Have you decided that it’s time to change out your commercial garage doors? Whether that’s the case or you’re buying commercial doors for the first time, there are several things to be aware of while you do your shopping.
If you’re a homeowner with a garage, you might think of all garage doors as overhead sectional models. These are comprised of hinged panels that rise to rest next to the ceiling. However, there are many other garage doors out there.
If you need garage doors for commercial, industrial, or agricultural reasons, there are plenty of other doors to meet your needs. Steel is used to cover many of them, but some have a reinforced fabric or heavy rubber cover.
The garage door you know – Overhead sectional
A commercial overhead sectional garage door is built much like a residential garage door. However, they come in a vast range of sizes. These are made up of sections, or panels, which are installed on top of one another.
The real difference in these doors is how they move and what hardware helps them do it.
Commercial buildings are often constructed with extremely high ceilings. To ensure maximum clearance (or headroom) for the garage door on the inside of the commercial building, the door will move up along the wall then turn at the ceiling.
The interior height inside the building and the garage door's height will impact which kind of movement should be used.
In most cases, the movement options are:
- Standard: similar to a residential garage door, it has the same components and mode of action
- High lift: this sort of door moves by going up the wall and then making a turn when it gets close to the ceiling
- Full vertical lift: using this door is common in areas where a lot of loading and unloading is done
When it comes to sectional doors, most of them are created using galvanized steel. In many cases, the doors are injected using polyurethane foam. This adds extra insulation and makes the door stronger and sturdier.
Also available are non-insulated garage doors. These are most often used in unheated buildings that serve, for example, to store agricultural machinery.
A second option – Rolling steel doors
The name of this door says it all. These doors roll way up and over the head of the door. There’s also no need for horizontal tracks like sectional doors have.
To make sure the door rolls up the way it should, the sections must be an exceedingly small size. Also called slats, the sections vary in size based on the manufacturer. However, most of them are about three inches in height.
This kind of door can be used in many ways. But most often, they are used to compartmentalize and close off two interior sections of a building. One reason could be to avoid spreading dust from one area to another.
Based on insurance requirements, these doors may be of the “firewall” version, which means it will prevent a fire from spreading from one place to another inside of a building. The fire-resistance rating can range from 30 to 240 minutes of protection.
That isn’t the only thing these doors are suitable for. They can be used as counter shutters, as seen in areas and food service counters. Some of these doors are made of metal grilles, as seen in shopping centers.
While these might all seem unique, they have one thing in common. Each of them rolls up!
A third choice – High-speed roll-up garage doors
It’s less common to see doors like these, but they are used in various sectors. They are often located in heavy industry (rail transportation and mines), food, and distribution centers.
One example is the food industry. Whether you own a grocery store or part of your building is refrigerated, it's essential to prevent the door from being left open for long periods.
This door's defining feature is how quickly it can up, at up to 90 inches in only one second. But for safety purposes, the door closes a bit more slowly (48 inches a second) to prevent any accidents.
Some of these doors are constructed out of a thick piece of rubber that can handle impacts well. Others are made using reinforced vinyl (or polyester) and work well for buildings used in the manufacturing industry.
Do you think it’s time to learn more about commercial garage doors?
Are you located in the Enfield or Ellington areas? You can contact us now at 1-877-545-3667.
As experts in commercial and industrial garage doors, we have lots of experience and know the characteristics and differences between different doors in this sector.
To offer extra convenience, we can also send you a no-obligation quotation by email.
Curious about what different types of commercial doors look like?
Spend some time at our Commercial Door Pictures Gallery, and you’ll be sure to find some fantastic ideas. You can even take a look at other commercial and industrial doors not on this list.
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