and don't rot, warp or need refinishing. Either way, the overlays, hardware and windows that make the carriage look come on these doors too.
Dark stain colors look rich on the sample, but on a garage facing south or west they absorb heat and fade faster than lighter woodgrains. Mid-tone finishes hold their color longer here and show dust less, which matters on a lot where the wind coats everything by afternoon.
The finish is picked outside, with the sample held against the brick or stucco in daylight, because a color chosen under a shop light inside rarely looks the same on the house at four in the afternoon.
Windows on a carriage door usually sit in the top section as a row of small panes or a low arch. Smaller panes stand up to hail better than one big pane, and textured glass keeps the garage private from the street.
The handles and strap hinges come in finishes made for the weather, and they are placed to line up with the overlay so the door reads as two leaves rather than a panel with hardware stuck on. On a wide door the pattern is centered on the house, which is the detail that makes the front look planned.
For a garage that faces the worst of the weather, a carriage door without windows is a perfectly good choice; the overlay and hardware carry the look on their own, and there is no glass to crack.
A carriage door is chosen for the house and the exposure, in this order.
A wind-rated or insulated carriage door is heavier than a thin steel door, and a real wood door heavier again. The springs are chosen for the new door's weight, never reused from the old one, and the struts that keep a wide door straight are counted in that weight.
An opener that already struggled with the old door in the wind is looked at with the new weight in mind. If a stronger unit makes sense, one with battery backup for storm outages is written up separately, and the choice is yours.
Older brick ranches tend to suit a quieter carriage pattern, while the newer subdivisions in the southwest part of town often have rules on style and color that the door is chosen within. Bring the guidelines to the measuring visit and the options are kept inside them.
Homes on acreage outside town often have more than one opening facing the wind, and each is looked at for exposure on the same visit, since a door on the sheltered side can take a lighter build than one facing open ground.
A shop or barn door can carry the same carriage pattern in heavier steel so the property looks like one place. Our garage door installation page covers the rest of how a new door goes in.
A wind-rated carriage door does, because it is built stiffer and its hardware is made to keep it in the track. The technician notes how exposed your garage is before suggesting one.
It can be if you keep up with the finish, but dry air, strong sun, grit and hail are hard on it. Woodgrain steel or composite gives the look with far less upkeep.
Overlays that look like two swing-out leaves, decorative handles and hinges, and often windows across the top, on a sectional door that still rolls up overhead.
A textured woodgrain face hides small dents better than smooth steel, and an insulated core makes the door stiffer against hail.
Mid-tone finishes keep their color longer and show dust less than very dark stains, especially on a garage facing south or west.
Usually, especially wind-rated and real wood doors. The springs are sized to the new door and the opener is checked against the weight.
Yes. The shop door can carry the same pattern and color in heavier steel, with track chosen for its taller opening.
Yes. You get a free estimate in writing before anything is ordered.
Two hours, not a day, and you'll get a call as the technician sets off. Free throughout Potter County. The estimate is free either way.
Prefer to talk it through? Call (806) 545-9374.
Tell us what the door is doing. The estimate is free and you can say no.