High Security Garage Doors

[DRZ]

We're hopefully about to complete on our house and that has got me trying to make firm plans for things I know need doing more or less straight away. A garage door is high up on the list for me as the current door is an up-and-over design with (I believe) just two locking points which are cable operated.

I'd like to replace the door so that I maximise the space within the garage but also outside - I would ideally like to be able to park right up to the door and still be able to open it, which rules out an up-and-over door and pretty much means a sectional or roller door is needed.

I am leaning toward a roller door because that means the garage ceiling is clear when the door is open - this gives me a better clearance inside the garage for tall cars to drive in and also means I can uniformly light the garage even with the door open. That said, I don't particularly like the look of them vs sectional doors and I have concerns about their overall security being made of lots of thin slats which seem to me like they could easily be prised apart. The garage is a little over 5m wide so any flex in the door is also a potential weakness.

Does anyone have any recommendations for genuinely secure, insulated double garage doors (roller or sectional), or what to look for/ask for when looking for quotes?

 

[roccles]

I recently had a double insulated sectional garage door (Alutech) installed and am very happy with it and it feels very secure but with the framework inside the garage it does take up a fair amount of space above and to the side.

I was warned before hand that if your bedroom is anyway near the garage then you might want to avoid roller as they can rattle and be quite noisy especially when windy. Whether this true I don't know.

I paid £3570 installed but If I wanted the same door without pedestrian access the quote was £2580. Quote for roller was £2280

Internal

External

 

[SoliD]

We're hopefully about to complete on our house and that has got me trying to make firm plans for things I know need doing more or less straight away. A garage door is high up on the list for me as the current door is an up-and-over design with (I believe) just two locking points which are cable operated.

I'd like to replace the door so that I maximise the space within the garage but also outside - I would ideally like to be able to park right up to the door and still be able to open it, which rules out an up-and-over door and pretty much means a sectional or roller door is needed.

I am leaning toward a roller door because that means the garage ceiling is clear when the door is open - this gives me a better clearance inside the garage for tall cars to drive in and also means I can uniformly light the garage even with the door open. That said, I don't particularly like the look of them vs sectional doors and I have concerns about their overall security being made of lots of thin slats which seem to me like they could easily be prised apart. The garage is a little over 5m wide so any flex in the door is also a potential weakness.

Does anyone have any recommendations for genuinely secure, insulated double garage doors (roller or sectional), or what to look for/ask for when looking for quotes?

@DRZ we had a similar situation and I got an electric double roller put in, massively warmer than before in the garage with no insulation elsewhere. I would have liked a sectional for the looks, but wanted the extra space above and to allow me to mount my bikes right next to the door. Welcome to come over and take a look and can recommend you to the same guys who did mine.

 

[SimonR]

Ask what size and thickness that slats are. Generally there are 55mm and 77mm wide slats which come in 2 thicknesses 13mm and 19mm thicknesses. We opted for a slightly more expensive 77mm x 19mm thick slat as it offered much better thermal insulation. Going from an uninsulated Horstmann up and over to a 19mm slatted made a massive difference not only to the temps in the garage but the whole house overall. That would be my advice.

 

[DRZ]

If I was still down South I'd definitely take you up on that @SoliD Did you look for anything in particular for your roller from a security perspective? I've read reviews for some popular doors saying they can be cut through with a stanley knife!

@roccles did you choose that door manufacturer specifically because of security? Looks like you've gone for the door being inside the aperture which maximises interior space but I believe makes it easier to get into? I've got roughly 5.8m of depth inside the garage so losing 10cm isn't the end of the world to me if it means greater security. Noisewise the garage is detached and roughly 15m lengthwise from the master bedroom but is actually situated diametrically opposed 'through' the house, so probably not an issue when it comes to noise. The house next door is likely closer than our bedroom however I think they also have a roller door on theirs.

The other thing I'm thinking of doing is putting a post or two immediately in front of the garage on the driveway (as close as possible) to make it even less likely someone would try to take the car(s) inside. Perhaps I'm overthinking it, I just want to do what I can to dissuade potential thieves, or make them look for a softer target down the road.

 

[SimonR]

Our door is double skin aluminium and I'd challenge you to cut it with a Stanley knife. In fact we saw a video of a car being driven into them at 20 mph. The door deformed (badly) but security remained intact.

 

[roccles]

did you choose that door manufacturer specifically because of security? Looks like you've gone for the door being inside the aperture which maximises interior space but I believe makes it easier to get into? I've got roughly 5.8m of depth inside the garage so losing 10cm isn't the end of the world to me if it means greater security. Noisewise the garage is detached and roughly 15m lengthwise from the master bedroom but is actually situated diametrically opposed 'through' the house, so probably not an issue when it comes to noise. The house next door is likely closer than our bedroom however I think they also have a roller door on theirs.

I did not look to much into security as all the brochures I had claimed to have great security!

If you do install inside the garage rather than the aperture then that would defo add to the security but from looking at mine they would need to rip the whole framing out to get in but admittedly they could pull off the cladding and get a crow bar in easily to get going at this.

I don't think my car (Skoda Superb) would fit in if I had put the door further back but it sounds like you would not have this issue. Personally I feel adding posts outside makes you more of a target, if you have the depth could you put them inside?

Inside

Outside

Thickness wise the door is about 2 inches

 

[SoliD]

If I was still down South I'd definitely take you up on that @SoliD Did you look for anything in particular for your roller from a security perspective? I've read reviews for some popular doors saying they can be cut through with a stanley knife!

To be honest the designs were all much of a muchness and I just asked the people quoting what they'd recommend for what was inside, after leaving the garage door open twice overnight anything would be an improvement....Obviously the bikes are much easier to pinch than a car too... but then crime isn't exactly high where I am. I went with an SWS SeceuroGlide and it's definitely sturdy. I think you're overthinking it and in reality if someone is that determined to take the car they'll be doing you some damage in the first instance which I'd definitely be wanting to avoid. Whatever you do just make sure you can fit a Meross.

 

[DXP55]

Next door neighbour has a roller door with the alarm strip underneath -when you shut the door it slightly compresses a rubber pad and you can set the alarm -if someone tried to jemmy it up the alarm goes off. I think any pressure release sets it off.
Theirs is insulated but don't know how thick it is.
Wish i had thought of roller when had mine changed - I have to agree on runners getting in the way and door blocking lights when open.

My U/O door is electric and when it opens it also releases the two locking bolts on bottom of each side of door. So you can't jemmy bottom corners open

 

[Participant]

I think as has already been established in this thread, rollers in general compared with sectionals:

Are cheaper
Are less well insulated
Are easier to break into
Take up less space
Don't look as nice

We had a sectional in our last place and whilst I preferred the looks, not having loads of beams and runners inside the garage is quite nice.

 

[Duke]

I was considering a roller to replace the original up & over door but went for Garador sectional in the end and very pleased with it