Garage doors

The sectional garage door is one of the most popular types ever , which can be found in most garages. The door slides up when opened. Such a mechanism can be a problem for garages with low ceilings. The opening of these doors is facilitated by a motorised drive that can be controlled remotely. However, there are also doors on the market that can be manually pulled open.

The sectional doors themselves greatly range in price. The price depends on the material or design used. However, you should choose the material in particular carefully if you want to ensure a long service life. The quality of the garage door will be indicated by the warranty, which is guaranteed by the manufacturer directly in the contract. For example, for LOMAX doors it is 10 years.

Sliding doors are virtually maintenance-free and easy to control. Being able to open it only part way will not only provide more warmth in the garage, but also more convenience if the door serves as your only entrance to the house. However, unlike sectional doors, they take up space on the vertical wall of the garage as they run sideways on the rails. Thus, there can be no windows or shelves on this side of the garage.

This door rolls up the rails into the box above. This way they don't take up the entire ceiling of the garage and you can use that space to hang other things, like skis. The advantage is that their installation does not require major building modifications. You just need to decide whether you want the door to roll into the box or not. The aluminium box can be placed both on the inside and outside of the garage or directly in the opening.

You can choose from two control options – manual drive or electric drive.

Our grandparents used to drive their Ladas and Skodas into the garage through double-leaf doors. However, they are still popular today. Their advantage is versatility, simplicity and the possibility to use them both in new buildings and in reconstructions. You can choose the door to open inwards or outwards, with the handle on the right or left side.

The disadvantage may be that they need space to open their wings. These doors are therefore not suitable for garages, for example, which open directly onto the road. Also, the insulation properties of double-leaf doors are not among the best. They are therefore particularly suitable for unheated and partially heated spaces.

The printed foil has two tasks on garage doors. Firstly, it ensures their aesthetic appearance. Therefore, you should choose one that contains a UV filter so that the print does not fade or change colour. Secondly, the foil also extends the life of the garage door, as it prevents mechanical damage. You should therefore choose a good quality material – 150 micron thick foil is ideal.

If you can't decide which colour to choose, the trends will give you a hint. Recently, anthracite or grey colour has been gaining popularity in new buildings.

For those who avoid the grey average and cannot choose from the available colour ranges of different manufacturers, LOMAX also offers individual shades according to the colour of the facade or windows. The colour can be glossy, semi-gloss or matt.

If you're looking for an element that will give your garage door an unusual look, the groove is it. It divides the door into subsections and thus significantly influences its design. A garage door with grooves will look modern and timeless, while a cassette groove will suggest an atypical look that should be chosen to suit the architecture of the house.

The groove is created directly by the door manufacturer by mechanical surface treatment. It remains only a decorative element and does not affect the insulating properties of the garage door.

Stainless-steel accents on the doors will be great for people who want to achieve the most original doors. Any quality garage door manufacturer should tailor advice to their customers on the selection and placement of the pattern. This pattern can then be repeated on the entrance door or windows of the house.

As well as durable stainless-steel elements, glazing that lets more light into the garage can also have a fresh look.

Manufacturers with a long tradition, who also offer a sufficiently wide range, can achieve a good match between the doors of the individual elements. We at LOMAX are among these producers. So not only can you tune your garage door and entrance door to one shade, but add outdoor shading technology as well. Whether it be outdoor blinds or window roller shutters.

THE LIFETIME OF DOORS, OR, CALCULATE YOUR INVESTMENT

Garage doors are one of the larger investments in a home. However, the really high-quality ones will last for several decades. For example, LOMAX doors are rated for at least 20 thousand cycles, meaning full opening and closing. If the user used them twice a day, for example when leaving and arriving home, this would mean at least 25 years of operation. As a rule, however, with reasonable maintenance and regular service it can usually be much more.

• Garage doors are an investment for at least 25 years

• Be interested in the speed and availability of service

• Read reviews and look for complaints about breakdowns – aren't there many?

Some manufacturers try to save money and buy ready-made panels, which they then just cut during production. However, the foil on them is too thin and over time it can start to peel off. Weather conditions, such as the south-facing orientation of the garage, can also speed things up. And although the peeling does not directly affect the function of the door, it is not very attractive from a design point of view. So, if the user does not want to solve such problems, they should look for a manufacturer who presses the foils into the panels.

