BY ROBERT BROOME, OWNER
When laymen use the term, “Roll up Door”, they are generally referring to a rolling sheet door, rolling steel door, or a rolling fire door. If you are looking for standard type residential door go here. What these rolling doors have in common is their ability to coil up in to a small unit above the garage door opening.Unlike most sectional doors, roll up doors do not have a horizontal track system. Keep in mind that when considering the use of a roll up door that they can not be installed in areas with low ceilings. Below, I will do my best to outline when uses of each roll up door type and help you to consider which door is best for your application.
Rolling sheet doors are generally found on mini warehouses and backyard sheds. The major difference in a sheet door and a rolling steel door is that the curtain on a sheet door is made of one piece of corrugated steel. Rolling sheet doors are best used in light applications. These doors can be configured to open and close by hand, with a chain hoist, or with a jackshaft opener. Liftmaster makes a residential jackshaft garage door opener that affordable and reliable. Due to their lighter weight, rolling sheet doors can be repaired by a moderately skilled do-it-yourselfer as long as you have access to the replacement parts. Of all rolling doors, sheet doors are by far the most inexpensive.
At first glance, a rolling steel door looks pretty much the same as a sheet door. The difference is that the curtain on a rolling steel door is made up a series of metal slats. The slats on standard rolling steel doors are 22 gauge thick and can. Rolling steel doors also come in a variety of paints and finishes. These doors also come in insulated and non-insulated models. Many of our commercial customers use this type of roll up door in high security areas, or configure them on top of counter top as is often seen at pharmacies. These doors can be set up to operate with the use of a reduced drive chain hoist or with an Opener. Many of our rolling steel doors are installed with either a jackshaft or Hoist Operator. On a rolling steel door, the spring assembly is generally set up with counterbalance torsion springs that are enclosed in a steel tube. Due to this, and the overall hefty nature of these doors it’s generally best to leave most repairs to rolling steel doors to a professional.
Rolling fire doors are generally used in areas to separate spaces in the event of a fire. A rolling fire door is very similar to a rolling steel door yet it carries a fire rating. It is not opened and closed on a regular basis like a standard door. The door is the for the express purpose of a fire stop. These doors can be set up to close a few different ways . Many of our installs are configured with a fusible link. A fusible link is a piece of metal that is attached between two cables that hold the door in an open position. The fusible link is made to melt at 165 degrees fahrenheit. Once the link melts, the door drops and closes off a specific area. These doors can also be made to drop with the use of an alarm system. When it comes to repairs or installations of fire doors it’s always best to leave this to a professional. The attempt to rig doors to work temporarily and use nonstandard parts is never and good practice with a fire door. In many businesses, a Fire Marshall will visit your facility on an annual basis to confirmed that the door has been drop tested. Of all of the types of rolling doors these are the most expensive. Not just to install, but fire doors have the highest long term cost to own.
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