Garage Doors What Do We Know?

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MacB

Lover of things that come in 3's
So I thought I was sorted then I find that what I wanted can't be done, or at least not by the chosen supplier...and we're back to the drawing board...what I have so far:-

design - I have my heart set on side hinged traditional opening doors for a variety of reasons

material - I was thinking composite but size and weight seem to be an issue so I'm trying to decide between GRP, Wood and Steel. The garage is being semi converted so the walls, floor and ceiling will be insulated and decorated. The doors need to give the best seal and insulation level possible but security is also a priority.

Wood - the choice seems endless but it doesn't give the weather resistance low maintenance approach I was hoping for

Steel - the best I've seen so far are the Carteck insulated steel side hinged made by Teckentrup in Germany. They are basically their sectional insulated panels made into doors. But they come with a size limitation and require fitting 'between the bricks'. The main limitation being a minimum width of 2286mm(7'6") and this would involve cutting back brickwork to get the fit as the space available is 2150mm or just over 7'.

GRP - lots of brands but they all seem to share the same design characteristics as the Wessex GRP range, so I'm guessing one manufacturer and multiple rebrandings. However I can get them specced to the existing openings and thus avoid the need for carving down the brickwork. I'm just not sure on their insulating qualities or security levels.

Any knowledge, experience or advice going on this stuff?
 

Andrew_Culture

Internet Marketing bod
I knew a fella who knew a bloke who decapitated himself trying to tension a garage door spring.

That's all I have.
 
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MacB

MacB

Lover of things that come in 3's
Thanks Mort and I am considering the varying security levels, I believe that the vertical sectional ones are considered the most secure. But that doesn't stop them being pig ugly, noisy and not really what we want. I even looked at the options with a picket gate in the middle. Our garage has never had a car in it and the main use is foot traffic with bikes. Up and over style doors are a pain and I don't like leaving them wide open all the time. We wanted something that the kids could come in and out of, relatively quietly and just using a key.

To give you an idea of the lengths we were prepared to go to in order to avoid this but maintain a high level of security. We have a composite front door with all the fancy locking etc. Our plan that has gone awry was to fit two of these to replace the up and over garage door. It would basically have been two max width composite doors and two frames fitted side by side. We thought we'd be cute and get them to match the front door. However our exterior finish is 'black ash' and because we wanted the doors to open outwards then the white side of the frame/door would have been on the outside. Apparently it was beyond the wit of the supplier to put the black overlay on the opposing side. We could of course have just had the doors opening inwards but that sort of defeated the space creating aspect of the doors.

Whatever side hinged option we go for the security will be beefed up probably to the point of adding a door spanning crossbeam(like an old castle gate) that can be dropped into place for overnight etc.
 

dellzeqq

pre-talced and mighty
Location
SW2
presuming the garage entrance is eight feet across, you should really think through the load you're proposing to put on the brick piers. By all means fix the door frame to the piers with chemical anchors, but if you're relying on a half brick wall then think about beefing it up with a bit of galvanised or stainless angle. And then start to ask yourself what kind of hinges you want. And then make sure the doors are ledged and braced, because they are going to go out of shape if they aren't.

Up and over door in timber, Mac. Heavy, but reliable. Use a counterweight and you're laughing. And you can motorise it, put a sensor on it, all sorts..

But - if this door is the only way out of the garage to fresh air then, whatever the format you go for, make absolutely sure that it can be opened from the inside in nothing flat - with or without power.
 

srw

It's a bit more complicated than that...
I haven't the foggiest what the make is, but a couple of years ago we had a pair of outward-opening black steel doors fitted. The wider door (about 2/3 the width of the opening) is anchored at top and bottom with a bolt. The narrower door is secured with a deadlock built into the frames of the doors and with a Yale lock attached behind the doors. Usually we only open the narrower door, and only throw open both when we need to get bikes out of a tight corner.

The doors are probably 7 foot something wide (but I've never measured them) - it's a 1930s garage, wide enough for a 2CV leaving enough room for the driver to get out. These days it's used for bikes and the freezer.

Let me know if you want me to dig around for a brand name.
 
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MacB

MacB

Lover of things that come in 3's
presuming the garage entrance is eight feet across

brick to brick is 7' and the options I've been looking at would come complete within a steel frame which is anchored within the opening on all four sides.

Jeez it's tough trying to surf for garage doors the dross hits are endless, but I'm now considering a variation on this from Hormann:-

http://www.hormann.co.uk/garage-doors/sectional-doors/wicket-door-with-trip-free-threshold/

it's a sectional vertical door with a wicket gate in the middle and you can get them in double skinned steel with high insulation values. This would fit behind the brick and therefore allow more of the garage width to come into play.

We already have up and over motorised and it's been enough to tell me that I don't want up and over, or motorised, again. Though a vertical sectional, or even up and over manual option, could be tolerable if it has a wicket gate in it.

SRW I'd guess that yours are either Garador or Carteck and in a lot of the ranges you can have in either 50/50 or a 2/1 split.

These are the Carteck ones I was looking at with the minum width of 2286mm:-

http://www.teckentrupdepot.co.uk/sectional-garage-doors/side-hinged-garage-door/
 

Fnaar

Smutmaster General
Location
Thumberland
presuming the garage entrance is eight feet across, you should really think through the load you're proposing to put on the brick piers. By all means fix the door frame to the piers with chemical anchors, but if you're relying on a half brick wall then think about beefing it up with a bit of galvanised or stainless angle. And then start to ask yourself what kind of hinges you want.

I get other people to think of this sort of stuff. I can make a great lasagne though :thumbsup:
 

rvw

Guru
Location
Amersham
The manufacturer for the doors srw mentioned is Rowley, and the style we went for was York. We didn't have to do any of the research ourselves as it was part of a bigger project - but a quick google found me one supplier who quotes that these can be made to measure. I did find the original quote but I'm afraid it didn't state dimensions.
 
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MacB

MacB

Lover of things that come in 3's
The manufacturer for the doors srw mentioned is Rowley, and the style we went for was York. We didn't have to do any of the research ourselves as it was part of a bigger project - but a quick google found me one supplier who quotes that these can be made to measure. I did find the original quote but I'm afraid it didn't state dimensions.

Aha, well York matches the style of what we've been looking at and I do like the sound of the 'continuous hinge' design. I'll have a mooch at their website, can't see if they offer insulated as an option.
 

Archie_tect

De Skieven Architek... aka Penfold + Horace
Location
Northumberland
Mac, you could do wat shopfront installers do and have a simple plastisol coated steel roller shutter for security on the outside and a pair of side hung [glazed/ french] doors on the inside for easy access?
 
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MacB

MacB

Lover of things that come in 3's
Mac, you could do wat shopfront installers do and have a simple plastisol coated steel roller shutter for security on the outside and a pair of side hung [glazed/ french] doors on the inside for easy access?

:biggrin: not easy this trying to get security combined with aesthetics and easy in/out. I did actually look to see if there was a French door option but solid rather than glazed.

Maximum security isn't the biggest priority because we're talking part of the house here with rooms above, behind and to one side. It would be easier, quieter and less observable to gain access via the French doors at the rear than garage doors at the front.
 
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