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News From Fimbel Architectural Doors

Spring Cleaning and Care

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When we build, we build for beauty and durability that will last because we care about your satisfaction as well as our environment. From our processes to our products, we reduce, reuse, and recycle everything we can. We run on solar, and we love to help reduce your overall maintenance efforts and costs. This all speaks to our desire to provide a durable and sustainable solution with virtually no maintenance.

Despite our efforts, garage doors pose a threat to all when they aren't properly maintained. The International Door Association made several recommendations that can help provide safety year over year. Please refer to their checklist for the full list of suggested items to be on the lookout for and do seek out a reliable, professional technician to help you with the maintenance.

Find a Professional Technician

In our organization, safety must be the first priority. The first and most important aspect of maintaining your garage door is to understand what you, the homeowner, should keep an eye on and what you should rely on a trained professional to handle.

Professional maintenance should be done regularly and will include comprehensive checks of the rollers and hinges, motor, weather seal, cables, track, and most importantly – the springs. Choosing to tackle these aspects of the door may seem easy enough, but a trained professional is necessary for your benefit and safety. Please visit our dealer locator to find our partners.


Home Maintenance List

Second to safety, we value quality at Fimbel ADS. We believe in regular preventative maintenance to ensure quality, and we believe you should regularly check your door to avoid costly and dangerous situations. Listening and paying attention to the garage door may prevent issues.

Regularly check the mechanisms of the door to be sure they have adequate lubrication to allow the system to glide through the tracks. Lubricate all moving parts (metallic) using non-greasy, non-silicone-based garage door lubricant. If the movement of the sections becomes stiff and begins to make a squeaking sound, they may need oil. Be sure not to oil the tracks, overoil the parts, and subsequently collect residue and debris. You can also check your photo-eyes to be sure the trip sensor is connected. Beyond that - we highly recommend reaching out to your Professional Technician.


How it's Made Matters

We believe the little-to-no-maintenance solution is a garage door made with our vinyl material and our vinyl clad-steel; however, we also believe in given you all the information you need to make the right choice, so here's a rundown of some other products:

Basic steel doors do not require much maintenance, but they also tend to live a short life before looking weathered and worn. In contrast, wood doors will last a long time in the right environment, but they require a great deal of maintenance. Maintaining a wood door requires regular cleaning of the exterior to prolong the life of the wood and stain. The finish on your wood door should be inspected no less than every 12 months, and more frequently if the wood door is exposed to direct sunlight (facing south, southeast, or south west) or harsh weather conditions are present. About every 2-3 years it is recommended to sand and reapply a clear topcoat your wood doors with the paint or stain of your choice. Prior to refinishing, you will need to use wood filler to cover any cracks or blemishes and allow it to dry. Sand the door with the grain and with gentle pressure. Allow adequate dry time between each application and be sure to tape off windows and decorative hardware.

We know your time is precious - our only non-renewable asset, so we proudly offer options that will satisfy your lifestyle while sustaining our love of Mother Earth. The time, the resources, the chemicals, and so much more all take from or pollute something we love.

Keep it Beautiful with Vinyl

For our naturally white, vinyl doors, you can expect a lifetime of low maintenance pleasure. Using VERSATEX Building Products, we share a passion for the way we operate with respect for our planet, our product, and our partners. The solid, smooth vinyl material provides the incredible look of wood without the stress.

Similarly, our vast and varied factory finish and faux stain finish, you can count on a warm water rinse here and a little soap there to keep your door beautiful. For our factory finished doors, we use Tricoya which is a composite wood that was made to sustain and perform. We chose to partner with a paint and faux stain manufacturer, AquaSur Tech, not only for their commitment to sustainability but also because they offer an array of colors and a solid warranty against fading thanks to their innovative heat reflective pigments which allow us to bring dark colors to your door no matter the exposure.

Once our factory finish is applied to this material, the pair is ready to impress and endure with limited maintenance over time. The result is a cabinet-like finish on an exterior product. The result is stunning and enduring.


Fimbel Keeps it Easy

To ensure years of trouble-free performance, the face and edges of your vinyl sections are UV-resistant and may be left in their natural, unfinished white color. This technology allows the material of your door to remain in its natural, unfinished state. You can expect a lifetime of ease. No need to repeatedly refinish. You can repair many dents and dings due to our advanced material, VERSATEX. And you can count on the quality and beauty of our doors.

