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Let’s face it, people don’t buy a garage door every day. So how are you supposed to make an informed decision for such a large purchase for your home? And how can you know the kind of details to look for in a product you only purchase once maybe every 10 years or more?
We’re here to help! Here is some helpful information : How to Buy a Garage Door . After reading this guide, you should be somewhat of an expert and well on your way to making the right decision for your garage door needs. Sure, its written by Amarr, but that’s because they want you to be informed about the details. A garage door is the largest moving object in your home. It is relied upon day in and day out for the security of your home and great looks. And at the same time, it needs to be safe for your family, automobiles and even pets to be around.
Start Here if this is your first time shopping for a garage door
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AMARR ADVANTAGE
The largest opening in your home. A garage door is a large, complex system of pulleys, springs, rollers, and door sections. Choosing the best garage door that fits your needs and enhances your home’s curb appeal is an important decision.
Amarr. Founded in 1951, Amarr is one of the world’s leading designers, manufacturers and distributors of garage door access systems for residential homes, condominiums, warehouses, commercial buildings, shopping malls and other commercial applications. Amarr’s original company values of providing high quality, durable and safe door access systems. Service and innovation with several design patents continue to be the focus of Amarr today.
Our Products. Amarr is the style and safety choice for door systems. We offer a wide selection of sectional overhead garage doors as well as LiftMaster™ and Linear electronic garage door openers for both residential and commercial uses.
With 12 residential product lines and a wide array of commercial doors, Amarr has a door that is right for you, in both style and price to meet your needs.
The innovative Amarr Classica® collection of Carriage House garage doors. This one-of-a-kind garage door is made with 3-sections, rather than the standard 4-section door, resulting in a much more authentic carriage house look. The Amarr Classica® garage door designs are uniquely stamped into the steel material, ensuring a permanent carriage house design with no worry of the design shifting or detaching.
Amarr steel garage doors are built with high quality components and heavy-duty steel.
SafeGuard Pinch Protection. Practically all Amarr steel doors are designed with the Amarr Safe Guard safety system that enhances overall safety for the homeowner. Learn More about how Amarr’s SafeGuard system helps reduce the risk of serious hand and finger injuries at virtually no additional cost.
Energy Efficiency. Amarr steel garage doors offer varying levels of energy efficiency and noise reduction with CFC-free insulation options, allowing for the best garage door solution based on your garage location.
Made in USA. All Amarr residential and commercial steel and aluminum garage doors are manufactured in the USA with American-made components, affirming Amarr’s commitment to high quality and durability. For specific Amarr garage door models that comply with “Made in USA” specifications. 
Recycled. Amarr products are made with up to 90% recycled content, and approximately 5-7% of the steel is reused at the plant.
Authorized Amarr Garage Door Dealers/Installers. More than 3,000 professional independent garage door dealers sell, install, repair and service Amarr garage doors for homeowners and commercial markets throughout the world. Amarr garage doors also are sold by America’s leading retailers, including Costco Warehouses, Sears, Window World and Lowe’s Home Improvement.
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ENERGY EFFICIENCY
A garage door opening is the largest moving object in your home. Insulated doors will help to reduce the transfer of heat or cold air into your garage. This is important for a number of reasons:
1) If your garage is attached to your home, air in the garage can travel through the doorway to your living area. An insulated garage door will reduce the transfer of air from the outside to the inside.
2) If you use your garage as a workshop, your comfort will be a top priority. An insulated garage door will help keep the temperature in the garage within a narrower temperature range as compared to the extreme range of the outside temperature.
3) If your garage is below another room in your home, air can travel through the ceiling of the garage into the floor of the room above. An insulated door will keep temperatures in the garage fairly stable to reduce the temperature fluctuation in the room above.
4) An insulated garage door is generally quieter and has a more attractive interior than a non-insulated door.
What is R-Value?
R-Value is a measure of thermal resistance used in the building and construction industry. Specifically, R-value is thermal resistance to heat flow. Many manufacturers use R-values to show the energy efficiency of their product. This number is calculated based on the thickness of the insulation and its chemical properties.
The higher the R-value number, the better the insulating properties of the material. However, an R-16 value is not twice as good as an R-8 Value. R-16 does not offer twice as much thermal resistance or twice the energy savings of an R-8 value. A value of R-16 offers a 5% reduction in heat flow and a 5% improvement energy efficiency than a value of R-8, not 50%. See chart below for R-Value comparisons.
A door’s insulating capabilities can be greatly affected by the door’s construction. For that reason, Amarr’s insulated doors are built to maximize energy efficiency. Our thermal break, door section construction and insulation help keep your garage as comfortable as possible.
Effective January 1, 2009, the Door and Access System Manufacturers Association (DASMA), which represents over 90% of the door and access systems manufacturers in the US and Canada, put into effect a voluntary standard for manufacturers to list R-values in accordance with DASMA Technical Data Sheet (TDS) #163.
Calculated R-values for Amarr door sections are in accordance with DASMA TDS-163 and based on actual independent testing per ASTM 518.
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HOW TO MEASURE
Follow this step-by-step process to measure various aspects of your garage. This will help you determine what size garage door will fit your home.
