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Aluminum v. Steel Garage Doors

4 years ago

We're finalizing garage door choices for our new build, and we need to choose whether to go with an aluminum or steel door for our main, forward facing garage door, which will be painted the house body color. We had planned to go with a Wayne Dalton insulated steel door for the R-value, but the garage door company is strongly recommending an aluminum door from Northwest Door because they feel it gives a higher end look, with "true" stile and rail construction; the downside is a higher price and significantly lower R-value. I'd love thoughts from those who know more about garage doors than I do. What is the aesthetic difference? Does it outweigh the insulation (and cost!) difference.

Architect's renderings of our house (I'm not finding good construction photos of this, though the front is sided, roofed, and partially painted, all as shown here; only difference is we will not do the modern glass door as shown here, and I don't like that style):

Wayne Dalton steel option (though we wouldn't have windows):

Modern Farmhouse · More Info

Northwest Door Infinity Classic (again, we would have no windows):

Featured Answer

Kristin S
Original Author

4 years ago

Thanks, all. The aluminum is twice the price of the steel, with an R-value of 5 v. 12. I think we've decided to with the steel for now, knowing this is something we can upgrade later. I just can't see paying double, especially since the insulation is so low. Also, I can see the difference now that I'm looking for it, but I would not have noticed had it not been pointed out to me, especially since we're painting the garage door body color with the goal that it fade away, rather than being a feature to be noticed.

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Comments (8)

just_janni
4 years ago
I think that unless you are going with an ALL GLASS door, there's no reason to pay for the aluminum. And in your cold climate - I think you will need all the sealing and insulation you can get if you want your garage to be somewhat temperate in the cold weather.
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Anglophilia
4 years ago
Why not a wood garage door? That's what I've always had and I like it very much. The others look "fake" to me.
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I have three Fatezzi faux wood garage doors installed at my house. I'm glad I did not go with wooden doors. My brother's wooden door had multiple issues with the wood wrapping after a year of ownership. He had a wood cladded over a steel insulated door. It's not a solid wood door. Perhaps it's not as good as a solid wooden door. Maybe a solid wood door would performed better. I don't know. One thing for sure is that the Fatezzi faux wooden garage doors genuinely look like real wood. People who have seen my doors did not know they are not made from natural wood until I told them about the Fatezzi synthetic material. My doors have gone through two winters (including the last two recent heavy snow storms that went through the North East) and two summers to date and they performed as advertised. No issues whatsoever. They are more expensive than the typical steel insulated garage doors but the look of wood adds value, character and curb appeal to my house. Pricing is comparable to solid wood doors and wood panel/cladded doors. The big advantage over natural wood is the low maintenance aspect of the Fatezzi door. Hope it helps.
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Kristin S
Original Author
4 years ago
I agree they're gorgeous, but in our very wet PNW climate, they require more upkeep than we're looking to put into our garage doors.
Pinebaron
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
We live in PNW. Aluminium is the way to go. We have the glass doors with an upgraded frame for additional strength since each is 18’ wide. We love them. Can‘t remember their r-value but the garage did not feel too cold even during last winter which was pretty cold. I admit they are a little expensive but worth it.
robin0919
4 years ago
What's the diff in price and R value? Steel does rust, Al doesn't.
functionthenlook
4 years ago
Aluminum is softer than steel and more prone to dent than steel.
localeater
4 years ago
How much more $? I had to make a similar decision for my new build, with front facing garage. The one that looked best was 2.5 x the price. I chose the less expensive one because I thought it would work, and if I truly hated in 3-5 years it is an easy thing to replace.

When you are building there are so many choices to make. I wanted to stay on budget.

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