When it comes to designing and building your brand new concrete garage, every single detail has to be meticulously planned, including the garage door. Choosing the wrong one can limit space inside, not offer the energy efficiency rating you require and become an expensive thing to replace.
Currently in the UK, the most popular garage door according to leading garage door providers, is the up and over design. Simple then, pick the most popular for your garage!
Well it would be if there wasn’t two different styles of the up and over garage door, so here leading garage manufactures Dencroft Garages explain the differences between the canopy gear system and the retractable garage door system.
Canopy Gear system:
Canopy doors get their name as the door forms a canopy when fully open, not retracting fully into the garage. It is usually around a third of the door which overhangs the front of the garage. They use a torsion spring which is under tension and can be tightened to carry the weight of the door and this aids the opening and closing of the door. The torsion spring is anchored to the door with cables running down the sides, however problems can arise if these snap.
This system is a popular choice due to low price (comes built in the frame which makes them very easy to install quickly) and the fact that they allow for almost full access width. However, because of the weight distribution it is particularly difficult (not impossible) to add electronic operation. If you did require this door and electronic operation for it, a special bow arm system will have to be added but this does limit internal garage space.
The door gets its security from a two point locking system, with the pins locking at the top, although four points which would see locks at the bottom added is also available. Because they swing, the bottom has no seal and it is not flush against the floor. This means that it does not provide such a high quality energy efficiency rating.
Retractable Gear system Garage Doors:
Unlike the canopy garage door, upon closing a retractable door system up and over garage door, it goes flush to the opening, with no overhang. You can easily add electronic operation and this seamless opening and closing procedure is highly effective. It unlocks the bottom door locks and then using springs on the side, the pivot arms then protrude into the opening. It does not feature a torsion spring at the top, but instead three springs on either side which take the weight of the door more evenly. This can also take the heavier 8ft garage doors as well and even if one spring were to fail the door would operate safely.
The electronic operating system works via a track device, and the door can be opened and closed to any distance. This is available with automatic door locking (only with Hörmann) if you should also require.
There are also many more finishes and styles available with this type of door, however similar to the canopy system, it does not have a seal around the side edges and energy efficiency is not as good as other designs.
These are just a few things to help you choose the right one for you. If electronic operation is important then a retractable gear system is much more beneficial. If however you are working to a tight budget and want a good performing door for a low price, try the canopy system. Whichever one you choose, make sure it meets all your personal requirements.