For general situations:

  • Use warm water and a mild dishwashing liquid soap, such as Dawn or Joy. Mr. Clean Erasers also work very well.
  • Gently remove dirt and debris with soap, water, and a sponge or soft cloth.
  • Rinse thoroughly with warm water.

For more stubborn situations:

  • After rinsing thoroughly, Soft Scrub, Clorox Cleanup, or Clorox Outdoors can be used. Mr. Clean Erasers using a gentle hand also work very well. Avoid abrasives.
  • The door surface can be wiped with isopropyl or denatured alcohol to remove any soap, cleaner residue, or dust.
    • Apply spray gently
    • Avoid pooling of the alcohol in the seam of the overlays

For dents, dings, and deep scratches: please contact your dealer.

  • DO NOT use solutions containing acid or solvents like MEK, acetone, or Toluene.
  • DO NOT use Simple Green, as it may yellow the face of your door.
  • DO NOT use abrasives.
  • DO NOT use a power washer to remove dirt or stains from the door.
  • DO NOT use heat* or induce heat when field cleaning. Heat guns, heat lamps, and heaters could cause damage and may void your warranty (*heat guns MAY be used by a Professional Technician on some parts and some dents/dings to the VERSATEX - consult your dealer).
  • DO NOT was your Factory Finished door within 30 days of production as the paint needs time to cure.

The final tip is this: DO NOT sell yourself short on your garage door. You deserve to have a beautiful, low-maintenance door that will welcome you home each and every time with a smile and peace of mind. When you find that door, keep it safe by following the suggested maintenance and care!


If you have any questions about cleaning and caring for your door, please feel free to reach out! We do our best to make it easy for you because we want you to relax and celebrate your independence. We know the pride of being a 4th Generation American Manufacturer, and we are proud to bring you more in a garage door! 

One Year Later - COVID

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It's been one year to the day that the way we lived, worked, and communicated changed with the onset of COVID-19 in the United States. Our executive team met for the last in person meeting on March 13, 2020. At this time, we had no idea what the future would bring, and we shared with the world a feeling of venturing into the unknown. This feeling could have paralyzed us; however, we chose to persevere with our values of quality, service, and safety driving us.

Working with the International Door Association and our legal advisors, we were able to establish our industry and subsequently our company and employees as essential workers. To keep safety as our priority, we relied on our agility to transition all possible employees to a remote working situation and kept only those essential employees in our buildings. With stringent adherence to the CDC and state guidelines, we worked tirelessly and safely to keep pace with our demand while protecting each individual - from our employees, to our vendors, to our dealers.

It was challenging to manage the company across facilities in two states as well as our delivery trucks traveling from Virginia to Maine. Our success in this effort springs from many aspects that allowed us to remain operational and healthy.

  • We were agile and responsive. We quickly shifted our operations, marketing, sales tactics, and any aspect we could to provide the best service while ensuring safety.
  • We were creative. We utilized skills and resources to best meet the changing demands of our customers, partners, and team members with new eyes and curiosity.
  • We were human. We know how intense this time was for the wonderful people we work with, and we allowed our decisions to support the needs of our team, their families, and our company at large.


Though we went to sleep each night wondering how we would know if we were doing the right thing while we challenged ourselves regularly to determine if our efforts were enough, we are incredibly proud of the dedication and commitment our team members showed. In a letter to our employees, Erin Fimbel, President of Fimbel ADS stated:

"Fantastic job team!! Despite the obstacles we experienced in 2020 and into 2021, as a team we remained focused on quality, and we are seeing the results of that effort and commitment. When put under pressure, many companies lose focus on priorities such as safety, quality, and service. We on the other hand, continue to improve. That is a huge accomplishment and differentiates us from others in our industry. Thank you and keep it up!"

These sentiments demonstrate the family values that have tied our company and family together for almost 100 years. Dedication, teamwork, and focus allowed us to keep our team gainfully employed, focused on the care of their families, and overall incredibly healthy.

