Whether you have a factory, a warehouse, an auto dealership, a retail store or any other business that requires some type of overhead garage doors in Houston, you want the company providing them to understand commercial doors inside and out. Just as we have a vast selection of residential garage doors at Halo Overhead Doors, we also have a huge inventory of commercial overhead doors to suit your needs.
The entryways protecting your business’s inventory are just as crucial to your operations as what you have inside. Commercial portals have so many forms and functions you should thoroughly educate yourself on before making a choice. Having the right overhead entrances installed could save your company from fire or theft losses. See how our commercial overhead door company can help your business.
Jump to section:
- Types of Industrial Overhead Doors
- Commercial Door Uses
- Parts of a Commercial Door
- What to Consider When Buying a Commercial Door
- Why Choose Halo Overhead Doors in Houston
Types of Industrial Overhead Doors
We understand that when it comes to overhead garage doors, you need a product that’s tough, durable, efficient and long-lasting. You need a door that is going to withstand industrial use and open and close smoothly every time you need it to. You need a door that is ideally suited to its specific use on your property.
You need an overhead entry that is tough and long-lasting, but there is not a single design to fulfill all functions. The type you choose will depend on many factors, such as how often you will use it.
We’re here to offer you several types of commercial overhead options, so you have the most extensive possible selection. Our stock includes:
- Architectural Designs: Architectural entries feature large, sunlight-admitting windows. These decorative choices are best for car dealers or mechanics because the customers will see the exteriors.
- Counter Shutters: Counter shutters or grilles extend down to the top of a service counter. These shutters are best for securing areas behind a counter after hours.
- Energy Series: Our energy-efficient series has insulation to provide R-values up to R-9.1. With added insulation, these entries protect the temperature inside your facility during both the intense Houston heat in the summer and the mild winters.
- Fire Doors: Fire portals protect your business by creating a barrier if flames threaten your building.
- Industrial Series: Our highly customizable industrial openings are built to last, even with heavy use. They are perfect for use in high-traffic industrial zones such as loading docks and warehouses.
- Roll-Up Sheet Openings: Many storage facilities use our utilitarian roll-up steel entries.
- Security Grilles: We have several security grilles and shutters to protect your business from theft. Browse our offerings of closed and open grille designs in both roll-up and side-folding designs.
Commercial Door Uses
Commercial doors have numerous uses that make them an invaluable part of any business. Almost any company can benefit from commercial garage entrances. Even businesses that have a more significant concern for aesthetics can integrate these architecturally stunning openings into their building design.
Examples of businesses that may need a commercial garage door include:
- Hotels: The hospitality industry has such widely varying styles that incorporating commercial garage doors into space is easy. Rolling gates with multiple windows built into them can let in light while blocking off closed areas. These doors are ideal for creating decorative barriers when a room is not in use. When opened, the entryway joins the formerly closed-off space to the rest of the hotel, creating a large, spacious room. Use these doors to separate indoor pools from the outside or a breakfast serving area from the rest of the lobby.
- Restaurants: Like hotels, restaurants can separate areas of their facilities with commercial garage doors. Indoor and outdoor eating areas aren’t always in use, but when you do have the outside open for seating, a larger opening through a commercial garage portal makes it easier for servers to move between the areas. Depending on your décor, the chic industrial look of one of these openings may fit in perfectly.
- Yoga Studios and Gyms: Breathing in the fresh air on sunny days can boost your patrons’ workouts. You can also bring a little sunlight into your workout areas by installing commercial overhead openings to separate outdoor and indoor exercise sites. Especially in Houston, working out in the elements may not always be an option — but for those days when the weather allows, you can open the garage door and host classes inside and out.
- Securing Areas: You may have portions of your business you need to keep partitioned off during certain parts of the day. A rolling grille is ideal for these situations because it lets you see inside while keeping the area locked. You may want to keep a lunchroom secure when not in use. Or, if you have an office area with limited hours, you can lock it with a grille over the counter. The grille informs customers from across the room that the counter service is currently not available.
