Check How to Avoid Mistakes When Ordering a Garage Door

It is certainly worth learning from mistakes, but preferably not your own. Below are five mistakes and oversights often made by investors before ordering a garage door. Check if you managed to avoid them!

1. Garage design with unregular building conditions

There are many various types of garage doors on the market, but sectional doors are the undisputed leaders. They have great insulation properties, are comfortable to use and allow maximum use of space inside and in front of the garage. Overhead sectional doors have certain requirements that you should know about. Ensuring some conditions for the proper installation of garage door will help you avoid unnecessary costs and complications during installation.

• lintels (in the simplest terms, it is the height from the upper end of the entrance opening to the ceiling of the garage, measured from the inside) should have a height of at least 210 mm. This provides enough space to use standard guidance without extra charges, regardless of whether you use a drive or not.
• nibs (internal side spaces – from the edge of the entrance opening to the garage walls) should be at least 100 mm This will allow you for the use of any guide with the most popular torsion springs.
• installation depth, i.e. the length of the garage – the minimum dimensions depend on various factors, e.g. the height of the door, the type of a track and the type of a drive used. It is particularly important in the case of automatic door, which requires not less than 3.3 m due to the installation of a drive.
• ceiling and garage walls must be free of elements that prevent the door track from being installed, e.g. pipes, supports, structural beams or windows at the height of the guides.

2. Door too small 

We commonly associate automatic doors with convenience. Sometimes we forget that the dimensions of the doors are also important to secure our comfort. It has been assumed that the minimum safe width of the door is 2.4 – 2.5 meters. In some cases, however, this may not be enough to deliver full convenience. The optimal width of the door depends on several factors, such as:

• the size of the “inhabitant” of the garage – do you have a small city car, a large family car or maybe a roadster? The wider the door, the greater the comfort and flexibility when you decide to replace your car.
• plot design – how is the garage located relative to the entrance gate to the property? What does the driveway look like? If you have to manoeuvre when entering the garage, think about a wider door.
• purpose of the garage – it often becomes an additional storage space for various items, which is worth considering at the design stage.

The height of the door is also important for your comfort, especially if you often use a roof box. A standard 2 m door height will not allow you to enter the garage with it, but 2.4 m will. Think of a high door, but pay attention to how it relates to the garage design. Remember that the garage entrance opening is not always equal to the door size. In the case of a standard guide – when  you have an automatic door – its drive will lift the door skirt as high as possible and leave a full entry opening, but manually operated doors or doors with other types of guidance will be a few cm lower.

3. Errors in measurement

It is best to carry the final entry opening measurement only after the garage is finished. If that is not possible, it should be precisely determined during the measurement what plasters, insulation or tiles will be additionally laid on the walls and on the floor. All of this is done in order to best match the dimensions of the garage door to the entrance opening. This way, we guarantee maximum durability of the door structure, its components and drive. It is also a matter of savings – the right fit of the door ensures its optimum tightness around the perimeter of the panel, and thus – reducing the heat loss.

4. Do not put limits to your choice

Do not be afraid of unusual dimensions, accessories or interesting colours for your door. Yes, it may will be more expensive, but it will probably cost you less than you think. Manufacturers are competing to create the widest range of products at attractive prices. For example, KRISPOL garage doors can be ordered in one of more than 40 veneers, or even in any colour selected from the 200-colour RAL palette. Check our capabilities in the Virtual Design Studio.

Take a walk around the nearest single-family housing estate and pay attention to the dimensions, design and colour of the garage doors. You will definitely find several doors that don’t match the architectural style of the house or the colours of the facade and tiles. Meanwhile, the market offer allows you to create very beautiful, imaginative and interesting arrangements. Before you give up on your dream door colour, check the price with your nearest KRISPOL Trade Partner.

5. Too late contact with the contractor

You can avoid all of these errors if you consult a carefully selected professional contractor in a timely manner. Even if you are only at the design stage for your house, now is the best time to verify the dimensions of the garage, as well as the dimensions and conditions for your door installation. This will allow you to sleep peacefully and avoid further troubles and unnecessary expenses. On our site, you will find proven and trustworthy KRISPOL Trade Partners’ sales points throughout the country.