We may never know the answer to the question of 'did we do enough', but we know that we gave every effort to navigate this incredible obstacle while making our dedication to quality, service, and safety paramount in the way we operate. We may have seen an ample amount of fear, loss, and isolation, but we also saw a tremendous amount of strength, collaboration, and growth.

As we move past this anniversary, we look forward with hope to what tomorrow will bring us all. May we learn from the experience and use this opportunity to continuously improve for ourselves, our partners, and our world.

Essential Services Series

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For nearly a century, our family has been honored to support the life saving efforts of our many essential services. Our doors are engineered for function and longevity, and they are designed for beauty. Behind the smooth, high-end look of wood, you can count on more in your door.

Each commercial project we design addresses your project-specific needs and details. We design and build to suit. Our decades of expertise and our use of advanced materials delivers superb doors that are insulated, beautifully rendered, and require minimal maintenance. We are proud to say, "You can count on Fimbel."

Quality: Satisfaction in each aspect.

Safety: Function when you need it most.

Longevity: Admired for years to come.


Standard Commercial:

We offer many options for commercial sectional doors. When you seek safe and reliable operation, energy efficiency, low-maintenance, and absolutely beautiful aesthetics, a Fimbel door is the solution. Our standard commercial products offer quality and durability to give safe passage every time.

Our Steel ISO Dor was originally manufactured for the FDNY and is now available for Fire, EMS, and Police facilities across the nation. Using rugged 20-gauge insulated and laminated steel pans, our doors provide superior strength and energy efficiency. Ideal for heavy industrial and service industry environments. With various options available for your design need, such as passdoors, we are sure this door is tried and true and sure to satisfy.

The AC-50 series is ideal for custom, architectural glass-front applications and a timeless favorite of service stations, vehicle maintenance facilities, and the like. Highly corrosion resistant and energy efficient. This product can also be incorporated as a glazed section into an ISO-DOR as used on the Whitehouse Firestation in Whitehouse Station, NJ (below).

Nestled in our backyard is this incredible Fire and EMS station serving our community and our company. Using white Steel ISO sections and an AC-50 section for the windows, this firehouse with its varied sized openings was able to accommodate each one with uniformity. We are very proud to provide safe passage to their life saving efforts! 

Our family has proudly made garage doors in America since 1924, and sharing that pride is Engine 151 of the FDNY. Very few images conjure a feeling of pride like the American Flag. Located in Staten Island, NY, this firehouse applied a custom after factory finish to our Steel ISO DOR to share their pride with their neighbors. Offered in both red and white, this product allows your independence to shine! 

Estate Collection - Premier Commercial

Fimbel ADS Commercial Carriage House Doors feature our industry-exclusive and Patented construction to Old-World craftsmanship and unmatched beauty to any building. Manufactured from advanced materials that require very low-maintenance and provide enduring good looks, our doors offer innovation and inspiration to bring your designs to life. 

The Estate Collection, truly welcomes the designer in all of us to emerge with the blend between tradition and innovation. Using a hand placed wood frame and nesting in our insulation, we laminate a vinyl back cover and a solid vinyl exterior that encases the face. This slab now becomes a blank slate to bring you more for your door.

Using both ⅜" and ¾" material, Versatex for unfinished doors and Tricoya for finished doors, we have options to add select profiles and nearly limitless designs to satisfy inspiration. These capabilities allow us to build the door in 1" height and width increments. You will see these designs in our Euro-Dor and Presidential Series offering carriage, traditional, and modern styles.

To achieve a more classic carriage look, we offer the Roaring Twenties. This series starts with the same platform yet adds solid, study overlays pocketed (nested) into the face. The pronounced look of this classic style can be modified in myriad ways to satisfy decorative features and historical applications. Each of these series offers incredible longevity and beauty we can all feel good about.

We are very proud of our factory finish and offer it in both standard and custom paint options but also in an array of hand-applied faux stain. The result is the finest finish in the industry and brings a furniture-like finish to exterior architecture. With a strong warranty and compassion for the earth, our paint is an excellent addition to your garage door.

With additional options for the interior of the garage door, you can customize to complement your garage lifestyle. Offering interior backer options for all our doors gives an upgrade to the aesthetics. Our interior grille inserts provide the look of true divided lites and classes up the glass. We don't stop there - powder coated track, robust spring packages, and custom details allow you to make it your own.

