New Secured by Design Sectional Garage Doors

Security is always an important consideration for our customers, when they are looking to purchase a new garage door. Your garage door provides an entry point into your garage, where high-value items like cars, motorbikes and tools are often stored. So we are thrilled to announce that we will be introducing Secured by Design (SBD) accreditation to our industry renowned sectional garage doors, as a free upgrade.

 

What qualifies for Secured by Design Status?

To qualify for Secured by Design status, the Garador sectional garage door must meet each of the following conditions:

• 42mm insulated premium sectional garage door (Classic uninsulated models are not eligible).
• Fitted behind the opening.
• No windows in any of the door sections.
• Electrically operated with a GaraMatic operator.
• Only official Garador parts and products must be used, and they must be installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.

Once the door is installed, all that needs to be done is for the fitter to fill in a simple form which includes the installer, customer and door details. Garador will then send out an official Secured by Design accreditation pack with registration label and badge.

 

Anti-lift kit built into operator boom

The GaraMatic operator, which forms an important part of the Secured by Design accreditation, is engineered with an anti-lift kit to prevent forced entry. This utilises a mechanical lock built into the operator boom, and because it is mechanical the door cannot be forced open even during a power cut. Another noteworthy security feature of the GaraMatic operators is the bi-directional radio system that uses the same 128-bit encryption employed by banks for online banking security. This technology makes the system even more secure and ensures a more reliable signal and extended range. 

Secured by Design

Home security remains a concern for homeowners, specifiers and housing developers alike, and there continues to be a strong demand for high-security products which offer an even greater level of protection.

Secured by Design is renowned throughout the building industry, providing a recognised standard for high-security products that reduce crime. The Secured by Design badge is a clear indication that the product has a much higher level of security and has undergone rigorous testing to withstand an attack from a burglar.

Garador already offers a selection of steel up & over garage doors with Secured by Design accreditation, as part of its Guardian range. The addition of SBD sectional garage doors will extend the company’s SBD product offering, giving customers the possibility of ordering a garage door that’s thermally insulated and electrically automated with a GaraMatic operator. Attributes that are not currently available in the Guardian Range.

When picking out a door design and colour, customers can choose from the full range of fully insulated Georgian and Linear designs, as well as all the standard RAL colours.

Visit www.garador.co.uk to find out more about Garador's new SBD sectional doors.

Contemporary architecture and garage door design

Garador’s wide profiled and more minimalist garage doors are the perfect accompaniment to contemporary architecture.  Buildings with contemporary architectural design are often characterised by their individuality, with designs that are radically different to what has come before and built using a multitude of different building materials and methods of construction. Yet they remain eye-catchingly “modern” to the uninitiated.

Thus Garador’s more modern minimalist door designs, work well with this philosophy and their simplicity means they don’t look out of place on a completely unique design of building. The steel up & over designs of the Windsor and Ascot are compliant with both vertical and horizontal linear surroundings and work well with more free-form aspects too. The clean lines and smooth plain surfaces of the door mean they accommodate contemporary architectural design. The surface of the door panel is flat, being held together by spot welds, eliminating the need for rivets or other methods of construction that would detract from the door’s plain appearance.

But styles of garage door with a minimalist feel are not just limited to up & over models, there are sectional garage doors that naturally appeal to contemporary architectural design as well. Given the way they are engineered, they are inherently secure and well-insulated delivering a high-quality solution that is difficult to match elsewhere. The Linear Large model in particular utilises wide open panels with a very subtle linear indentation that runs horizontally along the door marking the join between door sections. The Duragrain decors of the Linear Large model, where a decorative print is applied directly to the surface of the door, also provides further options and directions to go in.

Mid-century modern design often seen in residential properties from the 1950s and 1960s, have helped lay the foundations for the inspiration of some of the interior and exterior design trends we see today, with sharp lines, minimal decoration, wide-open spaces and floor to ceiling windows. Buildings from the mid-20th century all the way through to the present day, exhibit traits of mid-century modern design. Today’s contemporary architectural design with its open floor plans, free form shapes, large windows and integration into the surrounding landscape are leading the way in cutting edge home design; and these are just some common characteristics of this contemporary approach to architecture in residential properties.

