If you are in the market for garage doors then this is a good time to learn about your options. We don’t often give much thought to the types of garage doors available, until it comes time to buy one.
With limited knowledge about your options you could rush to a costly decision that you could regret in hindsight. So take a little time to discover what garage door types are available so you can make an informed decision.
There are 3 common garage door types in Australia for you to choose from.
1. Overhead Sectional Door.
2. Roller Door
3. Tilt Door.
The best option may not always be clear as the right door type will depend on a few considerations.
Each type of garage door has its own space requirements that go beyond what you see from the front of your home. While a door itself will be close to the size of your opening, the hardware that is used to mount your door will take up additional space in your garage.
When measuring up your opening for a new door an installation designer will look at your available headroom, side room and backspace to see what door options are best suited to your garage space.
Going beyond the space requirements needed for your doors operating hardware, an installation designer will also be mindful of the type of door that will best suit your house.
He will also look at any other consideration that he knows to be aware of. Such as the impact of your door on ceiling lights, storage shelving or if the garage opening needs reinforcement or other structural adjustments.
So let’s look at the 3 common door types to see how they might work for you.
Popular Types Of Garage Door
Overhead sectional doors
Sectional Doors are the most popular choice these days. They get their name from the way the door is constructed in 4 or more horizontal sections. Each section is stacked on the previous section and connected with hinges that keep it all together as it transitions from the vertical (closed ) position to the horizontal (open or overhead) position.
The overhead sectional door comes in 4 common styles that are stamped or roll-formed into the door during the manufacturing process. The 4 common styles are squares, rectangles, a shiplap and flat.
There is some slight variation between embossments from each manufacturer so it’s worth keeping this in mind when you are looking to nail your final decision.
This standard range of sectional door options is incredibly popular with the vast majority of people and will be the right choice for most cases. And while there are many door options you could choose from, in most cases this type of door will be the one you will go with.
Sectional doors look great, come in a range of colours and are well supported by dealers throughout Australia.
If you have looked at the standard range of garage doors and think you might be looking for something a bit extra then take a look at the Sectional Door Designer Options. A couple of companies have managed to mainstream some impressive designer styles. So if you are after that special designer look then it’s good to know these options are available.
How overhead sectional doors work:
Overhead sectional doors are kept in place by a series of rollers, that are fitted up each side of the door, and the tracking system that the rollers follow. A curved section of the track allows the door to transition from the closed to the open position. As the door travels up it tips backwards through the curve section of the track then rolls horizontally below the ceiling to its full overhead or open position.
What is important to take note of with sectional doors is the space that the tracking system takes up. The tracks that run up each side of the door curve back into the garage on each side. How much the tracks extend back into the garage will depend on the height of your garage door. Usually the tracks will need to be the height of the door plus 20 – 30cm.
Automation:
In addition to the room needed to accommodate the tracking system there is also the doors automatic opener. The opener, which consists of a track and motor head, has two mounting points. One end of the track mounts to the front wall above your door and the other end, the one with the motor head, is fixed to the ceiling about 3.5 meters back into the opening.
The assembly of the door opener adds to the overall space that is needed for your installation.
Roller doors
Roller doors If you are looking for a practical and simple garage door that is also price friendly then you should take a look at roller doors.
Roller doors also take up the least amount of space in your garage as the entire door, and its hardware, is mounted to the front wall of your garage. When you lift the door it rolls up and around itself much like a roll-up blind.
Compared with other door types the style options are not as extensive with roller doors. Most companies only offer one style option in their range for roller doors. These styles are better known in the industry as curtain profiles.
The curtain profile is created by either stamping or rollforming a flat metal sheet to form ribs across the width of the door. Additionally roller doors don’t have the wood grain texture that is associated with the sectional doors as they are not intended to replicate that look.
How Roller doors work:
Roller doors are fitted to the front wall of the garage, just above the opening, and are mounted on two brackets that support the weight of the door. The curtain of the door is held in place by two curtain guides that are fitted to the wall on each side of the door. These vertical guides keep your door on track during opening and closing.
Roller doors are great if you are looking for a simple option without a lot of complicated parts.
Automation:
In the case of a roller door the door opener is much more compact than the openers used on other door types. Openers are usually fitted on the cross shaft between the door roll and the mounting bracket that holds the door to the wall.
Tilt Doors
Tilt Doors are a great option if you have very limited headroom for a door or you are looking for a designer finish to perfectly match your home. Tilt doors are the blank canvas of garage doors to which you can add an endless range of cladding options.