One of our favorites is this clever door found in South Amboy, NJ. They had an obstacle. We had the solution! Fire trucks have come a long way over the years, but Historic preservation requires architecture to remain the same. Using innovation and artistry, this SINGLE door has a faux centerpost replicating the original structure while accommodating the Engines of today! Using our innovative techniques, we carved the faux-brick center post and painted the dynamic colors of the brick to ensure the history was preserved while accommodating the life-saving needs of our firefighters!

Another project that we love is found in Coventry, CT. Wanting to combine their town buildings with Fire and EMS in order to share resources and open community opportunities, this project required modernizations that honored the quaint and longstanding history of the area. Adding small windows at approximately 5'10" allows visibility from inside while the doors are closed. Custom tops complete the project! 

They say a picture captures a thousand words and this one below does just that. Our innovation and sustainability make it possible to keep the past alive such as this historic, downtown Portsmouth firehouse that welcomed six black, factory-finished Roaring Twenties to their facade. Our values and products lined up with their needs and navigated their obstacles. When reading this quote from Fire Chief, Todd Germaine, it's impossible not to agree with their mission and feel we are a part of their value: "Throughout our history, we have taken pride in balancing tradition with innovation, and demonstrating a strong commitment in celebrating the past while at the same time looking to the future." (link to quote)

Make it a Fimbel:

When quality, safety, and longevity drive the vision for your commercial projects, you can count on Fimbel to offer you more. From standard to custom and all in between, we pride ourselves in finding solutions to your needs.

All Fimbel products are insulated and engineered for sustainability. The products and processes we design are done to serve you and Mother Earth. We run on solar and give back our extra to the grid. We also plant one tree for each and every door we sell to be sure that future generations can enjoy the bounty and breath of our forests.

Enjoy our online product guide to help you get to know us and our Residential products better, and reach out to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for a quote on your commercial project!

We look forward to offering you more in a garage door! 

The Euro-Dor

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Spring is coming - despite the amount of snow amounting around the US - and our Euro-Dor is poised and ready to welcome you home! With its innovative construction and lasting beauty, we are sure it is just what you need to get excited for Spring projects and outdoor fun!

More Beauty:

We know the garage door is no longer simply a function of access and storage, but it has become a showpiece to many projects. At Fimbel we offer you more beauty. There is much to know about our capabilities, but you can be assured that if you can dream it, we can build it! The products, such as our Euro-Dor, offered today originated on old-world craftsmanship and classic designs, but we have added innovative technology and materials to offer unmatched beauty and durability. You can design to your heart's delight.

We offer a wide range of finishing options from our faux stain and factory finish to two tone doors and custom color matching. We have recently published several other blog posts detailing our finishing, so if you want to learn more, please check out the value in our finishing! But our options don't end there. With Fimbel you can make selections for your door on the glass options based on the style and purpose of your space. You can also incorporate design details into the interior of the door to complement the splendor of the exterior. Adding decorative hardware is another way to enhance the sophisticated beauty of Fimbel Doors and no matter the size, we can customize most aspects of the door to accommodate. 

More Durability:

The first step in navigating our product offerings is to understand that we make our doors in two innovative ways to offer a vast variety of styles and solutions. When buying a Fimbel door, you can count on the look of real wood, durable construction methods, low-maintenance, precision fit, bold windows, reliable R-value, and more, more, more!

Our first construction platform offers carriage and traditional styles using a vinyl clad steel pan and applying vinyl overlays to create the look of a classic wood door. This door is exceptional for two main reasons – the first is the platform (pan) made of a smooth, steel base made for the elements that we coat (clad) in a thin layer of crisp, white vinyl. This innovation allows for the American Legends series to live nearly anywhere, even near the ocean, without rusting and rotting away in the elements. To this we add the smooth, solid white overlays made of sustainable material. Separating ourselves from the competition's fake wood grain completes the constructed look to appear as real, traditional wood. Both features ensure the longevity our ethics demand, the look we all crave, and a price point sure to please.

