C.H.I. and Clopay are top-selling garage door manufacturers. They are alike in many ways, both offering garage doors in a range of styles, materials and prices to fit most budgets.
This page is our C.H.I. vs Clopay garage door comparison of all major features including costs. The goal is to assist you in making a decision about your next garage door that you’ll be happy with in the years to come.
For further research, you might be interested in our Clopay vs Amarr Comparison plus the individual garage door brand reviews that are quite comprehensive in detail and include garage door prices for each brand.
History
C.H.I. Overhead Garage Door, located in Arthur, Illinois has been making garage doors for over 40 years.
Clopay entered the garage door industry in 1964, and as of 2019, became the largest overhead garage door manufacturer in North America with production facilities in Ohio, Wisconsin, and Washington.
Both C.H.I. and Clopay are known for making a full line of high-quality garage doors in a variety of materials
C.H.I. vs Clopay Garage Door Options
These sections compare C.H.I. vs Clopay in key areas that will inform your buying decisions. You can also see how C.H.I stands up against Overhead door in this C.H.I vs Overhead door comparison.
But first, here is an overview table summarizing everything found below. It offers a quick glance at the Clopay vs C.H.I. comparison – where they are alike and what sets each apart.
| Comparison C.H.I. vs Clopay Garage Doors By Style | ||
| C.H.I | Clopay | |
| Traditional |
||
| Raised Panel, Stamped Shaker, Recessed Panel, Fiberglass | Gallery, Bridgeport, Classic Steel, Classic Wood | |
| Profiles | 4 | 4 |
| Materials |
3 Steel, 1 Steel with Fiberglass Overlay
|
3 Steel, 1 Wood |
| Construction | 1, 2, 3-Layer | 1, 2, 3-Layer |
| R-Values | Up to 17.19 | Up to 18.4 |
| Price Range | $1,000 – $4,500 | $500 – $3,500 |
| Carriage House | ||
| Shoreline, Overlay Carriage House, Stamped Carriage House | Canyon Ridge Carriage House, Coachman, Grand Harbor, Reserve Wood Limited Edition, Reserve Wood Semi-Custom | |
| Profiles | 3 | 5 |
| Materials |
2 Steel, 1 Steel with Composite, Wood, or Fiberglass Overlay
|
3 Steel, 2 Wood |
| Construction |
1, 2, 3, and 4-Layer
|
1, 2, 3, 4, and 5-Layer
|
| R-Values | Up to 18.03 | Up to 20.4 |
| Price Range | $1,200 – $5,000 | $2,500 – $6,500 |
| Contemporary/Modern | ||
| Planks, Sterling, Skyline Flush, Full View Aluminum | Canyon Ridge Modern, Modern Steel, Reserve Wood Modern, Avante | |
| Profiles | 4 | 4 |
| Materials |
3 Steel, 1 Aluminum
|
1 Aluminum, 2 Steel, 1 Wood
|
| Construction |
1, 2, and 3-Layer
|
1, 2, 3, and 4-Layer
|
| R-Values | Up to 17.54 | Up to 20.4 |
| Price Range | $1,500 – $6,500 | $800 – $6,500 |
| Custom Wood | ||
| Reserve Wood Custom | ||
| Profiles | 0 | 1 |
| Materials | Wood | |
| Construction | 4-Layer | |
| R-Values | 5.9 | |
| Price Range | $3,500 and Up | |
Materials – Steel, Aluminum, Wood, Fiberglass, Composite
C.H.I. makes garage doors in steel, aluminum, and one profile in fiberglass with an interior steel layer. C.H.I. also offers a carriage house style door with a choice of overlay in real wood, fiberglass, or composite that has been molded to look like real wood.
Clopay makes doors in steel, aluminum, and wood. Several of the steel profiles are available with a molded, wood-grain composite overlay.
Advantage: C.H.I. for most materials – but if you want a solid wood door, Clopay is your only option.
