As automobiles became a major household item in the early 1900s, owners sought better ways to shelter their vehicles. The first garage doors were swung outward on hinges, but they could not accommodate modern, long cars.
Today’s typical garage door consists of long, horizontal sections that roll straight up and back along the ceiling with help from a spring-balanced motor. Most are made from steel with insulation and can be painted to match your home. Contact Garage Doors Newcastle now!
Overhead garage doors are the most popular option for homeowners due to their affordability, convenience, and space-saving design. They’re made up of multiple panels that fit together with hinges and rollers, lifting upward to rest parallel to the ceiling when open. They can be operated via a traditional manual pull chain, electric opener, or counterweight system. Smart garage door openers are also available, letting you control your home’s overhead garage doors through your smartphone.
Overhead doors were originally invented to help homeowners park their cars. When the Model T hit the market in 1921, people needed a place to store their new vehicles that wasn’t as bulky or impractical as carriage houses and horse stables. C.G. Johnson developed the first overhead track garage door, which could lift from a horizontal position and retract into a vertical one when opened. This created a large clear opening for people to drive into their garages.
Residential, commercial and industrial overhead garage doors are available in a wide range of colors, materials and designs. They can be made from wood, aluminum or steel and are often insulated to protect storage rooms and workspaces from temperature changes, drafts, moisture and airborne impurities.
Insulated overhead doors are a popular choice for many businesses as they can lock in heat and cool temperatures to preserve stored goods, equipment or materials. They also help reduce energy costs and improve indoor air quality. Other commercial overhead doors include rollup options with various operating mechanisms and custom sizes to fit a particular business’s needs.
Alpine also offers an array of specialty overhead doors that are designed to be used in high-rise buildings or other difficult-to-access spaces. These are typically constructed of sturdy aluminum or stainless steel and provide protection from weather, fire and smoke conditions. They are also tested and certified to meet stringent requirements for fire resistance and other essential factors like durability, security and strength. They are often used in restaurants, office buildings, manufacturing facilities, warehouses and other industrial applications. Contact us for more information on our commercial and industrial overhead doors.
Sectional Doors
Sectional garage doors operate differently than single-panel doors. While single-panel doors remain straight and move up toward the roof at an upward angle, sectional doors hinged panels bend along a track and rest parallel to the ceiling when open. This allows you to get in and out of your garage without compromising car headroom. You can also add an electric opener to a sectional door for easy operation.
Another benefit of sectional garage doors is their thermal and acoustic properties. These doors feature polystyrene or polyurethane foams that help reduce energy costs and noise pollution inside your garage. In addition, many manufacturers offer a range of colours and finishes so you can create a custom visual appearance for your home or commercial building.
One downside of sectional doors is that they require more maintenance than other types of garage doors. You will need to lubricate the guides and check the condition of the lift springs. You’ll also need to keep an eye on the weather strip, which is responsible for protecting against moisture and wind.
If you’re looking for a durable and aesthetically appealing solution, consider a timber sectional door. These doors are available in various species of timber and come in a wide variety of designs to suit the style of your home or business. They’re also ideal for areas prone to intruders, as the solid construction of the panels and steel guiding provides great resistance against attempts at forced entry or break-ins.
Choosing a new garage door can be a big decision for your home or business, but it doesn’t have to be difficult. By taking the time to understand your options and find a solution that best suits your needs, you can enjoy a more comfortable and functional space for years to come.
If you’re ready to start shopping for a new garage door, take the time to measure the area beside your garage opening and note any obstacles or barriers that may get in the way of installation. This information will help you narrow down your choices and ensure a smooth, hassle-free process.
Slide to the Side Doors
As their name suggests, these garage doors slide to the side when opened, taking up less room than other types of garage doors. They also take up less space in the ceiling than other garage door styles and are ideal for homeowners who want to maximize the use of their floorspace.
If you’re looking to install a sliding door, there are many options available that will suit your taste and needs. You can choose from a variety of colors, window designs, and other decorative features. If you’re concerned about security, you can select a door that comes with built-in safety sensors to prevent the door from closing on objects or people.
You’ll also need to consider the layout of your home and how you plan to use the sliding doors. It’s important to decide whether or not the doors will stack to the left or right of the wall and where you’ll place them in relation to furniture. This will help ensure your doors fit properly and can be easily accessed when needed.
Another aspect to keep in mind is the door’s energy efficiency. Since the door is exposed, air will be able to move freely around it, which can affect your home’s energy efficiency. To counter this, you can install insulation and other energy-saving upgrades to make sure your home stays warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
Finally, it’s worth noting that slide-to-the-side garage doors require less maintenance than traditional sectional garage doors. This is because they have fewer moving parts and are easier to maintain, meaning that you’ll need to lubricate them less often.
Side-Hinged Doors
When space and headroom is a concern within your garage, or you wish to have an entry door that fully leverages interior space, side-hinged doors provide a stylish yet cost effective solution. These doors open on a hinge like a conventional internal or external door and are available in many different styles, materials and colours.
The advantages of a side-hinged door over an overhead or sectional door are that they don’t require any tracks and therefore take up less floor space. The doors also can be opened from both sides if you want to park or enter your garage via the right hand side (viewed externally).
These doors come in either steel (insulated double skin only) or GRP construction and are manufactured up to 10 feet wide and 8 feet high, with various options for panel design and sizes. The doors are manufactured to the precise size required on site for a perfect fit, and as with all our products a 50mm steel sub frame is fitted as standard for maximum structural strength and ease of installation. All doors are supplied with twin timber latches on the active leaf and shoot bolts on the inactive leaf for added security.
Our steel side-hinged doors are available in a range of attractive powder coated finishes that can be matched to any home’s style. They are a durable, low maintenance choice, requiring only periodic re-staining or re-painting. The GRP doors are available in a selection of panelled designs, including horizontal and large rib or flush and raised panels.
Suppose you choose to automate your new side-hinged door. In that case, we can install a range of operators including traditional boom types that mount on the wall above your doors, hydraulic and electromechanical rams (like those used on commercial gate systems) or piston-style rams for higher headroom applications. These operator systems can be controlled manually with a hand crank or by remote control and can also have additional features such as light curtains and auto-close functionality.
As with all our garage doors, we strongly recommend that you research the product and manufacturer carefully before making any final decisions – a cheap pair of doors in poor-grade softwood or low-quality steel will last only a short time despite claims to be ‘high security.’’ However, a well-researched set of high-quality timber or GRP doors will look and work beautifully for years to come, adding real value to your home.