Garage Door System GuideWayne Dalton and Overhead Door both build insulated steel sectional doors and both publish U-factor and R-value figures verified under DASMA programs. This page places their published specs side by side. It declares no winner, because the two lines overlap heavily and the right pick depends on climate and the specific model.
How to read this comparison
One fact frames everything here: Wayne Dalton is a division of Overhead Door Corporation, so these are related brands rather than fully independent rivals. Both state that U-factor is independently tested and verified per ANSI/DASMA 105 using solid doors, and both use a calculated door section R-value for their insulated doors, which means their numbers are stated on the same basis and can be read together. Compare models with similar door thickness, since thickness drives the insulation numbers.
What Wayne Dalton publishes
Wayne Dalton's Classic Steel Models 8300 and 8500 use foamed-in-place polyurethane insulation. The brand lists Model 8300 at a U-factor of 0.15 and an R-value of 12.12, and Model 8500 at a U-factor of 0.12 and an R-value of 16.22.
Wayne Dalton participates in the DASMA Thermal Performance Verification Program and states its U-factor is independently tested per ANSI/DASMA 105. The line also offers a high-cycle spring option rated at 25,000 cycles, which the brand says is more than twice the life of a standard torsion spring.
What Overhead Door publishes
Overhead Door's Thermacore Collection uses foamed-in-place, CFC-free polyurethane insulation sandwiched between two layers of corrosion-resistant steel. The line spans three models: the 1 inch Model 5720 at U-factor 0.20 and R-value 9.31, the 1.4 inch Model 5740 at U-factor 0.15 and R-value 12.76, and the 2 inch Model 5760 at U-factor 0.10 and R-value 17.5.
Overhead Door also publishes an air-sealing figure. It states the in-between section thermal seals achieve an air infiltration rating as low as 0.08 cfm, and notes the Model 5760 is approved for the Florida Building Code with wind-load options.
Where they differ on paper
The two lines track closely on thermal numbers, as you would expect from related brands using the same measurement basis. Wayne Dalton's 8500 posts R-16.22 at U-factor 0.12, while Overhead Door's top Thermacore 5760 posts R-17.5 at U-factor 0.10, both driven by a two inch class polyurethane core. Their mid and entry models land in a similar order.
Where the published emphasis differs is the headline metric. Overhead Door foregrounds an air infiltration rating as low as 0.08 cfm and Florida Building Code approval on its top model, while Wayne Dalton foregrounds a 25,000 cycle high-cycle spring option and tongue-and-groove joint seals. Both participate in the DASMA Thermal Performance Verification Program, so the shared verification, not a single winning number, is the common thread.