Door Layers
Both Clopay and C.H.I. construct their garage doors in layers, although C.H.I. describes their doors as one or two-sided steel with or without insulation and an overlay.
A 1-layer door means that the door is not insulated and includes only a single layer, such as steel or wood. A 2-layer door includes the exterior material plus a layer of insulation.
All of C.H.I.’s 2-sided steel doors include a steel exterior, a steel interior, and a layer of insulation between the layers of steel, making it essentially, a 3-layer door.
4 and 5-layer doors will include the above 3 layers plus overlay materials, typically a faux wood composite overlay on a 4-layer door and an additional composite cladding on a 5-layer door. C.H.I. does not offer any 5-layer doors.
Advantage: Clopay. In general, Clopay’s doors are more robust. And Clopay has a slight advantage in the high-end layered door range.
Insulation
C.H.I. and Clopay both offer insulation options on many of their doors. The choices include polystyrene or polyurethane insulation. Clopay doors have insulation at either 1-3/8” or 2” thick. C.H.I. uses 2” insulation on most doors at 2” thick with insulation in other doors ranging between 1-3/8” to 1-7/8” thick.
Clopay indicates that they use proprietary polyurethane foam that is injected into the door expanding to fill the entire interior providing strength and a better insulated door, but it also will increase the cost.
Advantage: Clopay doors are better insulated. This is important if you have a climate controlled garage or if the garage door faces west.
Door Styles and Window Designs
Both C.H.I. and Clopay produce a variety of door and window designs allowing you to personalize your garage door. There are more design choices with the carriage style profiles than with the traditional or modern profiles. Both manufacturers also offer a choice of hardware on their carriage house style doors.
On their premium carriage house profile, Overlay Carriage House, C.H.I. offers 20 door designs and 12 window designs.
On Clopay’s Canyon Ridge Carriage House choose from 14 door and 15 window designs.
Advantage: Even. You can create a custom door whichever of these best garage door brands you choose.
Construction Choices
Several of C.H.I.’s door profiles are available as “Good’, “Better”, and “Best with the “Good” choice door made in 24 or 25 gauge steel and polystyrene insulation, the “Better” choice is made of 24 or 25 gauge steel with a thicker layer of polystyrene insulation, and the “Best” choice doors are made of 27 gauge steel with polyurethane insulation.
Clopay provides a choice of insulation on many doors but not a choice of steel, in fact they do not often indicate the gauge of steel used.
Advantage: C.H.I. because it gives you more choices.
Garage Door Colors and Finishes
C.H.I. and Clopay both offer custom color and finishing options.
C.H.I.
Wood-Tone Finished
C.H.I. uses advances in design and technology to create finishes for their doors that are as colorful and authentic as real wood.
How do they do this? Premium lumber is scanned to capture the natural color, texture, and grain of the wood and then applied to the garage door. The finished is treated with a UV topcoat providing long-lasting protection. The finishes include Walnut, Driftwood, Mahogany, Cedar, and a variety of Oaks. These are beautiful doors without the maintenance hassles that real wood often brings with it.
Custom Colors
All C.H.I. custom colors are applied using a powder coat process to ensure durability. Custom colors are available in appealing and wide spectrum Sherwin-William’s proprietary 188 RAL powder-coating. Here are the available colors (opens in a new window).
Clopay
Ultra-Grain Wood-Look Paint Finish
Clopay’s Ultra-Grain Paint Finish is extremely durable and specifically made for steel garage doors where the look of real stained wood is desired. Colors include Walnut and Cherry in medium and dark tones. Window frames, grilles, and inserts are all color-matched to coordinate with the Ultra-Grain finish.
Custom Colors
Color Blast, Clopay’s custom color option, uses a polyurethane based paint formulated for superior adhesion and stability. Color Blast is available on most steel, aluminum, and overlay doors and offers over 1,500 Sherwin-Williams paint colors.