The popularity of television shows like mad men or even consumer electronics products from major brands such as Apple, have oriented colour tastes towards blacks, greys, whites and generally neutral tones. The effects of popular culture can be seen in the products we buy, the clothes we wear and of course the houses we live in. An increasingly neutral colour palette, has been adopted by homeowners and architects, and so Garador have seen a notable growth in the popularity of certain colours for its garage doors like Anthracite Grey, Slate Grey and Traffic White.

As minimalist design trends flourish in the homes and garages currently on the drawing boards of architects, it’s worth noting that it’s not just the one-off unique building styles that the Windsor, Ascot and Linear Large garage door tends  to attract, but rather it lends itself to the uniformity and repetition of new build housing developments also.

Find out more about our full range of garage doors by visiting www.garador.co.uk

We're raising money for Crisis UK in the run up to Christmas

In the run-up to Christmas, we're going to be donating £10 to Crisis for every photo of a recent Garador door installation we post on our Linkedin and Twitter pages. Crisis is a fantastic charity that does excellent work supporting people experiencing homelessness.

Send in your photos of recent Garador installations to photos@garador.co.uk

Our Macmillan Coffee Morning was a huge success!

Our talented team put their culinary skills to great use last week for the first Macmillan Coffee morning since 2019! We baked a selection of delicious cakes and treats to raise over £299 for Macmillan Cancer Support. Our talented bakers in the office and factory, rose to the challenge with an incredible spread of food. The variety of produce was the biggest yet, from the traditional chocolate cakes and flapjacks to special sponges and even pizza pinwheels.

Macmillan Cancer Support is such a worthwhile cause and we were so pleased to be able to support them again this year, after a brief delay due to covid-19. 

Visit www.macmillan.org.uk for further details about the excellent work they do providing healthcare, information and financial support for people with cancer.

Doing our bit to support the Coast to Coast Cycle Challenge

 

After last year’s event was cancelled because of the pandemic, we were thrilled to hear that the Coast to Coast Cycle Challenge was back on for 2021. Taking place in Dorset and Somerset, the challenge raises funds for the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance and this year’s event saw hundreds of cyclists riding across both counties for the charity.

The challenge kicked off at 11am on Sunday 5th September with around 600 fund-raising cyclists riding along two routes to the finishing line in West Bay. There was the option of a longer 55 mile route, for more experienced cyclists and a shorter 11 mile route. The 55 mile stretch began in Watchet and ended in West Bay, whilst the 11 mile stretch began in Drimpton and ended in West Bay.

We were delighted to provide transport to ensure all the bikes could be taken back to the starting point after the event. Using our fleet of delivery vehicles, we helped the cyclists get their bikes back to the starting line and our delivery drivers were on hand to help the cyclists get their bikes in the back of each vehicle. The entire thing went off without a hitch and around 600 bikes were successfully delivered to the right places at the right time.

We've been supporting the event since 2014. It’s such an important charity which saves lives, flying those with life-threatening medical emergencies direct to hospital, and so we were more than happy to offer our assistance for this important local charity.

To find out more about Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance and the incredible work they do, please visit www.dsairambulance.org.uk

We came across these vintage garage door adverts...

We came across these old Garador adverts recently from the 1950s and 1960s and were quite fascinated by how much things have changed. Garador has a long history of manufacturing garage doors, with the first models rolling off the production line right the way back in 1950 when the original Mk 1 up & over garage door was produced.

Looking back through the archives it’s interesting to see some of the adverts that were produced at the time for printed magazines and newspapers and just how different they are from today. They tell a story of a garage door produced in a different time.

In the 1950s, the garage door market didn’t exist in the same way that we know it today. The sales team at Garador had to convince architects, builders and local authorities that the motor car would become the most prevalent form of transport and that there would be demand for domestic garages, and of course garage doors, to store motor cars. Garador helped lay the groundwork for what is now the modern day garage door market.