Our second construction platform truly shines in the blend between tradition and innovation. Using a hand placed wood frame and nesting in our insulation, we laminate a vinyl back cover and a solid vinyl exterior that encases the face. This slab now becomes a blank slate to bring you more for your door. Using both 3/8" and ¾" material, primarily Versatex, we have options to add select profiles and nearly limitless designs to satisfy inspiration. You will see these designs in our Euro-Dor (shown below) and Presidential Collections offering both carriage, traditional, and modern styles. 

To achieve a more classic carriage look, we offer the Roaring Twenties. This series starts with the same platform yet adds solid, sturdy overlays pocketed (nested) into the face. The pronounced look of this classic style can be modified in myriad ways to satisfy decorative features and historic applications. Each of these series offers incredible longevity and beauty we can all feel good about!

More Creativity:

Using your unique design perspective, ambition, and talent, we offer you the opportunity to complete your vision with the quality and capabilities needed to truly round out your final project. Our doors allow you to capture architectural features used in original period designs or contemporary trends. For example, your windows can be nearly any configuration, any design, and nearly any location to tie features through the home to the garage door! You can accommodate any opening by customizing in 1" height and width increments or matching an uneven floor with a scribed bottom. The face of the door is fully customizable whether it's adding logos and routed designs from geometric shapes and windows to waves or anchors - you name it!

Not only can you count on our quality materials, but our nearly century long tenure in the industry gives us unmatched experience. Our team of Customer Service Representatives and Engineers will support the project with their 20+ years average experience to be sure you get what you need! Through the process you will receive a CAD drawing to hone in on the details of your design and ensure accuracy. You will see your vision come to life with the most comprehensive and sustainable doors in the market, and they will be uniquely yours.

More Sustainability:

Our organization hangs our hat on safety and quality not only in how we make our product, and we want you to feel the benefits of that. Fimbel doors are manufactured to be safety first. You, your family, your home, and your belongings will rest safely behind our door. Our doors are engineered for durability! We know that poorly fitted doors are not only unsightly but also allow unwanted openings. Since we can match nearly any opening, weather, burglars, and bugs will not have access to your home through the garage door!

Fimbel doors offer you a low-maintenance lifestyle. The clean appearance of the door should last for years to come with a gentle clean with mild soap and water. No harsh abrasives or undue elbow grease necessary. This aspect may be overlooked, but when we consider the supply chain for cleaning products, the effort to implement the cleaning, and the residual waste moving into the earth, we see our processes make way for sustainability.

Another way that we encourage sustainability is in the benefits you will feel toward energy efficiency! To get a basic idea, the older the door the more likely it is that money is seeping out through it. Our doors are made with insulation that is laminated and completely fill the cavity inside the door to keep air from moving around and through the door. A well-insulated door will reduce energy costs as well as maintain temperatures set in the garage. We want to help you keep cool air in during the summer and cold air out during the winter!

One of the longest lasting aspects of our doors is the contribution made upon purchase. For every door we sell, we work with our partners at One Tree Planted to plant a tree on your behalf. We know the resources generously given my Mother Nature need replenishing, and we want to pay it forward! 

More for You:

When we build, we build for beauty and durability that will last because we care about your satisfaction as well as our environment. From our processes to our products, we reduce, reuse, and recycle everything we can. We run on solar, and we love to help reduce your overall maintenance efforts and costs.

At Fimbel Architectural Doors, we pride ourselves on providing beautiful, creative, durable products to satisfy your project needs. With 95 years of experience on our side, we can provide you and your customer with MORE! 

Make it a Fimbel:

Don't compromise aesthetic appeal for practical needs - you can have it all with a Fimbel door. With our designs, you can find the right door to offer you more. If energy efficiency is what you are after, we have you covered. If your geographic location is limiting your choices, we have you covered. If you are driven by value and longevity, we have you covered. Or if you simply want to make your neighbors jealous, we've got that, too! We are here to provide the door to support your lifestyle and desires – no matter your opening or aspiration, we have you covered!

To learn more about the Euro-Dor and other Fimbel offerings, find a dealer near you by using our dealer locator! 