Advantage: Even. Beauty is yours to determine, so we won’t weigh in on the relative good looks of these doors. Both offer a gorgeous selection, and we encourage you to browse galleries on the Clopay and C.H.I. websites to see what appeals to you.
Here is the Clopay LookBook. https://www.clopaydoor.com/lookbook
You might also find value in exploring Clopay’s Design your Door page. https://www.clopaydoor.com/door-imagination-system
Here is a similar page on the C.H.I. site – Build a Door. https://doorvisions.chiohd.com/
Clopay vs C.H.I. Garage Door Costs
Clopay garage door prices start at around $500 for their 1-layer non-insulated steel door, without windows, and go up to $6,500 for a 5- layer door with composite cladding and overlay, or an aluminum and glass door, and more, for a fully custom all-wood garage door.
Clopay does offer several doors in the budget category, many of their doors are in the mid-price to premium category.
C.H.I. garage door prices range from about $1,000 for a single layer, non-insulated steel door, without windows, to about $5,000 for a 5-layer, real wood overlay door, and up to $6,500 for an aluminum and glass garage door.
C.H.I. manufacturers quite a few doors in the budget to mid-range category with less of a selection in the premium category.
Costs are included in the following reviews too, so you can find options for your budget.
Advantage: C.H.I. makes a larger selection of affordable doors while not neglecting the upscale segment of the garage door market. Clopay has chosen to focus on the mid-tier and higher-priced garage door spectrum.
| Comparison C.H.I. vs Clopay Garage Doors By Prices | ||||||
| Profile | Style | Material | Layers | R-Value | Price | Price Category |
| C.H.I | ||||||
| Raised Panel | Traditional | Steel | 1, 2, and 3 | Up to 17.19 | $1,000 – $2,500 | Budget |
| Recessed Panel | Traditional | Steel | 3 | 12.35 | $1,200 – $2,500 | Budget |
| Stamped Carriage House | Carriage House | Steel | 1, 2, and 3 | Up to 16.55 | $1,200 – $2,800 | Budget to Mid-Range |
| Stamped Shaker | Traditional | Steel | 1, 2, and 3 | Up to 16.55 | $1,200 – $2,800 | Budget to Mid-Range |
| Skyline Flush | Modern | Steel | 3 | 10.29-17.54 | $1,200 – $4,500 | Budget to Mid-Range |
| Planks | Modern | Steel | 3 | 15.07 | $1,500 – $3,000 | Budget to Mid-Range |
| Sterling | Modern | Steel | 1, 2, and 3 | Up to 17.54 | $1,800 – $3,200 | Mid-Range |
| Shoreline | Carriage House | Steel | 3 | 17.54 | $2,000 – $3,500 | Mid-Range |
| Fiberglass | Traditional | Fiberglass with | 3 | 16.95 | $2,500 – $4,500 | Premium |
| Steel inner layer | ||||||
| Overlay Carriage House | Carriage House | Steel with Overlay | 4 | 10.29-18.03 | $2,800 – $5,000 | Premium |
| Full View Aluminum | Modern | Aluminum | 1 | N/A | $3,500 – $6,500 | Premium |
| Clopay | ||||||
| Classic Steel | Traditional | Steel | 1, 2, and 3 | 18.4 | $500 – $2,500 | Budget |
| Modern Steel | Modern | Steel | 1, 2, and 3 | Up to 18.4 | $800 – $3,000 | Budget |
| Gallery Steel | Traditional | Steel | 1, 2, and 3 | Up to 18.4 | $1,000 – $3,500 | Budget to Mid-Range |
| Classic Wood | Traditional | Wood | 1 | N/A | $1,500 – $3,500 | Budget to Mid-Range |
| Grand Harbor | Carriage House | Steel | 2 or 3 | 6.3 | $2,500 – $4,500 | Mid-Range |
| Bridgeport Steel | Traditional | Steel | 3 | 12.9-18.4 | $2,700 – $3,200 | Mid-Range |
| Coachman | Carriage House | Steel | 4 | 6.5-18.4 | $3,000 – $4,500 | Mid-Range |
