What type garage door do you have in your shop and what are the pros and cons?

flatrock58 · February 15, 2018, 10:33:47 PM

I am to the point that I need to put the large doors in my workshop. I have one 12'x12' and one 16'x 13' door. I have looked at drum roll up doors and regular panel garage doors. The drum roll up doors are more compact but do not have a good way to insulate. The regular panel garage doors are better insulated but take up more overhead space.

What type of doors do you have in your shop and what are the pros and cons? Any input would be appreciated.

Texas Ranger · February 15, 2018, 11:09:29 PM

overhead, very hard to insulate in a metal building, so built a inside insulated room for foul weather.

Stuart Caruk · February 15, 2018, 11:20:21 PM

I've got 3 kinds of doors in my shop.

Standard sectional roll up doors in both insulated and uninsulated. If I did it again I would always use an insulated door. They do take space overhead, but in some bays that's fine.

I've got roll up doors in other bays. Mostly 14' wide x 16' tall. They work great but you can't stand beside them on a sunny day without getting heat stroke, and they suck the heat out of the shop in the winter.

I've also got some tubing doors skinned with sheet metal and with 2" foam panels glued to the inside for insulation. They have a hydraulic cylinder on each side with piloted check valves to hold them up if a hose breaks. They work great, and give me extra room to work. Bit of a pain if we get a lot of snow, but that's rare.

Battle Ridge · February 15, 2018, 11:25:52 PM

I have a 30 x 40 x 10'h shop with two 10'w x 9'h insulated panel doors in one end where my pick-up is parked & I work on my vehicles, as well as for access to my workshop (wood and such), and a 9'w x 8'h insulated panel door on the side at the other end where my tractor is housed.

Pro's are the insulating factor, ease of use and the ability to easily install a garage door opener.

Con's... I don't really have any.

747mopar · February 16, 2018, 11:23:03 AM

I've got 2 12ft X 8ft doors, living in Ohio insulation is important so I bought thick Haas doors that are R 17. Very nice solid doors that look and operate great.

Don't ever skimp on a good doors, it takes a lot of extra BTU to make up for poor doors. I would look for ones that have a spray foam core vs foam panels, much more rigid and sealed.

RPF2509 · February 16, 2018, 11:54:14 AM

I've got a 12x12 rollup and it radiates heat in the summer and cold in the winter. I'm looking for a way to insulate it but have not seen much. There is an inside curtain available which costs about a grand. Bubble wrap on the inside might work but the r value would be low and I'm not sure how well it would stick in the heat of the summer. I think the worst is heat radiating in the summer. I get full sun on it in the morning until about noon. I don't have heat in the main bay yet so I just bundle up in the winter. My nose is the work time limiter. I won't heat the main bay until I find some way to insulate the roll up. Any ideas would be welcome.

Grizzly · February 16, 2018, 03:36:52 PM

Have you considered bi-fold doors? More and more of them being used out here in cold prairie country.

Bifold Barn Doors - Pole Barn Doors | Schweiss Folding Barn Doors | Buildings and Hardware

flatrock58 · February 17, 2018, 09:05:19 PM

Thanks for the input. I have seen the bifold doors at an airport hanger. They look expensive. Not sure what I will do yet.

Kbeitz · February 18, 2018, 04:35:31 AM

Bifold doors is easy to make if you weld. I made a big one for the barn, I had no room for anything else. I welded up a frame and covered it with wood. Works great. I can take pictures if you need them.

blackfoot griz · February 18, 2018, 05:44:51 PM

Kbeitz, I'd sure like to see what you came up with for your barn door!

Kbeitz · February 18, 2018, 06:08:27 PM

Quote from: blackfoot griz on February 18, 2018, 05:44:51 PM
Kbeitz, I'd sure like to see what you came up with for your barn door!

Sorry I did not read this post until it was dark outside. The pictures aren't the best.
You need a good base for your hinges. It's a lot of hanging weight. Picture number five show a special latch to take the weight off the hinges when closed. Picture number six is the latch that keeps everything closed.

scsmith42 · February 18, 2018, 07:11:12 PM

I have two types of doors in my shop. One type is a pair of home made 10' x 15' doors that are hinged on the sides (20' wide opening). Ultimately I plan to replace them with a single panel hydraulically opened door.

I also have two Haas carriage house style insulated roll-up garage doors; each one is around 12' wide and heights vary between 12' - 16'. They are excellent! Around R15 rated and 120mph. They are sealed and gasketed between the panels and work extraordinarily well. I highly recommend the Haas if you want a well sealed, insulated traditional style garage door.

