What Should You Be Looking for in a Commercial Garage Door?
When it comes to residential garage doors, you probably have a pretty good idea of what you should be looking for. For commercial garage doors, however, it can be a different story. There are some areas where it’s okay to cut corners on a residential door that aren’t necessarily good ideas to skimp on when it comes to commercial doors, and vice versa. What are some of the things you should be looking for when shopping for a commercial garage door? Here are four of them.
Material
You want your commercial garage door to be made of metal, usually steel or aluminum. Natural wood can be great for a residential garage door, as it can create a very aesthetically pleasing look and feel. With a commercial door, though, you want to be a little more practical. Wood doors are vulnerable to cracking and splintering, not to mention rot if exposed to the elements or too much moisture. They require much more maintenance and care, which can be worth it in a residential environment but not something you want to be worrying about when it comes to a commercial enterprise.
Insulation
When it comes to residential doors, you’ll often have a choice between an insulated and a non-insulated door. You may feel that for your home, the energy savings is not worth the extra expense of insulation. While this is debatable, you should never skimp on insulation for your commercial door. You have valuable inventory to protect from the elements. Additionally, insulation will also make the door quieter and often more durable thanks to the added insulation material inside the door.
Heavy-Duty Torsion Springs
Your torsion springs are designed with a limited life. Most residential springs are built to last about 10,000 cycles, or openings and closings before they wear down or break. That’s usually fine for the average family, but your commercial garage door may be opening and closing a lot more. If that’s the case, you should look for torsion springs that can withstand up to 25,000 – 50,000 cycles. In some cases, you may have as much as hundreds of thousands of cycles, in which you may benefit from a high-speed, high-cycle door.
Windows
This one will vary from business to business, but you will want to think about whether or not you want people to be able to see into your facility and how much natural light you want to let in. If you want a lot of light and visibility, consider a full-view commercial door. Windows will also allow you to see your customers as they arrive at your facility.
For more information on commercial door features and help finding the right commercial door for your business in the greater Spokane, WA or Northern Idaho areas, contact Continental Door Co. today.