| Reserve Wood Semi-Custom | Carriage House | Wood | 2 | N/A | $2,500 – $4,000 | Mid-Range |
| Canyon Ridge Carriage House | Carriage House | Steel | 4 or 5 | 18.4-20.4 | $3,500 – $6,500 | Premium |
| Canyon Ridge Modern | Modern | Steel | 4 | 6.3-20.4 | $3,500 – $6,000 | Premium |
| Canyon Ridge Louver | Coastal | Steel | 5 | 20.4 | $4,500 – $6,500 | Premium |
| Avante | Modern | Aluminum | 1 | N/A | $4,000 – $6,500 | Premium |
| Reserve Wood Limited Edition | Carriage House | Wood | 4 or 5 | 5.9 | $3,000 – $6,000 | Premium |
| Reserve Wood Modern | Modern | Wood | 4 | 5.9 | $3,000 – $6,000 | Premium |
| Reserve Wood Custom | Custom | Wood | Custom | Custom | $3,500 + | Premium |
C.H.I. vs Clopay Garage Door Collections
Things get pretty detailed here. The C.H.I. and Clopay comparison tables on this page are designed arrange the details of the following discussion for you at a glance.
C.H.I. offers 11 garage door choices and Clopay offers 15 choices. Both manufacturers carry Traditional, Carriage House, and Contemporary style garage doors.
Clopay vs C.H.I. Door Reviews
Here we look at each manufacturer’s garage door profiles or styles and what they offer including price ranges.
Traditional Style Garage Doors
C.H.I.
C.H.I. features 4 traditional style garage doors – Raised Panel, Stamped Shaker, Recessed Panel, and Fiberglass. These are all steel doors with the Fiberglass profile constructed using a steel backing and a molded fiberglass exterior. The doors are available in 1, 2, and 3-layers with a choice of insulation.
C.H.I. garage door prices range from about $1,000 for the all-steel profiles without insulation and windows, to $2,800 for the all-steel doors with insulation and windows, to $4,500 for the Fiberglass profile with polyurethane insulation and windows.
Clopay
Clopay includes 4 traditional style doors – Gallery Steel, Bridgeport Steel, Classic Steel, and Classic Wood. The doors are available with long, short, raised, recessed, and grooved panels, depending on the profile. Doors construction includes, 1, 2, and 3- layers with insulation choices.
Prices run from $500 for a non-insulated door without windows to about $3,500 for a 3-layer steel door with windows or for the Classic Wood profile with windows and custom stain.
Carriage House Style Garage Doors
C.H.I.
There are 3 carriage house style doors in C.H.I.’s collection – Stamped Carriage House, Shoreline, and Overlay Carriage House. These are all steel doors with the Overlay Carriage House profile available with a composite, fiberglass, or real wood overlay added to the exterior of the door. Stamped Carriage House is available in 1, 2, or 3-layers, Shoreline is a 3-layer door, and Overlay Carriage House includes 3 layers plus the overlay.
Prices range from $1,200 for the Stamped Carriage House profile without insulation or windows to about $5,000 for Overlay Carriage House with polyurethane insulation, windows, and a custom finish.
Clopay
Clopay features 5 carriage house style doors – Canyon Ridge Carriage House, Coachman, Grand Harbor, Reserve Wood Limited Edition, and Reserve Wood Semi-Custom.
The Canyon Ridge profile is Clopay’s premium option with 2 layers of steel, insulation, composite cladding, and composite overlay. Coachman is also 4-layer, insulated, steel door with composite overlay.
Grand Harbor includes a 2 or 3-layer steel construction with a composite overlay and with or without insulation. Grand Harbor is Clopay’s most affordable carriage house style garage door.