- Increasing Light: If you have a garage area, consider full-view portals that have windows installed over most of their area. These windows admit natural light while protecting against the elements. With more natural light, you can reduce your reliance on overhead lights.
Parts of a Commercial Door
The components of a commercial opening are essential to understanding, especially when you’re comparing products to purchase. First, you’ll need to select the form of the portal. Next, you’ll make choices based on the insulation, color and size you need.
1. Design Types
The two main types of commercial options available are rolling grilles and sectional entryways. Sheet design is another style that is less common. Sectional entries have several sections connected with hinges. These portals are those often used for garage openings, and you can have windows in some or all of the parts to create different levels of views. Rolling grilles have smaller sections that roll into a barrel when opened. Often, rolling grilles are used for security because you can see through the gaps while keeping the area locked.
2. Insulation
Insulation is essential when you have a commercial garage opening on an exterior wall, primarily when used with a climate-controlled building. Several measurements are used for insulation, and understanding them will help you choose the right door for your application:
- R-Value: The R-value is the one most often referred to when talking about insulation. This number measures how well the material can slow down heat transmission. Typically, R-values are calculated based on ideal conditions for the insulation on a specific section. The insulation thickness divided by the K-value gives the R-value for the insulation. The higher the R-value, the more the opening will reduce heat loss.
- K-Value: K-values are standard numbers based on the type of insulation. Expanded polystyrene has K-values between 0.235 and 0.265, but polyurethane foam has K-values of 0.15 to 0.18.
- U-Value: The Door and Access Systems Manufacturers Association International (DASMA) prefers the tested U-value when reporting insulation abilities of a garage portal. Usually, when determining the U-value, the entire entry undergoes testing. The U-value measures how much heat flows through the material — the lower the U-value, the better performing the insulation.
3. Clearance and Size
The size of the opening and the size of the installed product are not always the same. Several terms describe both, and you’ll need to comprehend these to make the required measurements when ordering your garage opening covers or rolling grilles:
- Lift-Clearance: The lift-clearance distance refers to how far the bottom of the track is from the top of the opening.
- Headroom: The measurement from the top of the door to the ceiling measures the headroom. When choosing commercial doors, use the amount of vertical space along the entire length of the horizontal overhead track.
- Opening Size: The opening size refers to the space between walls where you will install the door. This measurement may also be called the daylight opening. When measuring for garage doors, the width is the first number given, and the height is the second.
- Sideroom: Sideroom measures how much space you have on either side of the opening. Depending on the product you’ll install, you may need more or less sideroom to install the tracks and lift hardware on the sides.
- Backroom: The backroom measures how much depth you have in the room you’ll install the garage door on. Not all entries require a large amount of distance from the opening to the back of the space. If you’re installing rolling grilles, you may not need as much backroom as you would when installing a sectional option.
What to Consider When Buying a Commercial Door
The garage entrance industry has grown significantly over the last five years. During this time, industry revenue in garage entry installation has reached $330 million, and the number of businesses offering installation has increased by 2.6 percent. With so much competition, you need to know what makes a quality garage portal and what to look for in an installation company. While competition is good for consumers, you still have to make the right selection when it comes to your commercial garage entrances.
Here are six factors to consider before you buy a commercial door.
1. Operation
Commercial garage opening operation can be with an operator or by hand. Mechanically operated doors save you from having to lift the door when needed. Because most commercial portals are more substantial than standard home garage openings, a machine operator may be a better choice than manual entry. However, anyone can manually open and close smaller commercial options, such as shutters over a counter. The type of product you install will help you choose the operator to accompany it.
Operators come in several styles, based on how the door opens. Here are just some of the operators we offer:
- Door Lock Hoist/Jackshaft Operators: Door lock hoists include sensors on the lock and a chain for manually opening a grille or rolling door.
