Door Industry Journal - Spring 2015

Also online at: www.dijonline.co.uk 42 THE door industry journal spring 2015 The popularity of the roller garage door in the UK is on the increase. Traditionally, new homes have been fitted with ‘up and over’ single panel doors, but with homeowners now expecting doors to be provided which offer automatic opening, the roller garage door provides a simple, effective and cost efficient option. Roller garage doors, together with the sectional garage door, are the only doors which do not intrude into driveway space. Another distinct benefit of a roller door is that it occupies minimal space above the door opening, whereas a sectional garage door requires a lot of overhead space, extending more than 2 metres back into the garage. The roller garage door, however, offers a simpler fixing arrangement, is easier to automate and this makes it a more cost effective option for the homeowner. There are also a few locations where a roller garage door cannot be installed - as long as there is a reveal behind the garage lintel or room under the lintel itself, a roller garage door can easily be installed. Equally at home in a new installation or in a refurbishment project, roller garage doors provide an elegant solution with various finishing options to complement any building construction. With ease of installation comes weather-tightness, as the whole garage door rests on the floor of the garage when closed and as long as the floor is level, then a good weatherseal can be achieved without reverting to an upstand or weather bar. Door systems offer various sealing strips to suit the floor finish. The guides for the roller shutter also help to keep the elements out, and when the door is fitted on the inside wall of the garage, the full width of the garage door opening can be utilised. Security is enhanced for the homeowner when a roller garage door is specified. With the whole width and weight of the door on the garage floor, once closed and utilising the design on the actuator gearbox, the door cannot be lifted once closed from the outside. The roller garage door offers a simple actuation method, in its most simple form, the gearbox is a ‘worm and cog’ design and a manual crank handle is provided for opening the door from the inside. To automate, the manual crank handle supplemented with a motor and limit switches to control the extent of the opening. In today’s sophisticated gearboxes, motor load monitoring can now detect any obstructions on actuation and reverse the action of the door. As the design of door with simple actuation is compact and efficient, the homeowner can concentrate on specifying a quality profile and finish for their chosen roller garage door. Aluprof offer a range of aluminium profiles which can be specified for any installation. The larger profiles allow doors to be manufactured up to 7m in width with a maximum surface area of 31.5m 2 , that is up to a height of 4.5m at 7m width. Smaller profiles can be specified for smaller openings and chosen, based upon the effect the profiles provide once combined into a roller garage door panel. Various finishes are available, natural anodised, powder coated and either ‘Roller Garage Doors’ by Wojciech Brozyna - MD Aluprof UK garage doors feature