CAMBRIDGE Garage Doors

Choosing a door

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When deciding upon a new garage door, there are several questions that you need to ask yourself first.
What should the door be made of?	How should the door work?
There are three basic categories to choose from Steel Timber GRP (Fibreglass)	Canopy Door Retractable Door Sectional Door Side Hung Door Roller Door 'Round the corner' Door	What size do you need?

Steel Steel doors are a good choice when you need a robust construction and value for money. There is a wide range of styles to choose from, suiting modern and traditional homes. Steel doors are finished in white as standard, with some manufacturers offering a colour range as an optional extra.

Timber Timber garage doors are usually supplied with a microporous neutralising base stain, ready for you to stain to your specific requirements. They need regular care and attention to retain their good looks, but you are rewarded by the natural beauty and warmth of real wood.

GRP (Glass-Reinforced Polyester) These doors are low maintenance - needing only the occasional wipe down to keep them looking good. Choose from gloss white or authentic woodgrain finish in a range of colours. Many different designs to compliment all styles of homes.

How do the doors work?
Canopy Doors The canopy door mechanism is contained within the door frame so there are no tracks protruding into the garage space. When the door is open, about 1/3 of it protrudes outside the garage as shown in the diagrams below. This design uses torsion springs mounted across the top of the frame, conforming to the latest British and European safety standards, including an 'Anti-drop' safety device.

Retractable Doors Similar in design to the canopy door in that it is a 'one piece' unit, the retractable door is guided by horizontal tracks mounted inside the garage and recedes completely when fully opened. This option is ideal for electric operation at any stage.

Sectional Doors A sectional door is, as its name suggests, made up of sections which run in vertical guides up the sides of the opening and then along horizontal guides mounted in the garage. Another major advantage of a sectional door is that it is contained within the garage. Sectional doors are ideal for electric operation at any stage.

Side Hung Doors The 'original garage door' consisting of 2 doors, 50:50 split. Side-hinged doors are supplied pre-assembled in a factory-made steel frame for fitting directly to the brickwork opening. Each door is fitted with a minimum of three hinges. The frame is fitted with a rubber weatherstrip and an aluminium strip along the edge of the first opening door to provide extra security and weather protection. Only occasional lubrication of hinges required. These can be electrically operated using an 'adaptor arm' kit.

Roller Doors Roller door slats are approximately 75mm deep so that the whole door rolls around an axle mounted at the top of the door. The advantages of this kind of door are that there is no superstructure (rails or runners) inside the garage, leaving space for cupboards, shelves, ladders etc, and, as with sectional doors, it is possible to park right up to the door. The constraint on fitting this kind of door is the amount of space immediately above the door for it to roll into (see diagram below) although it is possible to mount the mechanism externally as shown in the middle picture below. Our roller doors are ALWAYS motorised.

'Round the corner' Doors These are doors which open to one or both sides, moving in tracks to roll away into the garage. They have the advantage that they do not need to be opened fully to be functional, for example they can be used for pedestian access.
	Just some of the many possible door configurations

What Size do you need?

Garage doors are available to fit most garage openings, but there may be limitations on the door type as the width increases. Most single garage doors are between 7 feet and 8 feet wide (2100mm to 2450mm) and 6½ and 7 feet high (1980 to 2140mm) and all types of door can be supplied to fit these dimensions. Double doors are usually 14 feet (4260mm) by 7 feet (2130mm) high, but wider and higher options are available on certain door types. Side hinged doors are not suitable for openings wider than 8 feet.

If you are in any doubt about your options, please give us a call on 01223 440544 to discuss your requirements and to arrange a FREE survey.