Garage Door System GuideCarriage house doors imitate the side hinged barn doors of a horse and buggy era, but almost all of them are ordinary sectional doors that roll up overhead. The style is carried by an overlay and hardware, while the real performance comes from the steel and insulation underneath. Understanding that split is the key to specifying one. The facts below come from Clopay product literature.
Layered steel construction
A steel carriage house door is a sandwich, not a slab. Clopay publishes that its Coachman carriage house door uses four layer construction consisting of a composite overlay, steel, insulation with a thermal break, and steel. The outer composite overlay is what creates the carriage look; Clopay states it mimics real woodgrain, which is how the door gets the classic look of wood without the upkeep.
The steel underneath is protected against corrosion. Clopay describes the construction as using hot dipped galvanized steel, protective coatings and a baked on finish. This layered coating system is what lets a steel door hold paint and resist rust over years of weather exposure, and it is a core reason steel carriage doors have largely displaced solid wood versions for everyday use.
Insulation, R-value and high wind options
Because the carriage look is only skin deep, the same door can be ordered across a wide performance range. Clopay publishes three insulation choices for the Coachman: 2 inch Intellicore polyurethane, 2 inch polystyrene, or 1-3/8 inch polystyrene. That spread is what produces a broad range of thermal performance from a single model line.
Clopay states the resulting R-values run from 6.5 up to 18.4, with the 2 inch Intellicore polyurethane option anchoring the top of that range. For homes in demanding climates, Clopay also notes that its WindCode reinforcement is available for extra protection in high wind regions, so a carriage style door can be specified to meet elevated pressure requirements without giving up the appearance.