By the early 1960s the company had transformed into Great Britain’s leading post-war garage door manufacturer. Early Mk 1 and Mk2 garage doors were manufactured from either steel or aluminium depending on the availability of materials at the time. The Mk 1 was available in just one horizontal swage design; a far cry from today’s extensive choice of over 60 door designs, colour permutations and materials.

The Mk 2, which was launched in the early 1960s was an up & over canopy garage door which utilised a counterbalance weight system. As shown in one of the early Garador print adverts from August 1962, it cost as little as 15 pounds sterling and 10 shillings, showing how much prices have changed with inflation over the years.

In the late 1960s, after extensive testing and development by the engineering team a new model was finally launched in the form of the Mk 3. It was a further improvement on the previous range of Mk 1 and Mk 2 models and it utilised a totally enclosed counterbalance spring system located behind the lintel. The Mk 3 saw a move away from the counterbalance weight system with a steel spring-based lifting gear and a more competitive price of just 14 pounds sterling.

We hope to share with you some more fascinating finds from the Garador archives in the near future, but in the meantime if you want to find out more about the current Garador range head over to www.garador.co.uk or call us on 01935 443722.

10 useful suggestions for organising your garage

There are numerous ways to utilise the space inside your garage with neat and ingenious storage solutions, allowing you to arrange things in cupboards, racks, work stations, cabinets, bins and hanging from the walls or ceiling area. Making the most of the space inside your garage means you can fit more in or even make room to park your car. Let’s run through some useful suggestions for organising your garage.

1. Shelving System (Standalone and Suspended)

 

Introducing a shelving system into your garage is an excellent way to organise tools, storage boxes or even garden equipment. You can pick up a standalone storage system at your local DIY supplier fairly easily or even fit shelves to the walls of your garage to help make better use of the space inside.

Utilising the space above your garage door tracks, closer to the ceiling is also an excellent way to better utilise the space inside your garage; it will save floor space and provide more room for moving around and parking your car. It’s not always possible to put things on a suspended shelving system, as some garages simply don’t have the roof space. But where they do, putting things in boxes and placing them on a suspended shelving system could help to alleviate spacing shortages in the rest of your garage and it’s an especially practical solution for items which are rarely used such as photo albums, old clothes, suitcases, Christmas decorations or even a surfboard!

2. Tool Rack

A tool rack to help organise your work tools and make them easy to get to, is a superb idea. It helps to keep everything well-organised in one place and in good condition, so your handy collection of tools and gizmos that you’ve accumulated over the years don’t deteriorate. Tool racks often come with a variety of hooks and holders to suit whatever collection of screw drivers, clamps, spanners, Allen keys, hammers, levelling devices and other tools you might have in your kit.

Aside from making your tools easily accessible, wall racks often come in a range of different sizes ideal for fitting on the inside of your garage wall overlooking your work bench. This can really help to make life easier and improve your workflow as you aren’t having to walk around as much to find the right piece of equipment, when you are fixing something or making something on your work bench. You can normally pick one up for around £20-£40 from your local DIY supplier.

 

3. Work Bench

Having a work bench is a must for most garages, as it gives you a designated work space in which to repair electronics, painting and varnishing, build things, potting plants, support cutting equipment, clamping tools in place to prevent them from slipping or just for general DIY. They are such a versatile thing that can be used by people doing DIY to get things done.

Getting a work bench with some built-in drawers, shelves or cabinet storage is certainly an effective way to store tools and equipment. Most modern work benches have lockable cupboards and drawers to keep your possessions secure. Furthermore, it creates additional workspace for just about any hobby; it could even be used by scale model enthusiasts to paint their wares. They often have a really solid, thick worktop that’s perfect for DIY jobs as it won’t move or come unstuck.

4. Bike Rack

For all of the avid cyclists out there, a bike rack is a must have for storing your prized possession inside your garage. It’s an especially practical storage device for the winter months, when road cyclists are less likely to be out and about due to the more unfavourable weather conditions. In addition, it’s also useful for mountain bikes and less high-performance ones used for a leisurely ride.

