Different Types of Garage Overhead Doors

Whether you manage a commercial facility or own an agricultural building, you know garage overhead doors are important. They’re used to keep your space safer, unload and load products quickly, move materials, and allow you access to your property stored inside.

There are many types of overhead garage doors available, and each one serves a specific purpose. Choosing the wrong type can lead to problems, such as less efficiency and safety.

Let’s learn about each type of garage overhead doors to help you find one suitable for your business or greenhouse!

Types of Overhead Garage Doors

With so many types of garage doors, it’s often hard to determine which garage door style will work well in your business or commercial space. Here are the options to consider:

1. Sectional Doors

Sectional garage doors are actually the most popular type for those in Canada and beyond. They’re made with horizontal panels that are connected with hinges. Ultimately, the hinged sections will roll up straight and back along a track toward your garage ceiling. Likewise, the hinges let the sections bend into the vertical track to each side of the door, allowing it to sit parallel to the ceiling when opened fully.

High-tension springs are attached to the cables over the door, and a spring-balanced garage door opener can be used to help you open and close it. Here is a recent installation the RGC Doors team had successfully installed, in a commercial building.

Typically, a variety of materials are used for this garage door option. If you want wood garage doors, you can have them. Likewise, they’re pretty low maintenance, and you could even get insulated doors with this style.

2. Bi-fold Garage Doors

In most cases, bi-fold garage doors aren’t as popular for residential or industrial purposes. Think of your closet doors that fold against the side of your opening to envision how they operate.

Typically, these doors are lighter than your swing-out doors, and they won’t open as far. If you’re using them for the garage, you’ll note that snow buildup can prevent them from functioning correctly. Many homeowners use them as entry doors or inside, where they have a wide range of applications.

In most cases, you can’t seal them tightly to prevent rain and snow from coming in. Likewise, they don’t allow for an automatic garage door opener. Therefore, you must manually open and close them when you want to use them.

If you’re focused on wood garage doors, this might be a suitable option. However, be aware that there are some drawbacks.

3. Tilt-up or Up-and-Over Canopy Garage Doors

As with traditional side-hinged garage door styles, tilt-up garage doors don’t have sections and are made from one solid piece of material. Many people prefer them because they look like wood garage doors.

They use a pivoting hinge that will move the door upward to the ceiling. Once open, the doors will extend out past the garage front. There is a variation of this style called tilt-up retractable garage doors that will go up and into your garage. It’s suspended independently from your frame. However, they do require more space inside to get them to work.

Usually, tilt-up retractable doors are cheaper than other styles. However, it’s important to remember that the panel sections aren’t separate.

4. Barn Doors and Side-hinged Garage Doors

The most common garage door design for residential garage doors is the barn door version. They’re similar to large barn doors and are considered old-fashioned. Sometimes, they have side hinges, where the horizontally-hinged sections will roll up and back along the track to the garage ceiling. Another version lets the doors swing outward on horizontal tracks.

Typically, these doors are designed to fit into an existing opening, but you can also find options that offer pre-hung steel frames. Likewise, you can customize it to meet your needs.

Overall, these doors are quite large and feature a spring-balanced automatic opener. Homeowners often find that they require garage door repair to fix the opening mechanism in time.

5. Sliding Garage Doors

Sliding garage doors are often called slide-to-the-side or round-the-corner doors. Your door opens when you open one side of your garage, with the remaining one parallel to the wall. It was one of the first methods used.

Often, the doors use flexible low trolleys to handle minor changes in the ceiling or floor. Originally, they were put in garages with limited headroom because they don’t need the balancing springs and have a built-in motor to open and close them.

You didn’t lose any overhead space with these doors, but they didn’t come in a range of styles. Likewise, homeowners disliked them because they couldn’t use decorative hardware. Ultimately, they’re no longer used much and aren’t a popular option.

6. Roll-up Garage Doors

Roll-up garage doors are often used in commercial applications, but they are great for those who have less garage space toward the ceiling. Sometimes called coiling doors, they’re designed to handle heavy usage and can have enclosed or no springs. Typically, the steel slats are 2 or 3 inches wide and curve to roll around the drum above.

You’ll find many materials for the vertical panels, such as galvanized steel, stainless steel, and more traditional style and design options.

7. High-speed Overhead Doors

High-speed doors are one step up from a standard commercial garage door. They move quickly, so they’re ideal for facilities that require efficiency and speed.

Overall, the high-speed overhead garage door offers a wide variety of styles and features based on your specific needs.

8. Fire-rated Doors

Fire-rated doors offer excellent fire protection. They’re either manually or motor-operated and can be made from heavy-duty stainless steel, which is thick enough to be fire-resistant. Likewise, they offer insulation and block out noise.

If you’re interested in energy efficiency, this could be the best type of door to get. Likewise, these high-performance doors close automatically if a fire presents itself. Ultimately, they’re used in distribution centers, mills, parking garages, and warehouses.

Final Thoughts on Residential and Commercial Garage Doors

Finding the right garage door type can be challenging, especially if you’re not sure what options are available. Luckily, you learned about canopy doors, single-panel garage door options, those with horizontal slats, and many others.

RGC Doors is based in Leamington, Ontario, Canada, and specializes in commercial doors (both service and installation). We can help with various types of commercial garage doors, including:

• Standard Overhead Doors (Chain-Lift)
• Commercial Overhead Doors (Lift-Motor)
• High-Speed Overhead Doors (Fabric or Rubber)
• Heavy-Duty Roll-Up Doors (Loading Docks)
• Industrial Fire Doors
• Rolling Steel Doors for Large Industrial Facilities

Request a consultation and your free Overhead Garage Door Estimate by calling 519-326-3959 today!