Up and Over Garage Doors
As the name implies they open upwards and then tilt over to they are perpendicular to the roof of the garage.
There are a few different configurations available including standard canopy up and over garage doors and retractable garage doors.
The differences being the canopy door protrudes from the garage (about a third of its size) whereas retractable doors slide back into the roof of the garage.
Retractable doors are easier to convert to an automated mechanism but they have more of an impact on the drive through width. Canopy doors are much easier to install than retractable doors and provide better drive through width.
These differences may seem subtle but they can be very important when it comes to choosing the right door for your garage.
All types of up and over garage doors are typically available in timber, steel, fibreglass and ABS plastic configurations with a variety of styles such as panelled and ribbed finishes.
Side Hinged Garage Doors
Side hinged garage doors are traditionally made from wood, and were relatively inexpensive. They also had the benefit of not causing any problems regarding headroom as they open outwards in a saloon door style.
Side hinged garage doors are particularly popular for garages used for storage purposes or as utility spaces as opposed to parking your car. This is because the doors can be opened independently making pedestrian access easier without having to open the whole front of the garage. Some manufacturers enhance this more by offering one and two third opening options to make pedestrian access even easier.
Modern side hinged garage doors are available in timber, steel, ABS Plastic and Glass Enforced Polyester (GRP) in a variety of designs.
Roller Shutter Doors
The benefit of a roller shutter door is that they allow for maximum headroom and width when it comes to drive through space and are usually motorised for ease of opening. The downside is they usually need to be made to measure and manual roller doors are rare. They are also more popular for industrial and commercial use, though they have seen a recent surge in popularity in the home market.
Roller shutters are fairly standard in design but the slats are available in many differing styles and designs to best suit your needs including severs colours and finishes such as a wood grain effect.
Sectional Garage Doors
Sectional garage doors are similar to both up and over garage doors and roller shutters, offering a large amount of versatility and drive through space.
The garage door is split into several large horizontal sections, usually four or five, making them similar to roller shutters, however these sections do into roll around a barrel (indeed they are too large for that) but instead slide up and into the garage on tracks similar to up and over garage doors however as they follow a track, which are fitted inside the door frame, they have allow maximum headroom and wide for drive through purposes.
They come in manual and automated versions and the manual sectional garage doors can be converted to automatic easily enough.
As the track is not in line with the door frame but behind it, it means the shape of the door frame is of no matter when it comes to sectional garage doors.
Sectional garage doors come in a wide range of finishes and materials such as steel, fiberglass and wood paneled, and due to their versatility size is not an issue when it comes to any paneling or finishes.
For more information on the types of garage doors available or for professional fitting of garage doors, contact Doorfit on 0800 2888 155. We have a wide range of garage doors in stock.
