Which Sectional Garage Door is Best?

The choice of sectional garage doors available in the UK has never been so great, so which one do you buy?

For us to recommend any one sectional garage door of course always looks like it is our personally preferred supplier, but we genuinely only want to see sectional doors sold that truly have the qualities that are expected. Such expectations include what is primarily a door sold for its insulation and security, with the added benefits of rising vertically and providing good security too. We now have about three times more suppliers for sectional doors than about five years ago, and in reality probably three times too many for the UK market to absorb, so what happens? It can become a price war. The trouble potentially with any price war is that no one wins, and quite often not even the consumer gets a deal as it is easy to think the best price is the one to go for, when in fact it is quite often the lowest quality, and then all you are doing is buying something that will need repairing quite often and replacing way before the promised manufacturers guarantee period. This may be a generalisation but it is so often true, especially when a market first gets a proper kick with competitors coming in with serious intent to undercut on price alone.

Hormann Sectionals

Hormann have been selling sectional doors in the UK for many years and as a company are a true German manufacturing giant. Their sectional door range is enormous and also complicated for many and we see a large proportion of people being undersold when it comes to Hormann. The Hormann prices are truly competitive but this can lead to underselling the specification for a quick sale. There are now three main ranges available the single skin LTE40 range, the LPU42 which covers the majority of different styles and sizes and their flagship LPU67 range of doors. Another great plus point for Hormann is they do have a range of excellent front entrance doors, some of which are designed to match and compliment their sectional door range perfectly. These doors are manufactured in steel and aluminium and provide the very highest levels of insulation and security.

Hormann Sectional Garage Door

Hormann Sectional Door

Garador Sectionals

Garador are owned by Hormann and the range sold in the UK is far more limited than Hormann without the European metric sizes and all the specials offered by their sister company. However Garador do keep it simple and easy to understand and buy and of course the quality is excellent as it is a Hormann manufactured door.

Carteck Sectionals

Carteck are another excellent German made sectional door with the single range of insulated 40mm double skinned door doors with very similar designs to Hormann but a far wider standard height ordering choice and a very different spring system enabling most of the domestic doors to be fitted with only 115mm of headroom internally and with an electric operator!! The spring lifting system is unique and generally seen as the safest system for these type of doors with covered side channels as well as a whole load of small differences which add up to a great sectional door. Excellent quality and some superb stainless steel elements and features different to the Hormann range as well as a few unique paint finished colours.

"Our Choice"

Carteck Sectional Garage Door

Carteck Sectional Door

SeceuroGlide Sectionals

SWS are now producing their SeceuroGlide sectional door based on all the very successful principles of the best roller garage door produced in the UK. It is a 42mm double skinned insulated door panel design with the usual ribbed variations and a couple of unique designs. One of the qualities that will appeal with this door is the ability to get the door in a short delivery time in almost any RAL or BS colour as SWS have years of experience with their insulated roller garage doors. This is one of the sectional doors to be very aware of as there is a good, high quality organisation, with plenty of experience and manufacturing ability. The main feature, which is such a large subject here, is the ability here to order a sectional door in a purpose made size as standard, ensuring in most cases the door provides the very best drive through dimensions, and does not need any infills, trims, fascias or frame cover sections when trying to make a standard sectional door fit an opening which is nearly always a non-standard size in width and height. However most manufacturers will now offer made to measure.

Ryterna Sectionals

Ryterna are a Lithuanian manufacturer recently selling their sectional garage doors in this country and their range of doors is very comprehensive with a good degree of understanding in what is required in our UK garages. Their doors appear to be able to stand up to scrutiny by most and they do offer the latest trendy colours and other modern elements for sectional doors. For anything out of the ordinary these are an excellent chase it seems with the ability to manufacturer almost any design required with designer elements, windows and special colours.

Ryterna Sectional Garage Door

Ryterna Sectional Door

Cedar Doors

Cedar Doors manufacture a good range of cedarwood timber sectional garage doors, all made to order in size with a factory finish option for a truly classic and beautiful finish where timber is important and desireable. Like Wessex and many others these sectional door use a generic operating mechanism which is perfectly OK but quite basic and also not flexible like some specialised manufacturers gear. However these others do not offer cedar timber doors so their is always a trade off!

Cedar Doors

Cedar Doors manufacture a good range of cedarwood timber sectional garage doors, all made to order in size with a factory finish option for a truly classic and beautiful finish where timber is important and desireable. Like Wessex and many others these sectional door use a generic operating mechanism which is perfectly OK but quite basic and also not flexible like some specialised manufacturers gear. However these others do not offer cedar timber doors so their is always a trade off!

Gliderol Sectionals

The Gliderol sectional door is one that has gone through many ups and downs with sizes changing, designs being dropped and interruptions in supply. Gliderol are primarily a roller door company and this range of sectional doors was and still is primarily sold on price. It is not anywhere near the quality of the German rivals in terms of a crisp panel design and quality paint finish. The operating gear is also a nightmare to assemble where others have pre-drilled panels making it difficult to install incorrectly.

Bespoke Sectionals

There are some others whose door ranges can offer very unique features, such as Rundum Meir who will manufacture a high quality oak timber sectional door, all others will not. Breda are an Italian company who can offer a sectional door in various exotic metals and other materials for specialised requirements.

There are a few commercial sectional door manufacturers who will offer their doors for domestic use also. One of the greatest weaknesses for any sectional door panel is the external finish and generally you can get wet sprayed panels, laminate foil coated panels and panels created from 'coil coated' steel - steel which is already the colour it ends up being offered in. The thickness and durability of sectional door external finishing is a big variable and one we have seen cause many issues over the years. All companies say 'fully-finished' and this is probably the only way you would want a sectional door as painting one is quite tricky with the anti finger trap design and interlocking panels. However you do want a door where the paint lasts for as long as possible I would imagine and this is where you will find big differences, enough said. Also make sure the electric operator offered with any sectional door you may be considering is truly tested and CE marked with the sectional door manufacturer. It is not like years ago when there were many truly awful and dangerous electric operators on the UK market but there are certainly some cheap and nasty products still out there.

To try and conclude on this we would advice you make sure you truly understand how and where your new sectional garage door is to be fitted and what this ends up leaving you as a working door. Sectional doors are quite often sold and installed behind the garage opening but this does not have to be the case and for practicality it is quite often better to be in between, but we aware of how this is to be achieved. What opening height will you be left with when open? What infills will be used at either side of the door panels? What and how big will the infill for the head frame section be?

For advice on ANY sectional garage door and electric operator call us directly on (01933) 229135.

Read our new article: What's new for Sectional Garage Doors in 2019? >

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