Reserve Wood Limited Edition and Reserve Wood Semi-Custom are all-wood carriage house style doors. Limited Edition is made with 4 or 5-layers and available with or without insulation. The Semi-Custom profile includes a front and back layer of wood and is not insulated.
Prices range from between $2,500 for Grand Harbor without windows or insulation to $6,500 for either the Canyon Ridge or Reserve Wood 5-layer doors with windows.
Modern Style Garage Doors
C.H.I.
C.H.I. features 4 modern or contemporary style garage doors – Planks, Sterling, Skyline Flush, and Full View Aluminum. All of steel doors and available in 1, 2, or 3-layers depending on the profile. Planks offers the look of narrow horizontal planks that run the width of the door. Skyline Flush and Sterling feature 4 wide, flush, panels across the door. Sterling features wide windows that run the width of the door and Planks and Skyline Flush feature long, short, and oversized window choices which can be placed in various positions across the door.
Full View Aluminum is constructed with an aluminum frame filled with large glass windows. The frame is available with, or without, insulation.
Costs range from about $1,200 to $4,500 depending on the insulation and window choices and up to $6,500 for the Full View Aluminum profile.
Clopay
Clopay features 4 modern style garage door choices – Canyon Ridge Modern, Modern Steel, Reserve Wood Modern, and Avante. Canyon Ridge Modern is a 4-layer, steel door with a composite overlay. Modern Steel is available in 1, 2, or 3-layers and Reserve Wood Modern is a 4-layer, insulated all-wood door. The doors are all available with a variety of window choices. With Reserve Wood Modern, you can choose to include narrow strips of contrasting aluminum running the width of the door between the panels.
The Avante profile is an aluminum frame garage door with, or without insulation, and large rectangular windows covering the door. The door is available in 2 frame designs with glass choices that include clear, thermal, tinted, obscure, and mirrored as well as acrylic and aluminum inserts.
Prices range from $800 for a non-insulated Modern Steel profile and up to $6,500 for Canyon Ridge Modern, Reserve Wood Modern, and Avante.
Additional Profiles
C.H.I. does not offer additional profiles but Clopay offers a costal or plantation style door called Canyon Ridge Louver, which is a 5-layer, steel door with faux wood composite cladding and overlay creating the look of louvers.
Clopay also offers a custom all-wood option, Reserve Wood Custom, which is a 4-layer door, with or without insulation. Choose from Clopay’s door, window, and wood options or design the door yourself.
Prices are from $3,500 and up.
C.H.I. vs Clopay Garage Door Warranties
C.H.I. provides a Limited Lifetime warranty on most garage doors sections with a 1 to 3 year warranty on overlays, depending on material, 3 years on springs, and a 6 year warranty on hardware.
Clopay’s warranties are all Limited Lifetime on sections with 10 years on standard paint, 5 years on custom paint, and 1 year warranties on workmanship, hardware, and springs. Clopay also offers a 1 year installation warranty on doors installed by a Clopay Authorized Dealer.
Advantage: Clopay gives you better warranty coverage. As good as it is, Amarr warranties are better still.
Clopay vs C.H.I. Reviews – What Are Others Saying?
What do homeowners say? We’ve surveyed dealers who sell and service both brands and verified buyers, and here is what we discovered.
Clopay is well-reviewed by home remodeling and garage door dealers for both quality and the wide selection of premium garage doors.
Customer reviews are generally positive with some negative reviews of Clopay doors purchased through Home Depot. These reviews indicate the doors arrived damaged with customers having difficulty getting replacements.
C.H.I. is known for providing high quality doors, both in materials and construction. The doors often exceed industry standards when it comes to strength and durability.
Recently the company is experiencing long delivery times and quality issues which include poor packaging leading to damage during shipping. These current problems may be caused by the pandemic and supply chain issues.
Garage door dealers indicate the C.H.I. is very committed to supporting their dealers, so it may be best, currently, to purchase a C.H.I. garage door from a C.H.I. dealer.