 

5. Garden Tool Storage Holder

 

If you’ve got an impressive collection of longer garden tools like spades, rakes, forks and brooms then you will know just how tricky it can be to store these items neatly. Their unusual shapes and long handles mean they are often prone to falling over, so a garden tool holder can be a really useful bit of kit to keep them organised. Not to mention the fact that it is an excellent way to keep them safe and secure. Moreover, organising and utilising the space inside your garage a garden tool storage holder will help free up floor space for other stuff and make them easier to get to.

6. Multi-Tape Dispenser and Storage Device

If you are always fixing things with duct tape or just have an assortment of tapes dotted all over the house that are just plain awkward to get and difficult to remember where they are kept then a tape station might just be the thing you’ve always needed but never wanted! Getting all of your tapes organised in one place will no doubt save you time and effort in the long run, and by giving them a specific area you can free up space in another drawer or cupboard somewhere else.

7. Multi-Drawer Cabinet for Screws and Fixings

It’s only small but is incredibly useful for separating out all of your small components such as fuses, screws, washers and fixings and storing them neatly. The small plastic drawers that typically come with these cabinets mean they are easy to access, they keep your items dust free and they’re great dispensers as the screws sit in the drawers quite comfortably. The alternative is a set of wall-mounted plastic bins for storing your fuses, washers and other fixings. No need for drawers with this solution and again it is a very practical way of storing much smaller items. Moreover, as there are no draws you can simply peer into each bin until you find the thing you are looking for.

Either way it’s a much better use of space than old cans or glass jars full of nuts, bolts and washers and above all when you are in the middle of that all-important DIY project; you can locate the correct drawer and just pick out the fixing you need. With all of your screws, fixings and washers neatly organised you’ve no doubt freed up some space in the rest of your garage too.

 

8. Raised Shoe Storage

When your garage is attached to your house, you sometimes store things like walking shoes and wellington boots in there; especially if they are all sandy or muddy after you’ve been out and about walking in the countryside or on the beach. So storing that sort of footwear in the garage is sometimes the thing to do and thankfully there are lots of tried and tested solutions for storing footwear! Trying to organise shoes in the garage is pretty straightforward and you can keep your walking shoes or welly boots off the ground with a shoe rack!  

9. Labelled Tins, Bins or Tubs

There are always things around the house that are difficult to store, maybe they are awkward shapes or just tricky to put away. Childrens toys and footballs more often than not fall into that category, but if you’ve got some bins or tubs to put them in then that can be a pretty tidy way of storing them. Keeping some items at a raised height off the ground also reduces the risk of them being damaged by water.

 

10. Choose the Right Garage Door Type

If you really want to make the most effective use of the space inside your garage, choosing the right type of garage door for your space can also help. A GaraRoll roller garage door for example, doesn’t have any tracks running back into the garage as it rolls into a compact box at the head of the opening, so this type of door can be a much better way to utilise the ceiling space inside your garage.


If you are in the market for a new garage door, check our full range at www.garador.co.uk

We've just added some more door sizes to the range to fit standard brickwork heights more accurately

We're always looking for ways to improve our range of garage doors, so we've introduced a new selection of 6'8" and 7'2" door heights across our steel Carlton and Horizon up & over door models. 

These new sizes are a welcome addition to the range as they fit standard brickwork course heights of 2100mm and 2250mm, without leaving an unsightly gap at the top of the opening which then needs to be filled. Its worth noting that standard 6’6” and 7’0” garage door heights don’t always match standard openings and gaps often have to be filled with uPVC. 

These new 6’8” and 7’2” door heights offer a perfect fit for some taller standard openings, including a 6mm fitting tolerance. This means there is no need for uPVC cladding, saving both time and materials.

Garador’s new height doors are available for both the Carlton and Horizon door models. The 6’8” door heights can be supplied with either canopy or retractable lifting gear, whilst the 7’2” door heights only come with retractable lifting gear. 

