What Type of Garage Door Should I Buy? – Infographic

Choosing the right garage door for your home or business premises is incredibly important; not only does your garage door make up a huge part of the facade of your property, meaning it holds immense aesthetic importance, it also provides protection against vandals, thieves and volatile weather. On top of this, your garage door needs to be easy to use, long lasting, and fit within the space confines of your garage!

With so many considerations to bear in mind, choosing a garage door for your property can be a difficult decision fraught with stress. To help you make your decision easier, here we’re looking at the different door types available to you, and some tips on which door is best suited to different requirements. Read on to find out more.

Door types

Roller: Roller shutters work on a barrel mechanism to pull the curtain of the door upwards. The curtain of the door is usually constructed out of foam-filled slats to provide insulation, and because the door wraps around itself, a roller shutter is often the most space-saving door type. Roller doors can be manually or remotely operated, so you can choose the best access method for you.

Sectional: These doors have a similar structure to roller doors in that the curtain of the door rolls up and over the mechanisms of the door. However, unlike roller doors, the sections of the door do not wrap around themselves, they instead run back along the tracks that are installed into the roof of the garage. While this saves space on the exterior of the garage as the door doesn’t need to open outwards, it can take up space within the garage. Sectional doors are available double skinned with inserts to offer a good level of insulation and are available in many style options.

Up and Over: Up and over operate exactly how they sound; first the curtain raises up and over the space in front of the garage before sliding along the tracks into the space below the garage roof. These doors are quick and easy to install, but require a large amount of free space both in front of the garage and inside the garage for the door to function properly. Up and over doors can be incredibly heavy too, which means that if you opt for manual operation, you may struggle to lift the heavy curtain up and out of the way. Up and over doors are available in a wide variety of styles and don’t require a lot of maintenance so are a good choice for those of you who want an attractive door that doesn’t require a lot of aftercare.

Side Hinged: Side hinged garage doors are a double door, with each door being able to be opened independently from one another. This is great for people who require frequent foot access to their garage. The doors have a hinge on either side of the door frame, with the doors opening from the middle of the structure outwards. Doors can be equally split, or one door can be made larger than the other so that one can grant access for a vehicle and the other is simply big enough for people to walk through; opting for this means that you will only ever need to open one door at a time.

Things to consider

Now that we’ve looked at each door type in a little bit of detail, it is time to think about your individual requirements.

If you haven’t got much space… A roller door or a sectional door would be the best bet. Both open up in a straight, horizontal line so don’t require space in front of the garage door to operate, and both require little space within the garage door for the curtain of the door to retract into.

If you’re looking for something easy to use… Opt for a door that is lightweight and can be operated by remote control. A roller door or sectional door would work. Avoid the heavy up and over door or a side hinged door which will require manual unlocking and opening.

If you need good insulation… We’d recommend a door that has a single, continuous curtain, such as a roller door. This reduces the gaps in the door that allow draughts or dust and debris to get into your garage, thus providing more weather protection. To make your door choice even more insulating, go for a door that is available in double skinned aluminium or a similar sheet material, such as a roller door or a sectional door, and if possible, ask for a foam filled insert to add extra insulation. It is also a good idea to look for a door that has a double brush feature in the last slat to provide a strong seal along the edge of the door.

If you use your garage for more than just storing your car… Or if you’re frequently going to be in and out of your garage, you would be better suited to a side hinged door as it allows easy manual operation and you won’t need to open the entire facade of the garage each time you want to enter or exit.

If you decide that a roller garage door is the best option for you then get in touch with Rollerdor Ltd today. We manufacture high quality, made-to-measure roller doors from powder coated aluminium on our site to ensure that all of our products meet up to our own exacting standards, and with our comprehensive installation service – or option for a DIY package – we can offer you a fully bespoke service to suit your requirements to the ground. Give us a call on 0800 030 6004.