Welcome back to our series: Weighing Your Options. We’ve already covered the benefits and drawbacks of overhead sectional garage doors in our previous blog (feel free to check out Weighing Your Options Part I: Sectional Overhead Garage Doors), and we’re going to continue the topic with overhead roll-up doors. If you find yourself weighing the pros and cons of roll-up garage doors, we have all the information you need to make a decision below. And as always, you can count on us to install your garage door once you’ve settled on the best option for your use!
What is a roll-up garage door?
Roll-up garage doors are made up of small panels which are hinged, enabling them to roll up into a spiral as they are raised. These doors feature a vertical track, as well as an operator box which holds the rolled up garage door when it is in the open position. Roll-up garage doors are far more common in commercial buildings, and they’re fairly rare for residential use.
The Benefits
Roll-up garage doors offer a litany of unique benefits. From their fantastic longevity and value to their ease of use and diverse applications, it’s no wonder that roll-up doors are a common choice on commercial properties.
Longevity: Roll-up doors are highly durable due to their simplicity in design. That makes these doors ideal for commercial garages that are rely on a dependable door to keep operations running. Roll-up doors can last for thousands of uses without a hiccup.
Value: Since it’s likely that you won’t have to repair your roll-up door often, you won’t have to pay for repairs or a full door replacement any time soon. That means that, while you have to pay more upfront for a roll-up door than a sectional overhead door, you’ll make up for that cost over time. Plus, you’ll see less down time since these doors simply don’t quit — which may mean more dollars on your bottom line.
Ease of Use: Roll-up doors are just as easy to use as sectional doors, and you can turn on the operator with the push of a button to open or close the door. Plus, you can find high-speed models, which make your operations even more efficient.
Applications: Roll-up doors are great for moving inventory from a truck to storage and vice-versa. Plus, these doors can be installed on nearly any wall, since the door is stored in a small, horizontal box that only measures a foot or so in depth and height. These boxes may even be installed on the outside of the building for even better space utilization. Beyond that, if you’re concerned about safety in your building, you can install a fire-rated roll-up door for improved safety for your employees.
The Drawbacks
While roll-up doors have beneficial features that far outweigh their drawbacks, their are still a couple “cons” that you should consider when looking at these doors. Keep in mind that roll-up doors may be more expensive than other models, and they aren’t the most visually appealing doors.
Cost: Roll-up doors tend to be more expensive than sectional doors for the square footage of the face of the door. While you can find single-bay doors that are only a few hundred dollars, larger doors are usually over $1,000, and high-end doors (like wind-rated doors) may cost several thousands of dollars.
Aesthetics: Due to limitations in their design, most roll-up doors are fairly simple and utilitarian. These metal doors can be painted, and they may feature small slatted windows, but aside from that, most roll-up doors look the same. If you’re looking for a garage door to impress, you may want to go with a sectional overhead door or a carriage house door.
Local Garage Door Installation & Repair
If you’re ready to install a new roll-up garage door on your property, we’re the crew to call. Call us for service and installs, or feel free to visit our showroom in Fort Collins to learn more about our doors. You can also count on us for any repairs and parts, should you need them in the future.
Check back to read our final chapter in this blog series: Weighing Your Options Part III: Carriage House Garage Doors!
