Clopay - Engineered for Low-Maintenance and Climate Resistance
While it may not happen every time Albert Cummings sees a red door, when he and his wife and business partner Christina Cummings picked their garage doors, their natural inclination, just like the Rolling Stones, was to “Paint it Black.” Their custom home in The Berkshires—a home nicknamed The House That Blues Built in homage to Albert’s storied career as a blues musician—will feature Clopay’s Canyon Ridge 5-Layer Carriage House garage doors with a painted black finish.
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“Albert has used Clopay garage doors for many of custom home clients and has a long-standing relationship with his local garage door dealer,” says Mischel Schonberg, the public relations manager at Clopay. “Before he chose the composite doors, he went through the gamut of all of our door choices. It’s really hard to make that decision when it comes to your own home.” |
A CLIMATE FOR COMPOSITE OVER WOOD
Schonberg, who recently replaced her own garage doors,found it nearly impossible to choose between the abundance of available Clopay options because so many styles appealed to her.
“Albert and Christina initially thought they wanted natural wood for their garage doors, but we steered them to a composite material,” Schonberg says. “First, the climate in the Berkshires can be hard on natural wood and would require regular maintenance. And between Albert’s music touring schedule and their custom home business, they lead busy lives. It’s nice to have something that won’t require as much maintenance.”
Clopay was able to show the Cummings that their engineered composite overlay doors have the realism and expert craftsmanship of natural wood, but they never need sanding or refinishing.
“They even feel like real wood garage doors,” Schonberg says.
The Cummings house has a sideloading garage, but the doors are the first thing the homeowners see when they get out of their car at the property.
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“It’s a testament to Albert’s commitment to the house and design that he wants the visual experience to be equally exquisite from every angle,” Cloplay’s PR manager says. “Even the guests who arrive at the property will often see the garage entrance first when they park their cars.” |
The Canyon Ridge faux wood garage doors are inspired by old-fashioned coach house doors and look like they swing out, but they operate with a modern upward opening. The cladding and overlay molds were made from actual wood planks, providing the most authentic wood grain look and texture. You cannot tell the faux from the real.
The Cummings house isn’t close to completion yet, but the garage doors are already onsite and ready for installation when the exterior is ready.
ENERGY EFFICIENT AND CLIMATE SMART GARAGE DOORS
While the engineered doors may look like real wood, the composite material is adhered to an insulated three-layer steel base door with two-inch thick Intellicore polyurethane foam insulation in between two layers of steel that provides a 20.4 R-value.
The doors are customizable and can be painted or stained, and have optional decorative window designs to bring natural light into the garage. The doors are energy efficient and quiet, an important quality for the Cummings because of their peaceful Berkshires location. The polyurethane insulation fills every nook and cranny of the steel, so the metal parts don’t rattle when the door opens and closes. The insulation also keeps the garage 10 to 20 degrees cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.
“We’ve had customers send us pictures of the outdoor thermometer and the reading on the temperature monitor inside the garage to confirm the studies we did hold up,” Schonberg says.
The engineered composite overlay doors are moisture and UV-resistant, so they won’t rot, warp or crack, which makes them a good choice for any climate including coastal areas and regions with high humidity or a lot of snow. Built-in Wind Code reinforcement is available for homes in hurricane-prone regions.
Clopay’s time-tested engineered composite doors, which are manufactured in Ohio, were first introduced in 2011. The company continues to add designs and colors to meet evolving design trends. New options include Mid-Century Modern doors and a Louver design perfect for coastal homes.
By Michele Lerner
