roller garage doors

It depends.

Roller doors run in tracks and hence can be more draught proof than a cheap canopy or retractable door that closes against a frame.

However, a well designed and made canopy or retractable door can be completely draught proof.

When I was replacing my doors I did look at roller doors because they do have the advantage of closing into a very small space and run vertically. I looked at build quality as well and found that there are good products and some absolute rubbish on the market. The low end ones are really quite flimsy and I am not convinced would be more secure than a canopy or retracting door - possibly less so because the mechanical strength comes mainly from the shape and thickness of the slats and there is little to stiffen them. The more substantial ones have a kind of box construction. That can be interesting as well because it gives the possibility of the door being insulated. However..... They are aesthetically awful, giving the appearance of something better suited to an industrial estate. Equally, depending on the surroundings - i.e. all modern houses and others having roller doors as well, then perhaps not too bad.

All garage door fitting is really a two person job to do safely.

Usually, yes.

All of this based only on our personal experience with one door :

- secure? Yes - very solid, fixed securely into metal runners at each side and tamperproof locks when closed.

- draught-proof? Yes - our integrated garage has a double-skinned insulated one, and the room easily keeps domestic warmth levels. No discernable draughts at all, and no rain gets in thanks to rubber gasket at foot of blind (which also contains pressure switch for crushing safety)

- easy to fit? From observing the contractors, I'd have no worries about doing it.

- lift them 7 foot high and fix to the wall? Yes - you premount steel brackets like a giant roller blind, premount metal runners in the opening, and then you'd need two people to lift and slot into place - simple mains wiring for power-lift.

- opened by hand? Came with electronic rolling-code remotes, a wall-mounted switch and a manual crank like a jack-handle

Overall, highly recommended. Our only problem has been with fancy-pants safety issues - the damned thing went through a phase of imagining an obstruction and stopping halfway down until button repressed repeatedly, would've cheerfully paid extra to have a plain version with just up & down...

I bought an Ideal SFL38 sectional door like:

Much nicer looking than a roller door. Also about 5cm thick and insulated.

The door is "sprung" with a pair of coil springs. You can open/shut it with one finger though I motorized mine.

david

We have had a purpose made roller door, (Made in Australia would you believe), for over 15 years now. Electrically operated. Motor is a wiper motor out of a GM truck I believe. I replaced it once. It has a sensitivity setting for safety obstruction and is adjustable very simply for top and bottom travel. It does take notions. Opens part way and then drops back etc. I have a notion this is weather/temperature related but never studied it. I used to re-set the sensitivity each time it acted up but discovered that if left to itself it came to its senses after a day or two so now I leave it alone. Despite the top and bottom travel being mechanical controlled it can still slip. Usually it doesn't close the last inch or two but it is easily sorted.

I'd be leary of fitting one myself. The very large spring has to be tensioned and with our double door width it takes a lot of tension. I'd hate to see it break loose. (The door is tensioned to neutral bouyancy if you understand me). The motor the has very little work to do. When tensioned correctly the door could be lifted with a finger.

On our door the motor can be dis-engaged from the gear allowing the door be opened by hand. In case of a power cut you would need a separate access door to allow one do this. I rigged up a remote release with string and chewing gum which drops down the side of the side door so one can just reach in and pull down on this to release the motor. One can then open the door from the outside.

It is very secure as when the motor is in gear it is impossible to push the door up against it. Somewhat like tyring to push a car when its in gear I suppose.

Regrettably the roller door is not insulated so while the garage (Workshop actually. Never had a car in it and we have a separate small shed for garden machinery so even the lawnmowers don't see the inside of it) , is perfectly dry, humidity is a problem. When the temperature drops on a a cold evening condensation forms on the cold surfaces of the machinery which can lead to surface rust.

Paul Mc Cann

I fitted what sounds like a very similar one recently. I did have help in lifting the curtain, but I think I could, at a pinch have managed that on my own (single width). Installation and particularly commissioning the remote control was easier than the instructions had led me to believe.

Highly recommended.

I did manage to confuse the door one time by stopping it mid lift, then immediately lowering it, to save time. I then had to go through the commissioning proceedure again. Solution: always open it fully before closing (and vice versa).

Hi Fred,

I ordered one mid December for DIY install and I'm due to collect it within the next few days. This after putting some effort into motorising my own canopy door. Basically I changed my mind after getting it working and decided its time I fitted a complete new door. The one I have on order is double skinned, insulated, draught proof and remote control motorised. They make them up to your specified size ready to install and it comes direct from the factory, so no middlemen and a fraction of the usual cost. How good or bad it will be I don't yet know until I get my hands on it, but its spec reads as good as the best I have looked at.

From what I have read, installation sounds much easier than other door types. Basically fix the mounting plate over the door, fix the vertical runners, install the gear in the plate brackets, then ease the actual door in over the top of the gear and down into the runners. The supplier suggests it is all quite easy and light to handle for a single width door.

I don't know how mine will deal with power cuts - I'm sure there must be some provision, but it is not a great concern to me. Some have a manual cranking handle from the inside or outside, others simply allow you to disconnect the motor and push the door up by hand. I have two other ways in, so it will not be an insurmountable problem.

