OVERHEAD DOORS

What are overhead doors?

Overhead doors are closures where the door leaf panels are sandwiched into a rail system fitted in the available space ‘above your head’. There are different types of rail systems (or mountings) which can be used with overhead doors. The choice of mounting will also depend on the building and the space available. Do the rails go straight up (vertical mounting) or must the rails be deflected against the ceiling (low, standard or high mounting) or follow a sloping roof (mounting to follow roofline)? The overhead door system is used for both industrial doors in utility applications and for garage doors as it is extremely popular with house-builders.

Sectional door

The overhead door is currently the most popular industrial door on the market. The door is known by various names such as sectional door, section door or garage door, for example. There are many manufacturers producing this type of door on the market. Some of the better-known companies include Hörmann, Crawford, Novoferm, Alpha, Condor and Teckentrup.

 

History of the overhead door

Overhead doors were introduced onto the market last century, during the late '70s and early ’80s, as an alternative to uninsulated roller shutter doors. The overhead door had excellent insulating qualities as the door leaf could be constructed using insulated sandwich panels. It also offered other advantages such as the possibility of installing large glass panels and additional personnel entry doors in a door leaf.

Advantages of overhead doors

The main advantage when using an overhead door is the excellent insulation it provides. An overhead door has many different design variations which can include glazing or a personnel entry door. The door is stable and suitable for relatively large door sizes.

Disadvantages of overhead doors

The disadvantage of the overhead door is that in any situation, the rail system has to be adjusted to the different installation height and depth. The rails have to be welded or screwed down in all kinds of places. If the rails have to be suspended from the roof structure, this can result in damage in the long run due to the continuous movement of the door in the suspension system. An overhead door is designed using so-called counter-balancing springs. These are heavy springs which are put under tension in order to compensate for the weight of the door leaf so that it is then possible for the rail system to raise and lower the whole of the relatively heavy door leaf. Counter-balancing springs also have to be fixed to the building structure and require maintenance. Counter-balancing springs have to be retensioned on a fairly regular basis in order to prevent the overhead door from slipping. In principle, the structural provisions (and therefore costs) connected with the rail system and regular maintenance (adjustment and, in the long term, replacement of the counter-balancing springs) represent the disadvantages of an overhead door compared with other door types.

 

The Compact door as an alternative to the overhead door

The Compact door can be regarded as an overhead door because with this door too, the door leaf panels fold up ‘above your head’. The main advantage of the Compact door is the universal rail system. The folding principle makes the rail system universal and therefore it is easy to install and does not take up much space. On the outside, a Compact door looks the same as an overhead door but it offers advantages on the inside. A Compact door will always fit and does not require any complex installation constructions in order to ensure that it will fit within a building. As a result, the architect has much more design freedom and the end user can utilise the space saved for other important purposes in the building. The Compact door has no counter-balancing springs requiring maintenance and the motor is attached to the door’s self-supporting system which means that no structural adjustment is required here either.

Advantages of Compact doors

Depending on the situation, there are many advantages to be gained from using a Compact door rather than an overhead or sectional door. Maybe you have a building where crane gantries are installed. The Compact door is also an excellent alternative if you want to let in more daylight above the doors. Do you need the space for storage and warehouse systems or do you need extra height for a loading platform directly behind the door? You may have ceiling lights or a roof light. Have you installed a sprinkler system or do you want to put up a heater above the door or use this space for wires and pipes………..? Click here for a comparison (follow the link to http://www.rolflex.com/en/why.html) and make your own mind up.

In all these situations, it is difficult or even impossible to use a conventional overhead door. We advise you to choose the Compact door.

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