garage door face lift
#6
My garage doors (two) are almost certainly original to my house which was built in 1953.

It has, what I guess would be described as rails and stiles construction with 1/4" thick plywood panels.  The lower panels are delaminating and need to be replaced.

It should not be a very difficult job.  I would cut the interior 1/4 round sections out with my oscillating tool and possibly clean up the cuts with a trim bit in my router.  There are two glass panels at eye level and there are 6 plywood panels per door.  Each measures 10" x 42".

I was thinking of replacing all the plywood panels with frosted acrylic panels to mimic the look of the garage door below.  It would also make the garage much brighter with the doors closed.

My concern is this:  Would removing the plywood panels and replacing them with acrylic compromise the structure?  Does the plywood give the door some racking strength?  

In other words, if I replace all the wood panels with acrylic will the door fall apart in short order?  I could mount some diagonal wood braces inside.  I don't think it would be visible from the outside.

Thoughts?


[Image: aluminum-garage-door-8800.jpg]
No animals were injured or killed in the production of this post.
Reply
#7
I know the door type you have. It's built just like an exterior door but out of cedar for weight savings. They were very popular here in the 80s and today would cost many thousands vs back then they were just a little more than a steel door. 

      The top section usually had glass or plexiglass panels and I don't see a real issue with them. All the panels will overall end up with the center lower than the outsides as the door flexes because of the opener pushing the door down. Especially bad if the panels didn't have steel crossbraces. 



       I have plans drawn up to build our garage doors. Mainly because they are 9' wide but 7.5' tall. That extra height doubles the price of the doors. But I can build much better looking doors for the price of one 7' tall decent quality door...  They would be similar to the old style construction but with a sandwiched layer of foam inside for insulation and the skin on the inside will add lots of rigidity and eliminate warpage from the springs fighting the door opener. If we were staying here I'd rip out that center support and put up a single door. I hate the two doors on the garage vs one big one. Easy to damage vehicles and less usability overall.
Reply
#8
I've done that on  a house that was built in 1975, I only replaced the lower panels. This was many years ago and I may be fuzzy on the details,  but I think I pulled the upper stile off the rails and slid new panels in. I separated the panel by unbolting the hinges and then raising the rest of the door in the track. The old panels were hardboard, and my new ones were plywood. Regardless, it shouldn't be too hard to do. I probably wouldn't go with the plastic, but that's just me. In my case it would have weakened the rebuilt door, since I glued the plywood into the rails/stiles. The hardboard wasn't glued.
I started with absolutely nothing. Now, thanks to years of hard work, careful planning, and perseverance, I find I still have most of it left.
Reply
#9
Unless you love the look...just buying a new steel or fiberglass door with window panels (not sure of they come frosted or just put frosting on them) wouldn't be much money - especially for an uninsulated door (which you won't have with acrylic). Probably pretty comparable in price to buying all that acrylic? They are easy to install... I'd assume that you do need the panels for rigidity.
Reply
#10
(02-15-2018, 01:04 PM)Robert Adams Wrote: I know the door type you have. It's built just like an exterior door but out of cedar for weight savings. They were very popular here in the 80s and today would cost many thousands vs back then they were just a little more than a steel door. 

      The top section usually had glass or plexiglass panels and I don't see a real issue with them. All the panels will overall end up with the center lower than the outsides as the door flexes because of the opener pushing the door down. Especially bad if the panels didn't have steel crossbraces. 



       I have plans drawn up to build our garage doors. Mainly because they are 9' wide but 7.5' tall. That extra height doubles the price of the doors. But I can build much better looking doors for the price of one 7' tall decent quality door...  They would be similar to the old style construction but with a sandwiched layer of foam inside for insulation and the skin on the inside will add lots of rigidity and eliminate warpage from the springs fighting the door opener. If we were staying here I'd rip out that center support and put up a single door. I hate the two doors on the garage vs one big one. Easy to damage vehicles and less usability overall.
That center support makes parking a hassle.  There is only about 3 or 4 inches on either side of my car as I pull in.  But to remove it would require an engineered beam to span something like 20 feet and hold up the roof.  It might even require a steel I beam.  I have no idea how to calculate it.  

My parents had a two car garage with just one door and parking was much easier.
No animals were injured or killed in the production of this post.
Reply


Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)

Product Recommendations

Here are some supplies and tools we find essential in our everyday work around the shop. We may receive a commission from sales referred by our links; however, we have carefully selected these products for their usefulness and quality.