The Tilt door frame is made from square tube to form a flat frame and can be made to specifically match the shape of your opening. Tilt doors are made to fit in the reveal of the opening while Sectional and Roller doors fit behind the opening of your garage. They need to do this because the bottom of the door swings out before retracting up and back into the garage to the open position.
There are two types of tilt door, “J” and “Track”, and the one you choose will depend on the space requirements of each type and the weight of the cladding you want fitted on your door.
J Tilt
‘J’ tilt doors were a very popular option during the days when tin sheds were being built as detached garages 30 or so years ago. The low roof line of tin garages made ‘J’ tilts a good option because of the minimal head-room they required.
J Tilt doors are best suited to lighter weight cladding options to prevent excessive wear on the hardwares bearing joints. For heavier cladding the track tilt is a better option.
How it works:
A J tilt is mounted to the garage via heavy duty mounting plates that are fitted to the wall on each side of the garage opening. The mounting plates have a spring loaded power arm with the spring on the back of the power arm and the other end of the arm is fixed to the door. A pivot point part way along the power arm acts as the fulcrum between the spring and the door. An additional arm ( the control arm ) connected between the mounting plate and the door controls the doors position as it moves from the closed and open positions.
Automation:
While some ‘J’ Tilt doors were only ever intended to be lifted by hand, most can be fitted with an automatic opener- Usually a shortened version of the one used for sectional doors.
Track Tilt
Track Tilt doors are an updated variation on the ‘J’ tilt that improved on the hardware used to control the doors motion. This improvement also meant that the door could be clad with a wider choice of finishing materials. The most popular options being western red cedar and plywood.
How it works:
A Track tilt is mounted to the garage via heavy duty mounting plates that are fitted to the wall on each side of the garage opening. The mounting plates have a spring loaded power arm with the spring on the back of the power arm and the other end of the arm is fixed to the door. A pivot point part way along the power arm acts as the fulcrum between the spring and the door.
To control the doors position when opening and closing a set of wheels are fitted to the top corners of the door. The wheels run in a horizontal track that runs from the front wall to inside the garage and is usually suspended from the ceiling at the tail end.
Automation:
Automation of a Track Tilt door is much the same as it is with a sectional door and there are many makes and models to choose from.
Other Types Of Garage Door
Flex a Door
The Flex a Door is unique to the B&D brand. It is a clever response to the many older homes that had ‘lean to’ garages added to the side of the existing house. In many cases these garages were a single car width and had barn doors or early tilt doors originally fitted.
The Flex a Door uses a modified single roller door curtain with wheels running up each side in tracks that resemble a sectional door configuration. The header pelmet retracts when the door goes up to provide maximum height clearance for cars to gain access.
The Flex a Door was a true innovation that addressed a specific problem that is commonplace to many older homes that have this type of garage.
How it works:
A Flex A Doors operation is much like that of the sectional door. A set of wheels fitted up each side of the door run up and along a tracking system that controls the doors motion as it opens and closes. A tension spring counters the weight of the door to make it easy to lift.
Automation:
The Flex a Door can be fitted with a sectional door opener that runs from the front wall above the door and is mounted to the ceiling about 3 meters back from the garage opening.
Barn Doors
Barn Doors, or Coach House Doors come from a time of the horse and carriage. Whether it be a residential home a livery or the local fire house, barn doors were once the norm.
In most cases original barn doors have aged and rotted with age making it necessary for them to be replaced. In that event there are some boutique door builders that can make traditional barn doors and even automate them with openers that can be adapted for this style of door.
In other cases the original doors can be replaced with tilt or sectional doors that are clad to look like the original design.
Counterweight doors
In the early days of garage door manufacturing there were many fabrication shops competing for a place in the market. And in this free market of ideas there were several variations on the tilt door theme. Many of them still exist today on some very old homes dotted throughout the inner suburbs of Australia. Some of them ( thankfully ) are no longer in production. While other designs turned out to be popular among builders of the day.
The counterweight tilt door was a door that was made to last the life of the house. Which is why they are still around today.
While counterweight tilt doors aren’t popular on new house builds, mostly due to cost, they have been adapted for use in many commercial and boutique applications. Including shopping centers and emergency services buildings where reliability is essential.
If you are looking for a door for a mega garage you might find that a counterweight door ends up fitting your needs.
Specialty door types:
Side sliding roller door
Side sliding sectional door