Sectional, panel lift, up and over
These names all describe one kind of door. B&D describes a sectional door as panels that run up on tracks and then across the garage ceiling, and says it is also called a sliding, overhead or up and over door. B&D's main sectional doors carry the names Panelift and Panelift Icon.
With the door open the panels sit overhead, so nothing swings out over the driveway, but the ceiling has to stay clear for the tracks and the motor.
The room a Steel-Line sectional door needs
| Standard install | Low headroom install | |
|---|---|---|
| Headroom above the opening | 290mm | 200mm front mount, 150mm rear mount |
| Side room each side | 125mm | 150mm |
| With an opener fitted | Add 50mm to the headroom | Add 50mm to the headroom |
How deep the garage has to be
B&D's sectional door guide gives the depth needed inside the garage, which it calls backroom: 3374mm for doors up to 2400mm high and 4164mm for doors from 2401mm to 3000mm, based on one of its ceiling-mounted openers and rail. A workbench or a second fridge at the back of a short garage can be in the way.
Steel-Line makes each door at least 25mm wider than the opening on each side and 30mm taller, so a 2130mm opening gets a 2160mm high door.
Insulation for a Perth garage
B&D says insulation is available on all its sectional doors and helps keep the garage cooler in summer and warmer in winter. It also says an insulated door can cut outside noise by 18dB, about double a standard uninsulated Panelift, citing an independent Acoustic Logic test.
Steel-Line fits insulation into the back of the panels on its standard sectional doors and recommends brush seals to go with it. Its Mammoth Modern Insulation has a thermal value of R1.09, according to Steel-Line.
Finishes and windows
Steel-Line sells sectional doors in Colorbond, DecoWood, UniCote LUX, Savannah and Matt Finish ranges, plus more than 70 Dulux colours, but it says DecoWood may not be available in some regions, giving WA as the example. Windows only go into its Ranch or Heritage profiles in standard Colorbond colours.
Sectional doors around Perth
On the bush edge
B&D says its BAL-Maze system on Panelift and Panelift Icon doors performed up to BAL-40 in CSIRO testing. That is worth asking about in suburbs near bush like Roleystone and Kelmscott, where the 2011 fire destroyed 69 homes.
Close to the coast
Steel-Line's warranty excludes installs within 800 metres of the sea, so in beachside streets ask how the cover on your door is worded before you buy.
Wind and the code
WA brings AS/NZS 4505 in from wind region B. In the Cyclone Yasi street surveys, 6% of sectional doors were damaged against 29% of roller doors, the Cyclone Testing Station found.
What we would do
Measure from the opening to the back wall before you get quotes. In a short garage, B&D's backroom figures tell you quickly whether a ceiling-mounted opener fits, or whether a wall-mounted opener like Merlin's Commander Ultimate is worth asking about.