View the full range of Garador garage doors at www.garador.co.uk

4 new colours added to sectional garage door range

 

We've just added 4 exciting new colours to our sectional garage door range. These new colours will be available, as part of the standard colour range, across their Georgian and Linear door models. There are currently 16 colours to choose from in the standard colour range, including 4 new colours which have now been added:

• Basalt Grey (RAL 7012).
• Quartz Grey (RAL 7039).
• Slate Grey (RAL 7015).
• Titan Metallic (CH 703).

The Titan Metallic (CH 703) colour in particular, has minute pearlescent looking flecks which are blended into the paint, adding another dimension to the look and feel of the door which moves beyond having a flat colour finish.

On top of these four new colours, Anthracite Metallic (Noir 2100 Sable) has also been added as non-standard colour on sectional garage doors too.

The new colours have been carefully chosen to provide an even wider choice of ones that are more popular for builders, homeowners and specifiers. Plus, if you have a real desire to have your sectional garage door in a colour not in the standard range they can also paint the door in almost any RAL colour.

This extensive selection of colours gives the customer plenty of options when trying to find something that looks great on a property.

Ruby Red (RAL 3003), Steel Blue (RAL 5011), Pigeon Blue (RAL 5014), Ochre Brown (RAL 8001) and Clay Brown (RAL 8003) have been removed from the standard colour range for sectional garage doors, but are available to order as a non-standard colour.

To find out more about Garador’s sectional garage doors and the full range of colours available, please visit www.garador.co.uk

We've implemented 5S projects to help improve our production environment

As part of a programme to improve the production environment and working processes more generally at Garador we’ve implemented a 5S programme over the last few years. Put simply, 5S is a workplace organisation method developed in Japan that helps to reduce manufacturing waste and optimise productivity. There are five phases: Sort, set in order, shine, standardise and sustain.

Garage doors are systematically manufactured on a large scale at Garador’s production facility in Yeovil, with raw materials entering at one end of the factory and finished products leaving at the other end. The plant is organised into key areas, each of which performs an important part of the production process, from cold-pressing sheets of steel to painting the garage doors. So it has been crucial to get each area organised and optimised.

On the framing lines, for example, there are clearly defined positions for every screw, fixing, washer and component so optimal throughput is achieved. A phrase that is often thrown around is “A place for everything and everything in its place” which ties into the strategy to create and maintain a clean, organised environment for production. We’ve also used the Kanban system as a method for visualising the workflow of a particular part of our manufacturing process, to better understand the actual work that passes through that process. This has enabled the production team to only produce what they need, when they need it.

Keeping the plant clean and tidy at all times is a must, as if left unchecked; lots of unnecessary clutter can accumulate across the factory. To help with this, a red-tagging system has been introduced, where just about anything from pieces of equipment through to pallets of components, are tagged, registered and put in a special “red tag” area until a decision is made with what to do with them. This keeps things neat and tidy.

Making sure all of the 5S improvements are maintained for the long-term is important as it means that things won’t fall apart gradually overtime. To sustain the changes, the areas that have been improved will undergo a weekly audit, 5S projects will be reviewed every 6 months, and regular “Gemba Walks” will help to observe what’s happening day to day.

If you want to learn more about our range of garage doors, have a browse through our website by visiting www.garador.co.uk

Have you seen our new wireless optical sensor for GaraGlide?

 

The GaraGlide is now available with a wireless optical sensor as an option. You can therefore now choose between a wired or wireless optical sensor for this roller door. The wireless optical sensor is built into the floor seal and utilises light beam technology, so if there is an obstruction in the way of the door curtain’s downward path, when the light beam is broken the door curtain will stop.

The new wireless optical sensor means there is no spiral cable required to connect the safety edge to the separate control panel housing. Batteries are required for this new device. This new feature provides the same reliable level of protection as the wired version and recognises when there is an obstacle in the door’s path.

Find out more about Garador’s GaraGlide roller door by visiting www.garador.co.uk

Garador Sponsors Yeovil Town Football Club

We're delighted to have been sponsoring Yeovil Town Football Club again as a Primary Partner in 2020-21. They've had a really strong performance over the last few months and we're optimistic for a promotion in May. They are the highest ranked football team in Somerset, with an amazing history and excellent FA Cup pedigree.

