A Beginners Guide to Steel Up & Over Garage Doors!

Buying a new garage door can be a tricky undertaking, especially when you consider the range of door types, materials and brands on offer. Which one is better? Which one is right for my garage? In this post, we’ll guide you through the UK’s most popular door type; steel up & over garage doors. This should give a better idea of what works and what to look for…

 

Price

So let’s start with the basics. When you consider the cost of a Garador steel Up & Over door, compared to either a GRP or Timber Up & Over garage door, the steel garage door is often substantially cheaper. For example, Garador’s cheapest steel door (as of October 2015) is a Garador Horizon at £458.00 (7066 door size). As you can see in the table below, the others are far more expensive. So it’s no surprise, steel is the most popular Up & Over door type.

Garador Up & Over Garage Doors	Model	Price (excl vat)
Steel	Horizon	£458.00
Timber	Vertical Cedar	£1231.00
GRP	Arden	£1561.00

(All doors are 7066 door size – Garador October 2015 price list).

 

Longevity

But you don’t want to buy the cheapest possible door that won’t last right? Longevity is important in a steel Up & Over door and we’ve factored that in. Most doors are designed to last, but perhaps some more than others. Which is why it’s important to buy a door which has been constructed from high grade galvanised steel (which Garador’s are), to ensure that they don’t rust. It’s also important to have a thick, quality paint finish that’s going to withstand all that the great British winter can throw at it; all the rain, sleet, snow, dust and leaves that are so common here in the UK.

The component parts of the door should be sturdy, strong and long-lasting, from the latches, cables, locking rods and springs, through to the paint finish. A warranty often brings added peace of mind in case something goes wrong. Luckily, all Garador steel Up & Over doors come with a 10 year limited warranty as standard.

 

Gearing

Choosing the right lifting gear, can be a tricky one, with three types to choose from:

1. Canopy gear:

An Up & Over garage door with canopy gear, protrudes approximately 1/3 when open. There are no tracks in the garage when the door is closed and the door features an anti-drop safety system.

2. Retractable gear:

An Up & Over garage door with retractable gear opens on horizontal tracks which run back into the garage and does not protrude when open. It is ideally suited for electric operation and is virtually maintenance free.

3. Retractable plus gear:

Up & Over garage doors with retractable plus gear, are essentially the same as those with a retractable gear, but feature specially designed lifting arms and bottom spring brackets which provides a larger opening width.

Retractable gearing is generally more expensive than canopy, but is a must if you are looking to automate your door with an automatic operator.

 

Maintenance

It is recommended that steel doors are cleaned fairly regularly with a mild soap based solution, to prevent build-up of dirt, corrosive substances and to maintain the appearance of the door. In relative terms, they are low maintenance and easy to keep clean.

With Garador steel doors you can choose from a range of designs, including wide profiled, panelled and design range doors. Browse Garador’s steel up & over doors online to find out more.

 

 

 

 

Security and Safety

For three of Garador’s steel up & over garage doors, there is the option to upgrade to Secured by Design, a UK Police initiative aimed at designing high security building products which can withstand a break in. So if extra security is high on your list, you can buy a door which delivers an entrance solution that will meet your needs. These models are the Carlton, Horizon and Salisbury; which together form the Garador Guardian range.

As with all Up & Over garage doors sold in the UK, Garador sell Up & Over garage doors which comply with British safety standards BS EN 13241, providing our customers with peace of mind that their door is safe, as well as being secure.

This should be a good starter for most beginners, looking to learn more about steel garage doors, and in particular steel up & over garage doors! Check out the full range of Up & Over garage door designs and colours online now.

Garador Macmillan Coffee Morning - £145 raised!!!

We’ve been busy baking cakes again, and all for a very worthy charitable cause – Macmillan Cancer Support. The coffee morning ran yesterday  and was a great success. This year we managed to raise £145 at our Macmillan Coffee Morning, with lots of the staff here at Garador using their baking talents to make some delicious coffee cakes, cupcakes, Victoria sponges and much, much more!!!

Garage Door Types Explained

If you are in the market for a new garage door, check out our range of YouTube videos explaining the different features of each type of garage door.

Garador garage doors are expertly engineered, and by watching these videos we hope to give you the information you need to make an informed decision when choosing a new garage door. Visit our Garage Doors Explained page, to find out more about Up & Over, Sectional, Roller and Side Hinged garage doors.

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A Beginner’s Guide to Steel Garage Door Frames…

When people come to buy a new Up & Over garage door, they are sometimes offered a steel frame. More often than not, they say ‘we never had a steel frame on the old door, and that one was fine… it lasted for years’. That may well be true, the steel frame isn’t essential, but it sure does make life a lot easier.

Straight onto the brickwork

It makes the door quicker and easier to fit and the steel frame can go straight onto the brickwork. Rather than fitting a timber frame to the brickwork, then fitting your garage door to the timber frame. Furthermore, a steel frame is there for the long run. Whilst a timber frame may warp or rot over time, the steel frame will last.

Cost savings

But how does that help me? I hear you say, well… most homeowners will have an existing timber frame to fit the garage door onto, but if the timber frame is on its way out (i.e. it’s a bit spongy or even slightly rotten) then the cost of replacing the timber frame is likely to exceed that of a steel frame. Especially when you factor in costs such as the cost of the wood to build a new timber frame and the cost of labour for a builder to construct it, it just doesn’t make sense.

