Garage Door Opening Mechanisms
Introduction
Garage doors are available with a variety of opening mechanisms. The fundamental difference between the designs is their degree of ‘kick-out’ or the lateral space required to open them. Doors that have no kick out are useful in situations where a door must lift vertically, for example when a car is parked nearby.
Doors that retract completely into the garage space are also useful where the garage opening is level with the property’s boundary line.
Hinged
These doors are usually timber and constructed on a ledged-and-braced frame. These large doors must be hung using heavyweight hinges called ‘bands and hooks’.
Standard sizes:
- 2134mm wide x 1981mm high (7ft x 6ft 6in)
- 2134mm wide x 2134mm high (7ft x 7ft)
- Made to measure
- Traditional approach
- Can include small windows to provide natural light
- Require considerable floor space to swing open
- Require regular maintenance to protect wood
- Tend to weaken over time such that inner bottom corners scrape on the ground and become prone to wet rot
Canopy Up-and-Over
Canopy doors are constructed from a single rigid panel which is generally counterbalanced by springs to lift open upwards and backwards.
Standard sizes:
- 2134mm wide x 1981mm high (7ft x 6ft 6in)
- Made to measure
- Available in a variety of materials and almost any size
- Doesn’t require horizontal tracks inside the garage
- Simplest to install
- Cheapest option
- When open, the bottom third of the door protrudes beyond the frame
- Kick out to open
- Few choices for remote opening mechanisms
Retractable Up-and-Over
A single rigid panel which is usually counterbalanced by springs to lift open upwards and backwards, sliding into the garage space onto horizontal rails suspended from the ceiling.
Standard Sizes:
- 2134mm wide x 1981mm high (7ft x 6ft 6in)
- Made to measure
- Available in a variety of materials and almost any size
- Door retracts into the garage
- Suitable for double doors and remote operators
- Requires horizontal tracks inside the garage
- Kick out to open
Sectional
Generally these doors are constructed of four horizontal sections that are hinged together. These slide up vertical tracks until each section turns 90o to slide into horizontal tracks next to the garage ceiling. Door panels are thicker than other constructions such that the door provides insulation from cold temperatures.
- Usually made to measure
- Opens vertically
- Door retracts into the garage
- Suitable for double doors and remote operators
- Provide some degree of thermal insulation
- Requires horizontal tracks inside the garage
- More expensive than alternatives
Roller
This type of garage door is made of narrow horizontal slats that allow the door to rise vertically and then roll up, like a carpet, in the headroom behind the top of the doorframe.
- Usually made to measure
- Opens vertically
- Door retracts into garage
- Doesn’t require horizontal tracks inside the garage
- Suitable for double doors and remote operators
- Limited scope for design variation
- More expensive than alternatives
Further information and useful links
- Garage door materials
- Introduction to garage doors
- Introduction to painting doors
- Full list of windows & doors topics
- Find a Garage Door supplier near you
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