Hi,
What is the life expectancy of a roller garage door?
I bought something that looks a bit like this:
It has a motorised central cylinder which rotates, wrapping the slatted door "curtain" around it.
I bought ours about five or six years ago. It was an unbranded door from a company that I had not heard of but who were recommended to me by word of mouth. My experience has not been great from the first day (door of wrong size supplied, subsequent door had dented slats, micro switches failed in remote control, etc)!
Amongst other things, where the door wraps around itself when lifted, the paint has worn off, yet it was advertised as a maintenance free finish. I worry that trying to paint it might make it look worse rather than better.
I think I bought this type of door to maximise wall space: up and over doors would protrude into the garage, restricting where I could put up shelves.
I think this type of door is best suited to empty garages used to store cars. Our garage is used as a shed to put all the things that have nowhere else to go. Sometimes things get knocked and slip into the way of the door. If the door is lowered it hits an obstacle and continues to turn. I realise that's our fault for putting clutter near the door. I did wonder whey the door could not be built like a car window, where it would stop or even reverse if it hit an obstacle. Is this just because of cost or is it because of security (in case this feature was exploited to open closed doors)?
The last time the door jammed it caused two of the four hinges to snap. The door is currently being lifted by just two of them until I get round to ordering two more. Are two enough or is it better to have four?
There are two recesses on the motor that you use an Allen key to adjust and they determine where the door stops at the top and bottom of its travel.
Whenever the door jams, it causes these top and bottom adjustments to go wrong. In fact, the hinges snapped because the door hit the ground and kept turning last time this happened!
The problem I now face is that the "receptacle" that the Allen key engages with has been damaged. I guess it has been rounded out by over use!
This means I have been able to adjust the top limit of the door but not the bottom one. I have had enough problems with the door, so replacement seems the best solution for my mental health! But I am wondering if there is a temporary fix. Perhaps aralditing a bolt into the recess and using the bolt to turn it?
I'm also looking for a source of long Allen keys to make any future access easier. Do you know any suppliers?
What have been your experiences with garage doors? Should I replace it with a branded one or is there a better type of door to consider?
TIA