The top Windsor garage door section is broken, can I replace it with a Clopay section?
Windsor garage door brand garage doors and several other manufacturers use what we sometimes call a tongue and groove. This is where the sections will meet when it is opening and closing. If you know what tongue and groove is, you will understand what I am saying; in other words, there is a triangular-shaped tongue on the top of this section and the same shape groove in the bottom of the door section.
Identifying Your Garage Door Design
The easiest way to tell if you have this kind of door panel is to look at your garage door panels from the extremes left or right side of the garage door. You will have to go where the vertical track is and put your head up against the wall or door jam and look in to see if you see a pair-shaped tongue on every section.
Manufacturer Compatibility Challenges
Some manufacturers do not fit perfectly with each other, but you can most likely make it work. Other manufacturers have gone to a pinchless door seam panel, which are usually rounded at the top of the door section and concave at the bottom. The hardware, especially the hinges or the hinge system for pendulous garage doors, will be much different than your average common garage door hinge.
Compatible Garage Door Brands
The manufacturers that I can think of off the top of my head that are very compatible with each other include Windsor brand garage doors, Mid America brand garage doors, Northwest brand garage doors, and Clopay brand garage doors. There might be a few others—one or two, maybe—that are compatible.
Aesthetic Considerations in Repairs
The other thing you have to remember when mixing garage door manufacturers is that if they have raised short or long panel designs, then they will most likely not look the same. Some are very similar, but Windsor, especially the older garage door sections, have an extra rectangle box in their raised panel that no other manufacturer has, so sometimes it can stick out like a sore thumb.
Cost-Efficient Repair Options
However, if that is not an issue for you, it will make your life easier and less expensive when trying to replace garage door sections. Amarr brand garage doors used to use a tongue and groove system, but they have moved to a pinchless door section and hardware.
Availability of Conversion Rails
They used to make a conversion rail that you could screw to the bottom of the section to make it compatible with their older model garage door sections. Unfortunately, they do not manufacture this conversion rail anymore; you have to buy a new door or use a tongue and groove manufactured section.
Color Matching Tips
Also, a new section will have a brighter color than any old sections because the sun fades paint over time, but an easy way around that is to paint the garage door.