What is a Carriage House Garage Door?

Carriage house garage doors have become very popular, especially in the northeastern part of the U.S.   We get a lot of inquiries about this type of door so we thought we would talk a bit about this style of residential garage door.

What exactly is a Carriage House door anyway?  Before garages were attached to a home, people built carriage houses – also called coach houses.   It was normally set behind the house and was basically a stable or place to house a horse drawn carriage.  This was before the “horseless carriage” or automobile became commonplace.  This style of building was always at street level, without stairs leading to the entryway and sometimes, in more expansive homes, had living quarters for staff above the storage area.

Original Carriage House doors were built to swing out from the center using side hinges.  Modern overhead garage doors incorporate the design elements of a swing-out door in an overhead style door.  These design elements are one of the reasons for this door’s popularity.

Most carriage house doors have the top panel dedicated to some sort of window treatment.  Many traditional Carriage house doors were arched at the top and this design is carried out with square openings using an arched window treatment.  Another feature that may be found is hardware, such as side hinges and door pulls that give the appearance of working side swing doors.

Custom garage doors can provide an almost unlimited combination of window treatments as well as panel design to give you the perfect curb appeal you are looking for in your home.  Amarr, a national manufacturer, for example, offers over 80 different styles of carriage house door in their collection.

Carriage house doors come in natural wood, composite material that resembles wood or steel construction.  These doors can provide very good insulation values.  A high R-value means the garage door insulates well and has increased thermal efficiency.  When comparing R-values among garage door manufacturers, you should look for statements that mention Calculated R-Value based on the Door and Access System Manufacturer’s Association (DASMA) TDS-16.

Wind load doors are built specifically to withstand specific high-wind pressures with an interior wind load reinforcement system. The most popular door manufacturers can add wind load reinforcement to your door to meet local building codes.  Remember, it is the homeowner’s responsibility to make sure the garage door meets local building codes; however a reputable overhead door company should know the wind load requirements for your particular location.

Most manufacturers will provide a lifetime limited warranty for their carriage house style garage doors.

This entry was posted in garage doors, overhead doors