Josef · February 19, 2018, 10:59:08 AM

Overhead bifold are not that complicated or difficult to build if you can weld, I fabbed one 20 ft wide for my solar kiln and plan to do the same for my shop building we'll erect in Ga. That will be narrower at 12 ft, but taller than the one on the kiln, it will be just over 14 ft high to cover a doorway thats 12'high.

Here's a few pics of the last one I built. On my list of projects is a hyd opening panel door as well, but it will be smaller, on the front of the building, I kind of like the built in "shade and rain awning" when its open.

Joe

Ed · February 19, 2018, 05:37:03 PM

Been using Haas 700 series insulated doors for 7-8 years now. Pricey, but worth it.

Two them replaced 25+ year old Taylors, which were a good door back in the day. Still have 2 Taylors in use on the shop. Rust & paint will probably get them enventually.

Replaced a roll-up with a Haas last summer, gave me a warm fuzzy feeling taking the Cutquik to the old roll up. Biggest waste of money ever.......

Ed

YellowHammer · February 19, 2018, 05:52:28 PM

We went with the standard panel insulated, 20 foot long x 10 foot tall. If your installer does "profile " mounting, where the doors follow the roof pitch, instead of the standard horizontal track, then they are hardly noticeable when opened and are basically tucked up just below the ceiling.

21incher · February 19, 2018, 06:15:14 PM

I have 2- 12' x 12' CHI insulated 90 MPH wind rated overhead doors on my pole barn. They have a good R rating and are easy to operate. The only issue I have had is they face west and if you don't keep the rubber seal weatherstrip strip on the outside lubed, the sun will heat it up and make it stick to the door. Then it takes a pry bar to break it free. On big doors make sure they are rated for the winds your area will see.

Crusarius · February 19, 2018, 06:20:10 PM

Quote from: Stuart Caruk on February 15, 2018, 11:20:21 PMI've also got some tubing doors skinned with sheet metal and with 2" foam panels glued to the inside for insulation. They have a hydraulic cylinder on each side with piloted check valves to hold them up if a hose breaks. They work great, and give me extra room to work. Bit of a pain if we get a lot of snow, but that's rare.

Did you make these? Can you get into more detail? I want love to do a hangar door in my shop. just working on support bean for roof.

Crusarius · February 19, 2018, 06:24:27 PM

Quote from: Josef on February 19, 2018, 10:59:08 AM
Overhead bifold are not that complicated or difficult to build if you can weld, I fabbed one 20 ft wide for my solar kiln and plan to do the same for my shop building we'll erect in Ga. That will be narrower at 12 ft, but taller than the one on the kiln, it will be just over 14 ft high to cover a doorway thats 12'high.

Here's a few pics of the last one I built. On my list of projects is a hyd opening panel door as well, but it will be smaller, on the front of the building, I kind of like the built in "shade and rain awning" when its open.

Joe

I bet the bugs love that area you gave them against the kiln

flatrock58 · February 19, 2018, 08:55:37 PM

Lots of good info. I am a weekend welder, so not sure if I would trust my welds hanging overhead. I noticed most of they guys up north were more concerned with the insulated and wind proof doors. I got the price on both roll up and insulated panel doors from one installer today. For now I am leaning toward a roll up door, but I am still waiting on a couple more bids.

Randy88 · February 20, 2018, 08:21:32 AM

20 foot tall by 34 feet wide one piece hydraulic door I built myself, two cylinders to open it up and an electric motor driven hydraulic pump over my loft 80 feet at the other end of the shop to power it.

As for the con's, I can't open the door in winds much over 35 mph. Not sure if cost would be a con or not, I priced many other kinds of doors, and by building it myself, it turned out to be the cheapest option for me, not including my labor of course.

Josef · February 20, 2018, 04:14:04 PM

Wow Randy88, 20 x 34, would love to see pics of that one.

Joe

Randy88 · February 20, 2018, 07:05:17 PM

Private message me your email and I'll send some to you via the computer

Crusarius · February 20, 2018, 07:12:34 PM

I would love some pics to

Randy88 · February 21, 2018, 12:59:14 AM

Crusarius, send me your email in a personal message and you'll get them this weekend when my youngest is home from college, I gave up long ago trying to do the photo thing myself.

Tell my what you want photo's of and you'll get them via email.