Garage Door Replacement

We have a standard Henderson canopy garage door. It had its lock smashed off years ago and is pretty tatty. (Mind, the basic mechanism doesn?t seem too bad.) I would like to replace it. So far, I have checked through uk.d-i.y history ? there is some useful info. there. And I have wandered around various manufacturer and supplier sites. Lots to take in (far more than I realised!)

Does anyone here have any advice?

A few specific questions:

Are Screwfix doors OK? Surprised they seem only to do GRP.

Is it a real problem working solo? And what can I do to minimise the problems that might bring?

Is there any good place to go to see actual doors (or at least samples) on display?

Reply to
Rod
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My choice would always be a tracked door, which is supported in all four corner. Plus I would never forego my door opener. IMO one of life's major luxuries.

Andy

Reply to
Andy Cap

'The Garage Door Company' have a few sites around the Country, where you can see their offerings. I heard they are quite expensive if you ask them to fit it though, but they do a supply only if required.

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you are confident of your DIY skill, then it is a pretty simple task fitting a door, even on your own. The golden rule is to make sure both side supports are square and parrallel. I was looking for one before Christmas, the basic aluminium/steel doors started at around £175.

Wickes and B+Q (the larger ones) keep garage doors in stock, and both will deliver. Alan.

Reply to
A.Lee

Above all, go and look and compare several makes. Look at complete doors and not just bits. Look at the finish. Operate them. Look for sharp edges and poor construction. Look at the mechanical arrangements and how smoothly they operate.

Definitely don't buy sight unseen from web sites or people who visit with bits and pieces of doors (double glazing style).

There is at least a 20:1 range of price for garage doors of a given size.

There are the really cheap and nasty products which will be obviously flimsy and of poor finish. Then there is a quite compressed group of the volume manufacturers such as Cardale and Henderson. There are a few smaller vendors around at around these mass market prices but better quality, or at somewhat higher prices for rather better. Then one gets to better quality volume products such as Hoermann and finally the custom products such as Silvelox.

I think that going to local and regional suppliers and installers of a variety of makes as opposed to the national companies is a really good idea - similar argument to buying double glazing. The usual searches such as Google with place name and garage doors will turn these up as will looking in Yellow Pages etc.

Have a budget in mind, but then compare just above and below it to decide whether you think differences are worth it.

Garage door installation is really a two person job. I managed to remove two old single Cardale doors safely on my own in preparation for a double width door, because I had been given the steps to do so. Even so, it was difficult to manipulate the doors without damaging them. That didn't matter because they were being slung out. On a new door, even a single one, I think that the risks of damaging it during installation if working on one's own are high and then all of the money is wasted. I found that it wasn't significantly different in cost to have the door professionally installed. Then also, if there's a problem with manufacture or with fitting, the supplier owns it.

One can do the obvious checks of companies at Companies House for £2-5 to see how long they have been trading, but of course should always use some form of credit for the purchase.

Reply to
Andy Hall

Thanks for the suggestions - but it seems not! B&Q (large Warehouse in Slough) no longer does garage doors at all. (Said they stopped around 6 months ago despite a sign still showing where they would be if they still did them.)

Wickes had just one GRP door and that was in dreadful condition. Made us decide against GRP - at least *their* GRP. But they did have plentiful literature including Made-to-Order Price List and Garage Doors - Sectional, Roller, Timber, Steel & GRP. Which is rather odd as their website seems to say they now only handle GRP. (The stink from the nearby burger/onions/candy-floss van was so awful we did not want to stay and discuss with staff. How do the staff put up with it?)

Heigh ho. I shall have to keep looking.

Reply to
Rod

What size are you looking for as I am taking out one and bricking it up to replace the garage with a utility & en-suite, Garage door is not needed.

You could also try Ebay as they have some.

Reply to
Ray

Rod submitted this idea :

If you check back through the newsgroup for my postings on the subject, you will find lots of discussion on the subject.

The only advantage for the rigid canopy door I can think of, is that it extends the weather protection further out when its open and they are slightly cheaper than a roller. The disadvantages are that they come in fixed sizes and are difficult to transport, are not really draft proof and are difficult to automate - I tried.

For not much more you can get an automatic remote controlled, insulated and which seal properly, almost silent roller door. I bought a 7' x 7' roller door for £450 (made to measure) and transported it easily with my car - it came as three easily handled by me alone compact bundles. They need just 300mm of headroom above the opening and they can be cut to what ever exact width you want, the vertical size is not so critical. It does really take two to install, unless you can rig up some elaborate support for it whilst you feed the door in over the top

- apart from this, the rest is single handed.

They have the advantage of coming down vertically so no extra room needs to be left for the angle of the door as it closes and nothing is hidden behind the open door. I would expect it to be much more reliable and need no maintenance for the rest of its life - no wires, no counterbalance springs, etc.. The disadvantages are that you miss the canopy the first time you use it in the rain and if they are rolled up wet the roller drips in the garage. The £450 included two remotes, the control box unit and the tube motor hidden away in the centre of the roll. No door obstruction detection or manual control buttons, though the control unit was ready set up for these as options and I have now added them for not a lot extra (£26 total cost to me). I have also made the obstruction detection IR beam serve the second function of providing me with an indication of when my car is just clear of the doors opening to avoid me guessing.

Reply to
Harry Bloomfield

Many thanks. I think it is 7' by 6' 6". I am still checking out which direction to go. Suspect transport would be a problem/excessive cost.

Reply to
Rod

Andy,

Just to say thanks - much of that taken fully on board.

Reply to
Rod

Rod pretended :

See my other posting...

That will be around £450 for a fully motorised 2x remote control, insulated roller door - around an extra £50 for delivery, or collect it your self if you are near enough and have a car large enough to fit the roll in 250mm by door width.

Reply to
Harry Bloomfield

Harry,

Yes - I have read your postings (both now and in the past) and intended replying in a while. We are discussing at the moment.

Looking at Birkdale Doors Ltd, I can see Gliderol and BD77 (but they are 'coming soon'). Therefore, I am assuming yours is a Gliderol?

What is the situation with power failure (or door motor failure, for that matter)? I saw some reference to an extra switch/device to permit manual use. (We have no other access to the garage.)

Many thanks.

Reply to
Rod

They are quite similar to these..

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of the photos shows the linkage method used to open the door from out side should their be a power failure or failure of the automatics.

Reply to
Harry Bloomfield

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