• LOMAX TIP: We do not produce doors in series. Each piece is an original, to which the utmost care is given. And the same is true for the choice of materials. We use only the most modern methods of production. For example, we apply wood imitation to the material before the actual production of the panel. Only then we roll the shape of the section and fill the panel with PUR foam. Thanks to this technology, wood imitation is much more durable than just applying the foil to the finished sections.

This is also the case with LOMAX garage doors. In terms of durability then, as with other parts of the house, regular service is a key. While some basic tasks can be handled by the user on their own, for others it is worth contacting the supplier directly. Therefore, in some cases, they also offer an extended warranty on some parts of the door during regular service.

The electric drive that controls the door can run at both quiet mode and slow speed, which reduces vibration, and also at higher speed, which greatly speeds up the opening of the door. Overall, the doors are characterised by low energy consumption. The high-quality ones consume only 0.6 W in a stand-by mode. However, a problem with opening and closing the door could occur during a power outage. This problem is elegantly solved by the backup power supply, which won't cost you too much.

For maximum convenience, an infrared barrier can be installed. It registers whether you have already walked through the door or driven your car through it, then automatically closes the gate. If the door is closing and you are heading in with a load of shopping or other heavy loads, the door will stop and then open again.

To ensure that you always park reliably, the lights in the guide railswill also serve you well. These are switched on together with the garage door drive, they come in handy when parking the car and closing the door when the garage is dark.

In some homes, the garage door serves as the only entrance to the house. In such cases, it is advisable to choose a sliding door type, which only needs to be opened partially, or a sectional type. In this case, it is possible to install the entrance door directly into the garage door. However, only some manufacturers offer such options.

Safety features on garage doors protect not only your property, but also your health. For example, even the infrared barrier prevents the door from closing when someone passes through it. Whether it's you with your shopping, your little child or your pet.

If you connect your door or garage space to a smart home, the system will notify you immediately if a stranger threatens your property. If you have an automatically controlled door, the gearbox of the motorized drive should be designed so that the door cannot be mechanically pried open. You can also supplement your door with a locking stop or lock, which also prevents unwanted sliding or prying the door open.

However, damage to property, most often a car, can also occur quite unintentionally. The door rides in the rail when it opens and closes, and unfortunately, time also takes its toll. If the spring breaks, the door could fall on the car, or worse, on you. Therefore, make sure that the door manufacturer you choose offers a spring break safety device.

An absolutely essential function of every door is then a motor lock. If it happens that the door hits an obstacle, the door movement will stop and the door will return to its original position.

The thermal insulation properties are usually determined by a key parameter, the so-called heat transfer coefficient. It is denoted by the letter U, and it is typical that the smaller the value, the better the thermal insulation that can be expected. It indicates the amount of heat energy leaving the space (garage). Its recommended value for garages is U = 2.3 W/m2K. However, in good quality doors, it should be below U = 2 W/m2K. One of the lowest figures on the market LOMAX offers is U = 1.2 W/m2K

The thermal resistance is denoted by the letter R and the reverse is true for its value, i.e. the higher the value, the better the door properties.

You can also choose the properties of the layer of polyurethane foam that is in the door itself. In general, the higher the density of PUR foam, the better. However, the maximum value on the Czech market is currently 50 kg/m³.

When choosing, it should be taken into account that doors with an uninterrupted thermal bridge, which are for example double-leaf, folding or hanging doors, will have worse thermal insulation properties. Sectional garage doors (the bridges are between the sections) or sliding garage doors (again between the sections) have interrupted thermal bridges and therefore better insulation properties.

The insulation of the door is then only supplemented by seals, which keep out not only cold air, but also rainwater. The ideal seal should be all-around.

Every biker knows that temperature fluctuations are bad for single-track pets. Therefore, it is advisable to choose a door with an interrupted thermal bridge for closing the garage.

When it comes to comfort and control options, this is where the greatest added value lies. The controller with large enough buttons allows comfortable operation of the garage door even with motorcycle gloves.

Thanks to the practical infrared barrier, you can get on the road without unnecessary delays – thanks to the automatic door closing.