- Runs sideways along the wall
- Manual or motorised
- Suits low-roof and basement garages
Sliding garage doors run sideways on a track rather than lifting, which makes them the answer for a small number of Pretoria garages where nothing else fits. Where the ceiling is unusable, a beam crosses immediately behind the opening, or the garage has an unusual shape, a side-sliding door solves what lifting doors cannot.
When a sliding garage door is the right answer
- Garages with no usable ceiling space, including converted spaces and older outbuildings.
- Openings with structure immediately behind the lintel that rules out tracks or a roller box.
- Garages where partial opening is useful, since a sliding leaf can be opened part way for pedestrian access.
- Wide openings where a single lifting leaf would be unmanageable.
What a sliding garage door needs from the garage
Clear wall alongside the opening for the leaf to slide onto. That is the constraint and the reason we survey before recommending. If the wall is interrupted by a window, downpipe or boundary, a sliding door will not work and we tell you at survey rather than after the order.
Sliding garage doors and ground conditions
Sliding doors are sensitive to the floor. A driveway that falls across the opening, a cracked apron or a threshold collecting grit will all cause a sliding leaf to bind. We check the ground at survey and include any preparation in the quotation.
Security and sealing on sliding garage doors
A well-specified sliding door locks securely, but it seals less completely than a sectional and has more exposed running gear than a roller shutter. On a Pretoria property where the garage holds real value we would usually recommend a roller shutter in security gauge if the opening can take one, and explain why.
Automating a sliding garage door
Sliding leaves can be automated with the correct operator and track. Safety edges matter more here than on most door types because the closing edge moves horizontally at chest height, so they are fitted as standard on automated installations.
Get a quote for a sliding garage door in Pretoria
Free survey, itemised written quotation including any ground preparation, fixed price once approved, twelve-month workmanship warranty.
Common questions
About sliding garage doors
When there is no headroom at all and a wall to slide along. The door runs sideways on a track instead of lifting, so nothing occupies the ceiling. Common on converted garages, workshops and buildings with services running under the roof slab.
Roughly the width of the opening, alongside it, kept clear. On a wide opening we build the door in two leaves that part in the middle, which halves the space needed on each side.
Yes, with a sliding gate motor sized for the leaf weight. The track has to be kept clean for it to run reliably, so it suits a covered or paved approach better than an exposed one.
Debris in the bottom track and worn rollers, in that order. Both are cheap to put right if you catch them early; left alone, a door dragging on a fouled track will wear the track itself.
Related
Also worth a look
Aluminium Garage Doors
For coastal air and wide openings
Rust-free aluminium garage doors for coastal homes, wide double openings and full-view glazed designs. Powder-coated to any RAL, with stainless fixings throughout.
- Extruded aluminium, stainless fixings
- Powder-coated, anodised or woodgrain
- Sectional, tip-up or roll-up slat
Residential Roller Shutter Doors
Homes, complexes and older single garages
Roller shutters for houses and complexes, including narrow low-lintel garages in the older suburbs where a standard door will not clear.
- Insulated aluminium, quiet running
- Battery backup for load shedding
Galvanised Roller Shutter Doors
Hot-dip galvanised roller shutter doors that resist rust in coastal and washdown environments. Manufactured to your opening at our Pretoria works.