Swing into Summer with Swing Doors

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The word 'garage' was first introduced to the English language in 1902, and the first overhead operating door was brought to life in the 1920's. Prior to these evolutions of language and innovation, carriage houses were used to shelter transportation of the time. Welcoming them home were swing doors. The structure and the doors performed the function just fine, but the interaction wasn't easy especially in geographical locations with cold and inclement weather for much of the year. But even though the effort required was an obstacle, no one can deny the classic beauty of these swing doors.

The introduction of the Model-T Ford and it's manufacturing lines drove a demand to change the way we enter the carriage house - or the garage as it became known. People enjoyed the ease of transit while in these new cars, and CG Johnson (the innovator of the overhead door) answered the call in 1921. Shortly after in 1924, our Great-Grandfather, Edward Fimbel Sr. who was a Millworker and making swing doors already, became the first to franchise the newly formed Overhead Door. If you are a history buff and want to catch up on all things Fimbel, please enjoy this timeline of the Fimbel family and this article (page 49) on our history!

Though we have progressed over the last century in our construction and materials, we are always proud to hang on to our roots. Today we offer the highest quality, customizable, and sustainable doors in the industry which are typically overhead operating, but we also still make swing doors in any of our Estate Collection offerings!


Swing Doors:

Swing doors are two slabs that hang vertically in either side of the framed opening. Oftentimes, authentic swing carriage doors are shown with the traditional x-bucks (considered 'barn' doors by many). Today we add carved design features and overlays in many configurations to add to the design, but fact remains the A-bucks, V-bucks, and Crossbucks (as the diagonal overlay design is called) were originally a core piece of the integrity and durability of the door to keep them from sagging in the opening. This is where the function of yesterday becomes the fashion of today! Our doors are built strong for durability but allow you to design to your heart's delight. 

Originally, swing doors were operated manually, and they still can be today; however, current technology allows the push of a button to swing out (or in for those who choose) and welcome you to the shelter of the garage.

Whether it is an existing garage, barn, studio, or classic carriage house, or you are building a new one, you can bring the classic look and time tested quality of swing doors with the functions and innovative construction and materials of today. You can mix and match overhead and swing doors to allow the best of both worlds. As shown below and in the feature image, this family purchased a home with more garage bays than they had cars, so they converted the bay nearest the pool into their modified pool house. The sectional doors (there are two) on the left allow for cars, bikes, and life's needs while the swing door will welcome the playful children and sun-kissed adults with ease. You can watch the magic happen in the super quick video below! 

Construction:

The Estate Collection, truly welcomes the designer in all of us to emerge with the blend between tradition and innovation. Using a hand placed wood frame and nesting in our insulation, we laminate a vinyl back cover and a solid vinyl exterior that encases the face. This slab now becomes a blank slate to bring you more for your door.

Using both ⅜" and ¾" material, Versatex for unfinished doors and Tricoya for factory finished doors, we have options to add select profiles and nearly limitless designs to satisfy inspiration. These capabilities allow us to build the door in unique and custom sizes.

You will see these designs in our Euro-Dor and Presidential Series offering carriage, traditional, and modern styles. Offering profiles to meet your needs, these styles showcase deep raised panels and crafted designs to complement the architecture and aesthetics of your home.

To achieve a more classic carriage look, we offer the Roaring Twenties. This series starts with the same platform yet adds solid, study overlays pocketed (nested) into the face. The pronounced look of this classic style can be modified in myriad ways to satisfy decorative features and historical applications. Each of these series offers incredible longevity and beauty to satisfy.

Our door designs come to life in our sectional doors as well as our swing doors, so whichever functionality you prefer, we have the door for you! 

Options:

Make it your own by choosing specialty glass for your garage door. With these options and many more, you can add style and details to your project while managing your privacy and the natural light you let in!

For a true carriage look, we offer a variety of options for decorative hardware. From strap hinges and pull handles to latches and clavos, you can further customize your door! Many standard kits are available, but the options are limitless!

With additional options for the interior of the garage door, you can customize with an interior backer to add to the aesthetics. Our interior grille inserts provide the look of true divided lites and classes up the glass.


Design with Us!

Bring the 19th and early 20th centuries back to life with a swing carriage house complimented by the modern operations and construction of today. To learn more about our products, head to our homepage to download our Product Guide that will walk you through the many options available in our Estate Collection Swing Doors!