Ideal (Clopay) Good garage doors from Menards sure are chintzy

[Brian Elfert]

I just bought a a clearance Ideal "Good" garage door from Menards. It was brand new, but it was a special order return and was on clearance because it isn't a common color. I knew they aren't the highest quality garage doors since a 16x7 door retails for $772 and I paid $600. The door panels didn't seem to be any better or worse than the panels on my current garage door. I did not see the provided hardware until I got home because it was all boxed up. The hardware is absolutely chintzy! The hinges are about 2/3 the size of typical garage door hinges. The spring is pretty small diameter, and I am surprised it is even big enough to open the door. This is an unheated detached garage so no real need for a better insulated garage door. I would like a better door, but this was a good deal and money is tight for me right now.

I am probably going to just transfer all of the hardware from my current garage door to this one if it all fits. The existing door isn't that old, but the one panel got pretty beat up when the door froze to the concrete last winter. (Drainage problem has been fixed.) The door also doesn't match my the color of the door on my new garage.

Ideal Garage Door is a brand name of Clopay garage doors sold exclusively at Menards. Clopay doesn't really hide that fact since some of the documentation says Clopay on it.

[Bill George]

PS You can buy new door panels for garage doors, that is what I did.

[Larry Frank]

Interesting, I bought Copay doors for my garage some 29+ years ago. They are 2" thick and insulated. I have had zero problems and they still look new. My son and I installed them and no issues with hardware. I liked at prices and they are expensive.

[Tom M King]

I would return that one and just replace the bad panel. If the hinges are smaller, the holes probably aren't even in the right place to reuse the old ones and tracks even.

[Brian Runau]

I found you have to be careful with Menards(and Lowes and Home Depot). Online inventory like a lot of retailers is not correct. You show up and they have nothing. I went for some 3/4 pine quarter round without checking first. All they had was press board quarter round, no pine. One good thing I did find was their custom interior doors. Bought 3 in fir unstained for a remodel and they were much better than Lowes. Lowes had so much glue from the veneer when I stained it I had all these spots where the stain wouldn't take. Lowes did take them both back without argument. I tried 2 doors from Lowes before I went to Menards. Brian

[Dave Fritz]

Did you get the one time only "special 12% off" that never seems to go away no matter the reason for the "special 12% off"?

[Brian Elfert]

Interesting, I bought Copay doors for my garage some 29+ years ago. They are 2" thick and insulated. I have had zero problems and they still look new. My son and I installed them and no issues with hardware. I liked at prices and they are expensive.

Ideal sells better insulated doors that are likely to be the same as the Clopay insulated doors. I have no doubt the insulated doors are better, but the non-insulated doors are really cheaply made.

[Brian Elfert]

Did you get the one time only "special 12% off" that never seems to go away no matter the reason for the "special 12% off"?

They were not running the rebate when I made this purchase although there is a special rebate form that has to be picked up at a store for a price adjustment rebate for purchases made back to Nov. 28th. Menards doesn't want people returning stuff and buying it again just to get the rebate.

The 11% rebate since 2021 starts in February or March and goes until Thanksgiving. The 12% rebate is because the NASCAR driver that Menards sponsors won the NASCAR Cup championship this year and he drives car #12. They started the 12% rebate on Dec 12th and are running it for 12 days.

[Brian Elfert]

I would return that one and just replace the bad panel. If the hinges are smaller, the holes probably aren't even in the right place to reuse the old ones and tracks even.

Not returnable because of the clearance price I got. I also wanted a different color door to match the door on the new larger garage I am building next to my current garage.

[Tim Elett]

Would the big box stores stay in business if everything was more expensive? The customers demand low prices, you get what you pay for.

[Jason Roehl]

Be careful just swapping hardware around. Springs are sized in the overall diameter of the spring, length, and in the wire diameter, and matched to the weight of the door. Then they are wound a specific number of turns so that the door is balanced no matter how far open or closed it is, allowing a very small opener to open the door (or a person with no opener).

I’m not directly experienced, but my neighbor works for a garage door installation company, and my son also worked there a couple years as an installer, along with another neighbor. They installed a Menard’s door for a friend of mine as a favor, and couldn’t stop commenting about how much lower quality the door was, and how much more work it was to install because of what didn’t come pre-installed on the panels from the manufacturer.

[Brian Elfert]

Would the big box stores stay in business if everything was more expensive? The customers demand low prices, you get what you pay for.

I would have no problem paying more for a better non-insulated door. If Menards had an option to pay say $100 or $150 more for higher quality hardware I would no issue paying it. There are not many door companies that will sell to a retail customer.

[Brian Elfert]

I measured the hardware on my current door and the screw holes are in the same places on my new door panels. The old and new panels should weigh pretty close to the same so the same spring(s) should work. I highly doubt the cheap Menards door panels are any heavier than what I have. The number of winds can be adjusted if the door doesn't open/close properly.

I knew the Menards garage door was inexpensive. I just wasn't prepared for how crappy the hardware is. If I had paid full price I might have returned it to Menards.

[Tom M King]

That should save a lot of trouble.