Now if you want to email me off the list, feel free - I'll let you know how it goes and put you in touch with the supplier if you wish.

draught-proof

motorised. They

vertical

actual door

Harry,

Can you post a url for your supplier please. I'm in the process of getting bits together for a new barn / workshop and want a roller door.

AWEM

In article , Harry Bloomfield writes

One of my tenants purchased a second hand roller shutter door through E- Bay. 300ukp AIR.

The installation was a little protracted as we fitted the opening to the door rather than the conventional way:-)

In galvanised steel, roughly 8' wide and 7' high, complete with central spring counterbalance, the roll weighed around 75kgs.

There was a brief thread here on installation issues.

The main lesson learned was that spring tensioning can best be done by

regards

Bloomfield

message

through E-

central

Thanks for the link Harry. I fitted two roller doors at my last place, neither insulated. The first I got through Exchange and Mart (yes it was a long time back), was VERY heavy and I had to build a tower crane using a scaffold tower to winch it into place. I paid £100 for two, sold the second for £100 so it was free!!! The next door I got from P&I Protection in Barking. It was measured up on a Thursday, and installed on Saturday with custom powder coat to match my existing front door, had electric operation with remote control, for an 8 foot tall and 18 foot wide all for £1200 - excellent service. Sadly now I'm miles away from them!!

AWEM

Thank you. I was going to email you about this but I see you have subsequently posted the details to the group - thanks.

In the meantime I have emailed another company. They tell me that if you have other access to the garage there is a manual release. However, I only have the one door. They tell me it is possible to get an external release for when there is no other way in. However, I am concerned because what is to stop a thief pressing the button and letting himself in?

Thanks again and Happy New Year!

You put a padlockable cover over it.

Owain

They had agreed it would be ready for collection today, so this morning I rang them - I had tried several times over and between the holidays, without any reply. They said it would not be ready until Friday, I explained I had taken a couple of days off, based on their indication that it would be ready on the 2nd. Then they changed their minds and agreed they could have it ready today, so I turned up at 13.30 to collect it and now I've just got it home and unpacked it - it all looks good. They agreed at 10:15 and it was packed and ready at 13:30 - so it takes them no more than maybe two hours to build up a door, assuming they have a lunch break :-)

Two comprehensive four button radio remotes (they said they only came with one and offered a second one for an extra £20 over the phone), so I don't need a second one after all. The instruction are quite basic, but look to be specifically printed for the actual door model by Birkdale. Motor is a Garog tube motor hidden inside the drum and the controller + remotes Neco (they had indicated that it was also Garog) which looks as if it quite comprehensive in its functions and the extras it can support such as IR safety beam and manual control wired buttons buttons. Motor seems to be

The hardest part of the install looks like being the feeding of the door over the roller, it weighs around 40 or 50Kg - easy to manage in a roll for one, but a bit more awkward when you try to lift it above your head perhaps. We'll see.

Hi Fred,

I think you have things confused above. The manual release is a little like a car starting handle. The basic door has such a handle to allow it to be opened when there is complete power loss. Now imagine that, combined with the manual drive going through the wall, such that you fit a crank handle into a socket from outside to crank the door open - that gets you out of bother when the mains fails, the motor fails, or the controller etc...

You can also buy wired operation buttons for outside. These are operated by a small Yale type key, but do not help you if there is no power. So for a thief to gain entry they would normally need the correct key.

I have just fired the unit up on the bench - those 6x LED's throw out quite a bit of light and the boxes cover is after all translucent.

The door is in and working. I had a couple of problems (well three actually)

I could not make head nor tail of the instructions provided with the Nico controller unit supplied with the door. It is a pigeon English translation from Chinese, but it sorts itself out once it dawns on you that it needs to be linked out for the photocell and stop button before it will work. No mention of the need for this at all in the instructions and at first I thought the controller must be faulty.

It was an hellish job getting the actual door panel over the top of the drive roller and down into the slots, mostly because I have racking either side of the door entrance and I tried to work with these in situ. It would have been so much easier with room to get in around the edge of the door to lift it. I ended up putting a 2 x 2 timber a few feet back from the door, close to the ceiling and using that to take much of doors weight, before feeding it over the top, then into its slots.

Each alternate lath end in the door is fitted with a plastic cushion/bush at each end to keep it central in the guide rail. Where the cushions tongue goes into the lath, they were supposed to be stapled to keep them in place, but the stapling process had missed some of these so they kept falling out adding greatly to the problems in getting the door down into its slot.

Just one word as far as I am concerned - "Securoglide" - I have just bought the insulated one and it is brilliant does all the things mentioned chris

I got one of those, easy to fit, best thing since sliced bread.

I had not realised that. I thought you just pulled it to disengange the motor and pushed the door up by hand. I didn't realise you had to crank it open. My worry is still that a thief could use it to crank the door open. I know another posted said to padlock it, but it seems the weak point: padlocks can be easily cut. However if someone is going to have to spend a few minutes turning a handle, I think it would deter most opportunistic thieves and I don't have anything expensive in the garage, so perhaps I am being paranoid!

Does it come with a lockable cover or do I have to find and fit one myself?

I have emailed the seller so I'll see what he says too.

Thanks.