Whether hail finished off the old door or you want a warmer, quieter, tougher garage, this is one of the few upgrades you notice every winter and every storm season.
In most markets choosing a garage door is mainly about insulation. In Colorado Springs there are three factors, and ignoring any of them costs money later: insulation for a genuine winter, wind reinforcement for downslope gusts off the Peak, and impact resistance because hail will find this door sooner or later.
An uninsulated door is a large hole in your thermal envelope, and this climate spends months below freezing. If the garage is attached, and here it almost always is, the wall between garage and house is doing work it was not designed for, and any room above the garage is the coldest in the building.
Roughly: R-6 to R-9 is entry-level insulated steel, R-12 to R-13 is the sensible middle for an attached garage, and R-16 to R-18 is worth it if the garage is heated, used as a shop, or has finished living space above it. The step from single-skin to sandwich-construction is the biggest difference you will feel, and it makes the door quieter and considerably more rigid, which also helps with wind.
No residential garage door is hail-proof, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling. What genuinely reduces damage:
Worth asking your insurer about too: some carriers offer premium consideration for impact-resistant building products. We cannot advise on your policy, but it is a question worth putting to them.
Removal and disposal of the old door and hardware, new track, and correctly sized springs for the new door's actual weight: not reused springs balanced for the old one, which is the most common corner cut in this trade and a guaranteed early failure, particularly on a heavier insulated door. Plus new rollers and hinges, bottom and jamb weather seal, struts where the width calls for them, opener reconnection with travel and force limits reset for the new weight, safety reversal tested, and a walkthrough of cold-climate maintenance.
No, and anyone claiming otherwise is selling. What genuinely helps is heavier-gauge steel, sandwich construction rather than a single skin, and a textured finish that hides minor dimpling.
R-12 to R-13 for a standard attached garage. R-16 to R-18 if it is heated, used as a shop, or has a room above it. Below about R-6 you are not really getting the benefit in this climate.
A standard single or double door replacement is typically four to six hours including hauling the old door away. Custom sizes, carriage-house hardware or framing repairs can push into a second visit.
Yes, sized for the new door's actual weight. Reusing springs balanced for the old lighter door is the commonest shortcut in this trade and causes early failure. We do not do it.
Related: Hail & Panel Repair · Opener Repair · Repair Cost Guide
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