Yeovil Town Football Club currently plays in the Vanarama National League and a continued strong performance could see them gain promotion to the English Football League in 2021 - 2022. The team have had a solid run of results and are in a good league position to build towards promotion when the season ends.

We will be watching their results, over the coming months, with extra enthusiasm and we hope our sponsorship deal will contribute towards another really successful season for the club’s talented players.

Check out the Yeovil Town Football Club website for more details about the club, the team and forthcoming matches www.ytfc.net

“Buzz” the local Buzzard spotted at Garador

It's buzzing with wildlife in the farmland and forests surrounding Garador. There's all sorts of insects and birds, including a Common Buzzard who you often see perched on a tree or soaring majestically on the rising air currents.

“Buzz” as he’s often referred to by the office and shop floor staff has been sighted on multiple occasions over the past few months. Everyone’s still excited to see him as he’s just such an extraordinarily beautiful creature. With his large, broad rounded wings he definitely makes an impression when he’s gliding through the air; most Common Buzzards have a large wingspan, that’s estimated between 1.1m and 1.4m.

There must be a good source of food in the grasslands, fields and forests around the factory, as well as on the grounds at Garador. Plus there are lots of trees which are ideal as a lookout point. If you’re nearby, keep an eye out for “Buzz” or if you want to find out more about these amazing birds of prey why not have a look at the RSPB website.

Our investment programme continues...

Our strategy to invest in the long-term success of the business is a philosophy that goes right to the heart of what we do. Over the last 20 years, we’ve spent millions of pounds on new machinery and infrastructure upgrades and we’re still following this strategy today. Garador isn’t just an assembly plant; we systematically manufacture garage doors from scratch on a large scale.

Over the last couple of years we’ve invested in a new paint plant and renewed numerous other pieces of production machinery at our plant in Yeovil. This week saw another important step in our programme of investment, with capital expenditure in plant and infrastructure continuing with upgrades to our loading bays. Shown here are the contractors filling in the floor with concrete, in preparation for new dock levellers that will improve the efficiency of our operations. 

Running a successful manufacturing business in the 21st century has its challenges and implementing the right measures to effectively improve productivity is undoubtedly one of them. But we’re confident that these new dock levellers will help to streamline work flow for our loading teams, making it quick and easy to load and unload garage doors, and consequently reducing downtime. 

If you’re interested in our products and want to find out more about the range of garage doors we produce, head on over to www.garador.co.uk

Why build a wider garage opening?

 

Renovating your home can be a major undertaking, with a lot of planning and investment going into updating or refurbishing your existing building. Your garage is no different, and aside from garage conversions for different uses, refurbishments and developments which extend the width of the garage opening are on the up.

Modern saloon and estate cars are noticeably wider compared to what they were just two decades ago, so it’s no surprise that wider garages have grown in popularity. The width of some of the UK’s most popular cars has increased by almost 12 inches in the last 20 years, as SUV’s and so-called “Chelsea tractors” (4x4s) have grown in prominence. Even for relatively smaller car models, like the Fiat 500 and Mini Cooper, the width of the vehicle has increased to an average of 6ft 5 inches. The 2020 Ford Focus is just under 6ft 1 inches compared to 5ft 5 inches for the year 2000 model.

But it’s not just car widths which have encouraged increasingly wide garages, extending the width of your garage has implied benefits of additional storage space and perhaps opens up more opportunities for what you use your garage for. Building a garage which can accommodate a 6000mm wide garage door could open up a world of possibilities for multiple uses, such as parking more than one car, all the way through to offices, gyms and playrooms. Plus, for a 6000mm wide garage door, you undoubtedly have lots of extra space so you can get in and out of your car more comfortably, swinging those doors wide open.

Browse the Garador range, including our full range of sectional garage doors up to 5500mm wide and GaraRoll roller garage doors up to 6000mm wide at www.garador.co.uk