Garage Doors
RollerGarageDoor.net is a guide to every type of garage door system (i.e. door type and opening mechanism) available for a home or business premises. Garage door designs range from sectional and sliding movements through to up-and-over and side hinged operations. You can select from the menu items in the red index box above to find out about the style and opening system of door that you are interested in. This main page starts off with roller garage doors.
What is a Roller Garage Door
A roller garage door does exactly what its name suggests -
It rolls up above the garage opening when the garage is in use, and unrolls back down when the garage needs securing. This makes it simple and easy to use and ensures that the rolled-up door occupies a minimum of space when it is open.
Roller doors are available in a number of opening formats that include remote control with automatic, motorised or manual movements. They can be bought in standard sizes, or made to measure.
In addition to the opening mechanism options, there are a number of extras or accessories that can be included in an automated garage door package. These include manual overrides, extra remote control units and internal lighting (which may be automatically triggered by the use of the remote).
The advantages of roller style doors
The biggest advantage that a roller garage door has over its alternatives is that is maximises the space both outside and inside the garage when the door is in its open (i.e. rolled-up) position. The door, which is horizontally sectioned and hinged, folds neatly around a drum that is fixed directly above the door's opening and this takes up a minimum amount of roof space.
With this kind of door there is no overhang, no need for a counter balancing mechanism, and no possibility of the door accidentally self closing.
Roller style doors can be motorised and automated and their life expectancy is generally higher than that of most other garage door models (e.g. up-and-over, sectional, side hinged etc) because relatively little stress is placed on the operating mechanism. They require a minimum amount of maintenance and have high sound and heat insulation properties.
When a roller door has remote control opening and closing it also enhances security by enabling the car driver to leave or enter the garage without the need to get out of the vehicle. This is ideal if the driveway is poorly illuminated.
For a summary of the advantages of this style of door see this "roller door advantages" summary page.
Their construction and how they work
The majority of roller garage doors are made from a sheet of galvanised plastic coated steel.
The door panels roll up around a tubular drum that is suspended above the garage door opening and that stores in a compact and efficient manner. There is usually a rubber seal that acts as an interface between the base of the door and the surface of the ground.
These doors can also be manufactured from a double skinned aluminium lath. This is particularly common with insulated doors and in this situation the individual panels hinge rather than bend in order to facilitate the roll-up motion and "above opening" storage.
Directional guides (and weatherproof seals) run down the vertical thresholds of the garage opening's walls ensuring that the door's movement is smooth and unhindered. Despite this, the door's external appearance offers no give-away signs of the type of opening mechanism being used.
Roller garage doors have a high ease of operation and this is due to a powerful steel spring balancing mechanism that makes their operation almost effortless.
If the door is automated with a remote controlled drum motor, then the operation can be controlled from within a vehicle or from a control panel inside the garage.
From an appearance perspective the roller door's horizontal ribbed effect, which is infact typical of many other garage door types, is a result of mechanical pressing during manufacture. This ribbing strengthens the door and gives it the typical appearance associated with regular and traditional timber garage doors.
Opening and closing - manual or automated
You can choose to have a manual opening and closing mechanism,
or a remote controlled motorised opening and closing mechanism.
Motorised doors require an electrical connection which may be hard wired or accessed through a mains socket. Automated roller doors work by connecting an external sensor to the drum’s motor and this in turn is activated by a wall or hand held remote control unit.
Most motorised garage doors come with remote control units that operate up to a range of 20 or 30 metres (60 feet). In the event that other accessories like external and internal lighting are required, these are normally triggered by the remote control unit's sensor or the mechanism's opening action.
Roller door appearance and security
For the vast majority of properties, a garage door represents a significant area of a building's frontage. This necessitates that the door should be both attractive to look at and present a secure and theft-proof barrier to all passers by.
Roller doors succeed in both of these aims by offering a wide range of colour and style variations combined with some of the most secure locking mechanisms in the industry.
From a security stand point, a closed roller garage door is restrained on all four edges by side tracks, a bottom seal and the roller drum at the head. Single or multi position integral locking points can also be added and this makes the roller door very resistant to forced entry and even impacts.
Ultimately, the roller based garage door is probably the Rolls Royce of garage door opening options for the home.
If you are unsure of what type of garage door you currently have, check out this What is my garage door? page.