Small roller doors and big shed doors
Roller doors come small enough for a garden shed and wide enough for a machinery shed. Steel-Line's A series starts at openings 750mm wide, and its B light industrial series runs to 5500mm.
Whatever the size, the roll needs room above the opening. On a low shed or a skillion carport that is the number to check first, and bigger doors need more of it.
Width and headroom, two makers
| Opening width | Headroom above the opening | |
|---|---|---|
| Steel-Line A series | 750mm to 3430mm | 430mm to 510mm |
| Steel-Line B series (light industrial) | 2855mm to 5500mm | Up to 570mm |
| B&D Series 1 Roll-A-Door | Up to 3150mm, counting the curtain overlap | 430mm to 470mm, by model and height |
| B&D Series 2 and Series 3 | Larger doors | 515mm to 620mm |
Wind, sheds and carport roller doors
In a big wind the roller door is the part of a shed to watch. The Cyclone Testing Station's report on Cyclone Yasi found many roller doors first came out of their side guides, and several sheds had further cladding damage after a roller door failed.
The building code's garage door rule for wind regions C and D, AS/NZS 4505, is written for doors in the external walls of homes. For a shed or carport, ask the door specialist and your council what rating applies; Steel-Line's wind rated brochure also sends owners to the local council for wind load requirements.
Buying a shed roller door as a kit
Some shed doors are sold as kits, and there are two things to know before you buy one. The springs in the drum are wound under tension, and Steel-Line warns against owners tensioning a roller door because of the risk of serious injury or death.
The warranty can also depend on who fits the door. Gliderol covers components, labour and workmanship on its residential A, AA and B series doors for 1 year when they are fitted by someone Gliderol has authorised, and where a third party supplies the product it covers defects of manufacture only.
Shed door jobs you can do, and the ones to hand over
You can
- Measure the opening, the headroom and the side room
- Hose the curtain down and wipe out the side guides
- Keep grease and oil out of the guides
- Check the PVC seal along the bottom rail for damage
Leave to a door specialist
- Setting or changing the spring tension
- Fixing the drum brackets to the shed frame
- A curtain that has come out of its guides
- A new power point for a motor, done by a licensed electrician
Adding a motor to a shed door
Shed doors can be motorised like garage doors. Gliderol's Rollamatic GEN II sits inside the door roll for residential roller doors up to 12 square metres, and its Glidermatic Heavy Duty needs 120mm of side room.
If the shed has no power point near the door, putting one in is electrical work, and in Australia that needs the correct electrical licence, so a licensed electrician does it. Gliderol recommends servicing its residential roller doors every 24 months, motor or not.
Leave the spring tension to a door specialist
Kit or not, a roller door's springs are wound up inside the drum. Steel-Line says loosening the U-bolts can release that tension and bring the door down with force, so never undo them yourself. For a curtain off its guides, B&D's advice is not to lift it back on alone, since springs or cables may be broken.
What we would do
Before ordering a kit for a low shed or carport, hold the headroom above the opening against the maker's figure for that size. If there is less room than the roll needs, ask a door specialist about a smaller series or a different door before you buy, not after it arrives.