Explore the best compact roller doors for limited headroom, whilst we give you some indicators on what to avoid..
Roller Doors - Compact & Confusion
The world of roller garage doors in 2021 is full of confusion as there are so many newly formed companies who have taken the opportunity to jump on a wave of enthusiasm for this particular type of electric garage door. The concept of a roller garage door is appealing and maybe overdone in many ways through overenthusiastic marketing in the world of Google ads and the like.. It is a product that people are overly aware of when looking for a new garage door.
Certainly the benefits are understandable with the vertical operation, the neat, no-track design and promise of an effortless operation with electric motor drive. But what are the catches? This article will delve into why the word 'compact' is used to extensively describe a roller door, and what can be taken from this.
You will also see the word ‘compact’ used extensively to describe the door. What should be taken from this?
Compact - What does it mean?
‘Compact' should ideally refer to the superb benefits of a roller door designed to use the very least headroom possible, and therefore offer the very best in clearance heights and intrusion into your garage. However, a ‘Compact’ roller garage door can be achieved in two very different ways...
Unfortunately, the majority of ‘compact’ roller garage doors offered in the UK are not actually fit to be called an actual door. They are in fact totally derived from a low specification roller shutter used for windows on the continent for insulation and sunlight control. Their basic design means they are meant to be fitted in front of or behind another solid building product like an existing door or a window, and then used instead of curtains in principal. To use them as a garage door is taking the product to the very edge and beyond of its limitations; the curtain isn’t strong enough to take open aperture and the pressures of wind and rain. Quite simply they are potentially the flimsiest garage door you will find with a very short shelf life, even shorter if fitted to a garage which is exposed more than usual to wind. They also will offer very little in the way of security….
So, what is proper ‘Compact’ roller door supposed to be?
A compact roller door should be an engineered product designed to operate as a garage door and not a lightweight window shutter. It should have all the usual specification as expected on an electric ‘garage door’.
A safety sensor system, remote control electric operation, emergency manual override, a tested level of wind resistance so it can actually be classed as a ‘door’ in the true sense. Of course it should also offer decent protection as expected for your garage aperture.
SWS SeceuroGlide Compact
The SWS Compact is a good example of a tried and tested product, constructed by SWS, leaders in the world of roller shutters and probably the longest established manufacturer of such products. Part of an extensive and reliable range of roller doors, it is of great quality and is specially adapted for garages with limited headroom.
Vortex
There are also some greatly enhanced versions of the ‘Compact’ principal, such as the Vortex roller door.
It is a highly engineered product with superb features and a great finish too for exceptional style too.
Whilst it isn’t an insulated door curtain, neither are many roller garage doors on the UK market. It offers a great alternative for those who do not require insulation for their garage, but where security is more of a priority, boasting a Level 2 Secured by Design specification.
Browse in Product Catalogue
To find out more about both the Compact and Qompact roller doors, check them out in our Product Catalogue by clicking the links below. Don't hesitate to contact our garage door experts with your enquiries. Call on 01933 229135, or fill out the contact form - click the button below, right.
Consider Your Requirements
Indeed the very cheapest ‘compact’ roller shutters use a very small and thin double skinned aluminium slat which has very low resistance to almost anything but will prevent light and therefore heat ingress on a window. A lot of insulated roller garage doors are simply double skinned slats with some insulation value, but as a whole unit do not offer a stated U value for insulation purposes when it matters. For that you need insulated sectional or side hinged doors ideally.
If you are looking for a new garage for right now, we always advise you really do try to take look at the reality of so many roller garage doors, along with how they are constructed and operated. What you will see repeated a lot is a headline cheap price…. ‘Buy cheap, buy twice’ as the very old saying goes….
