Sectional doors are a type of door made of sections, connected with strong hinges. When the door opens, the sections lift upwards, allowing a person or a vehicle to pass through.
Sectional doors are great for small and tight spaces, like garages. This is because sectional doors open upwards instead of outwards.
There are lots of variations of sectional doors, and if you’re thinking of getting a sectional door, then it pays to know a bit about them. In this post, we’ll go over the types of section door so you can make an informed decision about the door you finally choose.
Manual or electric?
Sectional doors can either be opened manually (by turning a handle) or electrically (by pressing a button).
These days, it’s quite rare to find a sectional door that only opens manually. It’s more common for sectional doors to come with a motor so you can open the door with ease.
The motor you get will need to be consistent with how often you’ll open and close the door. If you want to use the door several times a day (for a public car park or a warehouse, for example) then you’ll need a more powerful motor. If you’ll only be using the door once or twice a day, however (for a garage on your home, for example) then a weaker motor will suffice.
Automatic or manual?
Do you want your door to open automatically when a vehicle approaches? If yes, then we can supply the door with photocells to allow for automatic opening and closing.
What material?
Sectional doors can be made from a variety of materials, each with its own properties. Here are a few.
- Steel. Double-skinned steel panelling is very strong and can withstand attacks and break-ins.
- Wood. Wood is a common material for garage doors because it looks rustic and homely. Woods include cedar, redwood, fir, and meranti. Wood garage doors are built with layers, or plies, to prevent warping.
- Aluminium. Aluminium is good as it’s light and doesn’t rust. However, it is easy to dent.
- Glass. Believe it or not, you can either get a sectional door made of glass. The advantage of glass is that it’s transparent, allowing people to see through the door. This is good for places like car showrooms or other commercial premises.
High security or low security?
Another thing to think about is security. If you need high security, then you’ll want to go with double-skinned steel panelling. If your need for security isn’t so high, then you can go with a different material.
Considering double-skinned steel panelling will no doubt offer both better security and insulation.
Insulation?
Do you also need insulation? All sectional doors offer some degree of insulation, but some are better than others.
The doors with the best insulation ratings have polyurethane foam inside them and are usually made from steel.
Safety features?
Is safety a top concern? If yes, then we can supply the door with safety edges to protect people’s fingers. We can also paint the door a highly visible colour so there’s no chance of anyone driving into it by accident.
That’s it for this month’s blog post! We hope we’ve given you some things to think about. If you’d like to know more about our sectional doors, just give us a call.