Windows in a garage door
On Steel-Line doors, windows go only into the Ranch or Heritage sectional profiles, and only in standard Colorbond colours. So choosing windows can decide the profile and the colour as well.
For a garage that gets damp, Steel-Line offers ventilated window options.
Glass garage doors, acrylic and aluminium
For a glass look, B&D's Sheer Panel sectional door comes in acrylic, with a smooth glass-like gloss, or in Alpolic aluminium composite for a metallic finish.
Steel-Line's acrylic doors use an aluminium frame with aluminium composite panel inserts. It describes its aluminium composite doors as lightweight and weather-resistant, and says they absorb vibration.
To bring light into the garage, Steel-Line's polycarbonate multiwall door lets diffused light through and cuts glare.
What each custom option gives you
| What you get | Who lists it | |
|---|---|---|
| Windows | Daylight through the door, on Ranch or Heritage panels | Steel-Line |
| Acrylic | A smooth, glass-like gloss | B&D (Sheer Panel), Steel-Line |
| Aluminium composite | A metallic finish on a light door | B&D (Alpolic), Steel-Line |
| Polycarbonate multiwall | Diffused light with less glare | Steel-Line |
| Aluminium louvre | Privacy with approximately 22% ventilation | Steel-Line |
| Flush Mount | The door clad to match the front of the house | Steel-Line |
| Bi-fold and tilt custom doors | Made for architecturally designed homes | Gliderol |
A custom garage door that matches the house
If you would rather the garage door disappeared, Steel-Line's Flush Mount door is clad in whatever cladding the homeowner chooses, so it blends into the front of the house.
Steel-Line's specialty list also runs to mesh aluminium, aluminium bar, barn style and slatted doors. Gliderol lists Danmar Doors and Selections Doors among its speciality garage doors, and B&D gives its residential Designer Door a 10 year standard warranty.
Checking a custom door when it arrives
- Judge the finish from where you would normally stand. The Australian Garage Door Association's inspection guide says at least 2m away, in normal daylight.
- Under that guide, slight variations in colour and finish are not generally a defect.
- Pressed steel can show ripples, called oil-canning. The AGDA guide accepts it where the distortion over any 150mm is no more than 1mm.
- Wash the panels regularly to clear salt and dirt, as Steel-Line's door manual asks.
- Find out what servicing the warranty needs. B&D asks for a service in the first 12 months and then at least every two years.
What we would do
Before ordering a one-off design, agree with the door specialist how the finish will be judged on the day it arrives. Using the AGDA's test of two metres in normal daylight heads off an argument later, and a made-to-order door is not something anyone wants to send back.