- Hoist Operators: With manually operated floor chains, hoist operators make an ideal alternative in case of power outages that render a motorized operator inactive.
- Jackshaft Operators: For sites lacking overhead space, a jackshaft operator installs on the side of the door. These also include manual operation in the event of motor failure or power outage.
- Overhead Door Operators: Overhead door operators come in many styles, including our extra-quiet Liftmaster HCTDCU operator, which is ideal for use in multi-family residential facilities.
- Sliding Door Operators: Sliding door operators pull apart double sliding doors or pull open a single sliding door.
- Trolley Operators: Trolley operators are the classic door lifting motor. Ours have the strength needed for multiple industrial and commercial uses.
2. Appearance
The appearance of your commercial garage entrances is especially vital if the openings are in an area your customers may see. Decorative designs with more windows, such as full view products, are better for these customer-viewable areas. But, there are other appearance choices, too, such as the door’s design.
Appearance factors to consider include:
- Rolling: Rolling gates have small sections in the door that roll into a cylinder when opened. Slats in the opening let you see through the gate while still creating a barrier. These types of commercial entries are often used for security purposes.
- Sheet: Sheet entries have parts similar to rolling gates and 24-inch sections similar to sectional doors. These designs have numerous paint options and typically cost the least to purchase and have installed.
- Sectional: Sectional openings have multiple parts connected with hinges. You have the choice of steel or aluminum for material. Designs include full-view glass and panels. Among the products available for commercial use, sectional portals have the most design options.
3. Durability
Durability relates to how long the product will last after its installation. Among the three types, rolling shutters or grilles are the most durable because their springs are safely concealed. Rolling grilles also have a long hinge that doesn’t wear as quickly.
Sheet and sectional designs have multiple components. Sheet entries have springs that are hard to reach and service. Meanwhile, sectional portals have cables that are easily lubricated, but this style has multiple hinges on each section. More hinges increase the points of wear on the product.
4. Cost of Maintenance
Maintaining commercial garage doors is tied to their durability. Sectional doors have easier-to-reach components, making replacements and maintenance simpler. However, rolling grilles have the lowest maintenance costs, as they typically do not require any servicing since their heavy-duty parts are long wearing. The design of sheet entries requires replacement of the entire product if a component wears out.
5. Energy Efficiency
Of course, saving money on energy costs can offset the maintenance or installation costs of commercial garage entryways. Products with Clopay’s Intellicore insulation can achieve R values up to 22.2, for the most significant energy efficiency among our choices. These R-values are seen on sectional options. Rolling gates can reach R-values of 8.1.
Sheet styles are the least energy efficient models with a foil-covered insulating blanket on the opening held by stays.
6. Initial Cost
The purchase and installation costs for new commercial entries often are the deciding factors when selecting models. Among design styles, sheet styles cost the least for installation, while the products themselves cost about the same as sectional portals.
Rolling grilles often cost slightly more for installation due to the requirements for stronger hardware to support the weight. Of course, these costs do not consider options you select. The number of windows, color, insulation and size all play roles in the final price of the products you purchase.
Choose Your Perfect Commercial Overhead Door in Houston Today
At Halo Overhead Doors, we are the commercial overhead door experts. We’re sure we can find you a door you are going to love, and we can arrange for fast installation from established commercial garage door installation experts so you can start putting your new door to good use right away.
We have the professionals available who know overhead garage design choices for commercial use. Let our experts at Halo Overhead Doors help you get the high-end roll up doors you need for your business. Our wide selection makes finding the right entry easier than ever — and we’re the only Clopay Master Installer and Dealer in Houston, so you can be assured you’re receiving high-quality installation in addition to your purchase.
Come on down to our huge showroom in Houston and one of our knowledgeable and friendly experts will help you find just the right door for your business. Or, if you prefer, you can learn more about our fantastic commercial overhead doors by giving us a call at 713-224-3667 or contacting us online.