Whether buying a garage door or an industrial door, here are a few useful tips which may alter the way you think about doors. For example did you know that most people will buy shutter doors or industrial vertical up and over doors because they believe that these type of doors are all that are available? This is not true and there are many other different types.
A factory or warehouse is usually equipped with doors up to 5.2m high by 4m wide so that heavy goods vehicles can easily pass through for under cover loading. The reality is that a tiny percentage of industrial businesses actually allow vehicles to come inside at all except for garaging and again this is infrequent so why do we build garages and warehouses to the same stereotype? The answer is because nobody really thinks about the building access until after occupation has taken place and then they make do with what is already there. On most garages there is a single or double width sheet which pulls up taking up more room than necessary and forcing the unwanted opening of the full doorway to the weather. It is just the same at work too. In 10 seconds the warehouse can turn into a fridge!
There are numerous different door options rarely explored. Here are just a few examples of what a door correctly engineered can do for your garage, workshop or warehouse.
Dramatically reduce heat loss.
Help with managing atmospheres.
Provide safe emergency exits.
Work in conjunction with the rest of the building insulation to cut fuel bills.
Provide a shop Garage Door Hardware Installation window.
Improve security.
Reduce downtime.
Control access.
Make better use of restricted spaces.
Work to support existing systems Garage Door Wind Damage for handling and storage.
Save on maintenance costs.
Control traffic groups.
Enhance building design.
Improve communications.
Allow 24 hour controlled access.
Protect against fire.
The type of application will govern the type of door so the engineering of it will provide far greater relevance to either a domestic or commercial environment once it has been decided for what the internal space is to be used. For example a wicket gate in a roller shutter door is a very cumbersome arrangement requiring the wicket gate to be opened before the door can be raised. A roller shutter door is also very slow to operate and very maintenance intensive but it is cheap. The same door in a sliding, folding type door has no such complications. Often it is not a great deal more expensive. There are also insulated versions with powered options and there is no need to open the entire door every time any form of access is required. It can be tailored to forklifts, vehicles or people.
The overhead sectional door is a very complicated piece of equipment and has a great deal of difficulty providing and accommodating the flexibility of an engineered sliding, folding door. It is no quicker in operation and again is more maintenance intensive. It is fine for set piece operations for example for loading bays or garage type lock ups but as a utilitarian door it leaves a lot to be desired. However the same piece of equipment in a garage door enables automated operation, a very pleasing finish, a designer look, good visibility and very low headroom with a fully tracked sliding operation providing maximum space within the envelope of the garage. It also improves security.
My point is that with the correctly specified door, operations are speeded up, space is better utilised and energy savings can be substantial. For example a door which has to be fully opened every time can occupy someone for two or three minutes every time it happens as opposed to a matter of seconds for a properly facilitated installation. Imagine bigger factory units which have several mis-specified doors and the problems which surround them, then attach two minutes, three or four times a day. This is equivalent to half a man day a month of wasted time opening and closing doors. In the winter this is exacerbated by heat loss.
Additionally, if you are trying to work in your garage at home, doors without correct vision panels or reasonable access requirements produce exactly the same problems. Figures of thousand pounds a year in wasted time, energy and damage are not hard to assemble. When you also add the inconvenience of productivity, spending a few hundred pounds extra for the correctly specified door makes a lot commercial sense. My advice is to look at the range of products available for quality domestic and industrial applications and buy the facility which best suits the application and this extends well beyond roller shutter and standard sectional doors.