There are three main types of garage door. These are: single panel, sectional and roller. In this post, we’ll go over these three types of garage door and discuss their similarities and differences.
Single panel garage doors
Single panel garage doors are the simplest kind of garage door. This is because they are made from a single panel of wood or metal.
Sectional doors, in contrast, are made from several sections, and roller doors are made from interlocked pieces.
Single panel doors open by swinging upwards and outwards. This, however, can carry the risk of the door hitting your car as it opens. If you want to eliminate this risk, then go for sectional or roller doors instead.
Sectional garage doors
Unlike single panel doors, sectional doors are made up of more than one panel. The typical number of panels is somewhere between three and eight.
Sectional doors are typically made of steel or aluminium, but they can also be made of wood, glass or vinyl. Sometimes foam insulation is added to give the door insulation properties.
Sectional garage doors have advantages over single panel garage doors:
- Unlike single panel doors, sectional doors don’t swing outwards when they open. This means that there’s no risk of the door hitting the vehicle.
- Every panel of the door connects to the door track, which makes sectional doors more reliable and robust than single panel doors.
- Sectional doors generally open more quickly than single panel doors.
Roller garage doors
Finally, let’s take a look at roller garage doors.
Roller doors are made up of slats that are connected to each other. To open, the door rolls around itself at the top of the door opening.
Some roller doors have a manual pulley and chain system to roll the door up and down, although most use a motor.
Roller garage doors are typically made of corrugated steel, although other materials can also be used, such as corrugated fibreglass. Insulation materials such as polyurethane foam can be added for thermal and acoustic insulation.
Roller garage doors have several strengths:
- They open and close quickly
- They’re easy to operate
- They look stylish
- They’re strong and secure
Because of these advantages, roller garage doors are the most popular type of garage door in use in the UK today.
However, it should be noted that the insulation properties of roller garage doors are not as high as those of sectional doors or single panel doors. Therefore, where a high amount of insulation is needed, single panel doors and sectional doors are recommended instead.
Conclusion
In this post, we’ve covered the three main types of garage door – single panel, sectional and roller.
Which one is right for you depends on your situation, including your budget, needs and style.
If you would like more information, give us a call!