A more accurate fit

Steel frames for Up & Over doors are an ancillary benefit, but they do offer a more accurate way of fitting the garage door too, so the door functions at maximum efficiency. The frame itself is constructed from high grade galvanised steel, to prevent rusting. With a precision design, it’s also engineered to fit the door size that you have ordered exactly… so your fitter can more accurately fit the door and there is no need for PVC cladding to fill-in unsightly gaps which are sometimes found around a timber sub-frame.

A colour to match

For those who like to have a coloured frame that matches, the steel frame comes factory painted and the exact same colour of paint can be used so there is no risk of getting a colour that isn’t quite right.

Any Up & Over gear type

A steel frame can be fitted to an Up & Over garage door with any type of gear, including:

• Canopy gear
• Retractable gear
• Retractable Plus gear

So here’s a quick summary… to put it simply, a steel frame for a Garador Up & Over garage door means:

• A faster and more accurate way to fit the door
• There is no need to paint the frame, as it is supplied pre-painted.
• The colour of the steel frame will match the colour of your garage door!
• There is no need for PVC cladding to fill in unsightly gaps around a timber frame.
• A steel frame will stand the test of time, unlike a timber frame which may warp or rot overtime.

Ordering a steel frame with an Up & Over garage door could be a great choice for your property. There’s no need to order a separate frame on Sectional or GaraRoll roller garage doors, as these are supplied with their own framework.

Talk to your local Garador stockist to find out more.

Going on your Summer Holidays? Check out these security tips…

Summer is finally here – the suns out, the weather is warm and at some point most families will be going away on their summer holidays to the Devon or Cornish coastlines, or abroad to places like France and Spain. We all travel hundreds of miles leaving our homes and garages unattended and whilst many think a break in will never happen to us, it’s always good to be prepared and ensure there are no easy points of entry to your home. So what are the most common points of entry? Let’s have a look…

 

Entrance Doors

Often, if it is a good neighbourhood, homeowners are inclined to leave their doors unlocked and even if the front door is locked, if there is a weak locking mechanism then unwanted intruders can still gain access to the property easily.

The Garador range of FrontGuard entrance doors have break in resistant RC2 security equipment, not to mention 5 point security locking. With 2 conical swing bolts, 2 security bolts and 1 additional lock bolt which insert into the frame’s lock plates, for even greater locking security, so the door can pulled tightly shut. FrontGuard doors also have 3 additional security bolts on the side hinges making it practically impossible to force the door open.

 

Garage Doors

Garage doors are often overlooked by their owners for their importance in preventing entry by burglars to their home. Despite accounting for as much as one-fifth of some homes, garage doors are sometimes viewed as an overpriced asset rather than a potential security risk and a lucrative entry point for an opportunistic burglar. A weak locking system, structurally poor chassis design and easily penetrable panel system are all perfect for burglars to take advantage of, which is why all Garador garage doors are equipped with specialist security features. Heck, we even introduced a specialist range of Secured by Design accredited Up & Over garage doors to deter those criminals even more.

Secured by Design (SBD), is an accreditation scheme owned by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) that promotes the use of security standards for a wide range of applications and products. Garador’s Guardian range is one of those product ranges. The Carlton, Horizon and Salisbury doors have been engineered to offer even greater security, with a reinforcing plate added to the lock body to prevent attacks against the locking mechanism and an anti-snap cylinder with sacrificial front to prevent entry. SBD doors also have 8 braces on the back of the door for extra strength and rigidity, rather than the standard 2 on other Up & Over garage doors.

 

Windows

Windows are another important security feature for any home and a potential point of entry for a burglar. Locking your windows, including those on a second story building, is an easy mistake to make but is worth doing if you are going away on holiday for a week or two.

It’s no surprise that most burglars don’t like a challenge because of the time and effort it will likely take them to overcome compared to the reward. There’s also the risk involved and the likelihood of getting caught. Timber windows that are old or worn are perceptually less of a challenge than new modern ones and will more than likely make the burglar think twice before breaking into your home.

So whilst you enjoy the sun, sea and sand this year, ask yourself is your home secure? Check out the Guardian Range of garage doors and our FrontGuard front door range.

Pedalling from Garador to Paris!

Two of Garador’s keenest cyclists, Steve Cottle and Geoff Babiy have just taken part in a charity cycle ride from Garador’s offices in Yeovil all the way to Paris and back again. They left all the high tech machinery behind at Garador’s modern Yeovil manufacturing facility for a life on the open road… for a few days at least!

All this was done to raise money for the local Yeovil Rotary Charity Fundraisers through their ‘Get Pedalling Programme’ which supports the Cystic Fibrosis Trust and Cyclists Fighting Cancer.

New Colour and Timber Effect Finishes Now Available for GaraRoll

We have just launched four new colour finishes for the GaraRoll roller garage door, giving even more choice. The colours are:

• Cream (RAL 9001)
• Light Ivory (RAL 1015)
• Rosewood Decopaint
• Golden Oak Decopaint

The cream and Light Ivory colour finishes will add some warmth to a property’s colour palette, providing some differentiation from white PVC windows and doors. Whilst the deco paint options will complement existing timber architectural features, such as window frames and exterior cladding in lighter and darker variations. The deco paint option also provides a more cost effective option when compared to the foil coated timber effect finish.Visit the Garador website to view the new GaraRoll colour ranges.