Frequently Asked Questions

Before "Horseless Carriages", the Carriage House (also called remise or coach house) was an outbuilding built to house horse-drawn carriages and the related tack. They oftentimes had a pair of Stile & Rail doors that closed toward each other, much like French doors do.

Fimbel ADS Carriage House Overhead Doors are sectional overhead garage doors that have the look of the doors on historical carriage houses.

• Historically accurate cosmetic features:
  • Our 3 section high layout (in standard heights) allows for a more historically proportionate glass top section.
  • The overlays and features on the face of the door, V-Groove and Beadboard patterns, Raised Panels... all features are done to most closely match the features found in traditional batten-style doors.
• Exclusive PVC Composite Section Construction
  • Highly weather-resistant, incredibly durable, and low-maintenence
  • High R-Value
  • Will not radiate heat like conventional stamped steel doors
  • Will not rot, split, or check like wood.
  • Vinyl Clad Steel (American Legends) doors will not rust.
  • Doors come in a highly UV-Resistant Natural White, and do not require finishing. However, they can be field painted or factory painted or stained.
    Please see this page for finishing information
  • Excellent warranty
    View warranty information here
• Your door is made to exacting specifications, using computerized equipment.
  • This control affords us to manufacture the highest quality garage door available
  • Your job is archived - we can produce replacement sections exactly like the original.
    • This comes in quite handy in cases where someone accidentally crashes through the door. Why replace the whole thing?
• One-piece machined grille face in glazed top sections:
  • Available in two distinct profiles, both being excellent representations of how glazed Carriage House doors were traditionally built
  • Extremely durable and resistant to the environment
  • Easily replacable glass (in case of breakage)
  • Lower price point compared to a Tru-Divide top
  • Extremely low-maintenence
  • Will not deteriorate or fall apart, as aged Tru-Divide tops may.

Your door dealer will procure a drawing from us for you to sign off on, during the quoting process.  This drawing represents exactly what we will make for you, once you've given the go-ahead.

The Overlay Dimensions block on the drawing tells you all the dimensions of the features on the door, across the flat, or edge to edge, not counting any beading or cosmetic details.  There are no values in this area that pertain to your opening.  Specifically, the Overlay Dimensions block shows the following:

• The width of all vertical overlays:
  • End Stiles (ES)
  • Center Stiles (CS)
  • Intermediate Stiles (IS)
• The height of all horizontal overlays:
  • Bottom Rails (BR)
  • Meeting Rails (MR)
  • Horizontal Rails (HR)
  • Top Rails (TR)
• The shoulder radius of the arch top (1)*

Additional annotations on your drawing, outside of the Overlay Dimensions block may include:

• A suggested shoulder height, specifically the "corner" where the jamb and arch header meet, so that the garage door arch top and opening line up. This measurement would be irrelavent, in the case you are installing your door in a square opening.(2)*
• Any additional notes that would make the job "custom" (3)
• Door Width
• Door Height
• Section Heights

* TO FIGURE YOUR OPENING RADIUS:

• Add the Top Rail and Radius values in the Overlay Dimensions block .  This is the suggested finished radius of your opening.
• Use the Shoulder Height and Door Height as a frame of reference to locate the arch correctly in the opening.

Please Note:

• Unless discussed previously, your initial drawing will be laid out using our standard dimensions on all features.  Our doors are designed to be as historically accurate as possible, in regards to traditional Carriage House Door construction. Because of this, most people are quite pleased with our standard layouts.
  
  Please be aware that if you wish to alter these features outside of our standard program, you may notice an increase in cost.  It's best to discuss these changes with your dealer, so you not only wind up with an affordable door that compliments your home, but also one that operates safely.

All of our Carriage House doors are built to withstand severe environmental punishment. Occasionally, local building codes require that garage doors, windows, etc., be certified to withstand a specific windload. This is most often the case in coastal communities, and in areas prone to tropical storms or severe weather.

Our American Legends Collection and Euro-Dor Series are both available with a special windload package, in sizes up to 9-0 x 8-0.

They have been certified by an approved 3rd party lab, according to the criteria dictated by ANSI/DASMA 108-2005, Standard Method for Testing Sectional Garage Doors and Rolling Doors: Determination of Structural Performance under Uniform Static Air Pressure Difference to withstand a windload of +30.08/-30.08 psf.
Special installation instructions must be followed, and your installer should obtain this information from the factory before performing the job.

We are continually working to expand our offering in this area. Please Contact Us for the latest information on Fimbel ADS Windload certified doors.