There are a number of options when it comes to opening your garage door. The usual one is to turn the handle and open it yourself, but this means getting out of the car in the rain or juggling with bags when you come to close it again.
Garages are often used for storage rather than parking the car, possibly as they do not usually require planning permission and are therefore a simple way of adding space. If you do intend to use your garage for the car, however, the door is important. While automatic garage doors have long been popular in the US and elsewhere, they are only now starting to catch on in the UK.
Up and over doors
The most common type of garage door in the UK is the counterbalanced up and over type. These come in two versions: the canopy type, where the front edge sticks out when it is open, and the retractable type, which slides back into the garage.
The canopy type is simple to operate and install and is best for manual operation. The retractable type can be automated either when installed or at a later date; however, the lifting arms do eat into the doorway width and because the mechanism is in the ceiling, they may not be suitable for low roofs.
Other doors
If you are looking for a Luton automatic garage door, you may want to consider an alternative mechanism; for example, suppliers such as http://garagedoorsrus.co.uk/ find that the sectional door is increasingly popular. These are made up of separate panels that move apart slightly as the door opens and rotate to a horizontal position. Sectional doors can be operated manually and electrically and have the advantage of not restricting doorway width. They can also be insulated, which is attractive to classic car owners and home mechanics. Once again, the mechanism does take up space in the ceiling.
Roller doors are often seen in industrial applications, but they are equally at home in domestic garages. As they open vertically and roll around themselves, they take up less space than other types. This also means you get maximum opening width and there are no internal cables or tracks. Roller doors tend to have automated operation as standard and, like sectional doors, they can be insulated.
Leave a Reply