Roller, Sectional and Tilt Garage Doors on the Sunshine Coast

A sectional door is made of hinged horizontal panels. Rollers on each panel run in tracks up the sides and back along the ceiling, so the door ends up flat above the car. Torsion springs on a shaft above the opening do the lifting, through a cable and drum on each side.

Sectional doors seal well and run quietly on a good opener. They need some headroom above the opening and clear ceiling space for the tracks. With more moving parts than a roller door, they need more looking after. Rollers, hinges, cables and springs all wear, and a regular service keeps them in step.

A roller door is a single steel curtain that rolls up onto a drum above the opening. Springs inside the drum take most of the weight, which is why a good roller door lifts easily by hand. There's no ceiling track, so roller doors suit sheds and garages with low ceilings.

Over time the spring tension drops, and the door gets heavy or won't stay up. Bent guides and worn bearings make it drag, and near the beach, salt and sand build up in the guides. Most roller door repairs come down to spring tension and the guides.

A tilt door is one solid panel that swings out and then up into the garage. It pivots on arms at each side, with springs to balance the weight. Tilt doors are common on older homes, and some newer homes use them for a flush, custom look.

They need clear space in front of the garage, because the bottom of the door swings out as it opens. Keep that in mind if you park close to the door. As they age, the springs weaken and the pivot hardware wears, so the door sags or won't stay up. A tired tilt door can often be brought back with new springs and hardware.

Most custom and timber-look doors are sectional doors with a different face, like timber, timber-look steel, glass panels or a flush modern finish. They run on the same kind of tracks and springs as a standard sectional door.

The difference is weight. A timber or glass door can be much heavier than a steel one, so the springs and opener have to be matched to it. A heavy door on springs or an opener that's too light wears out fast. Thom checks that match whenever he services or repairs one.

Start with the opening. Measure the headroom, which is the space between the top of the opening and the ceiling. Roller doors need little headroom. Sectional doors need more for the tracks and springs. Then look up. If you've got storage racks or a ceiling fan in the garage, a sectional door's tracks may clash with them.

Next, think about how you use the space. If the garage doubles as a gym or a workshop, a sectional door keeps out more dust and noise. For a shed on acreage, a roller door's simplicity is hard to beat. Tilt doors need room to swing out, so they don't suit a short driveway.

Salt air is the biggest thing coastal doors fight. It rusts springs and cables, and it pits the finish on steel doors. Doors facing the sea breeze in suburbs like Mooloolaba, Kings Beach and Yaroomba wear faster than doors a few kilometres inland.

A few habits help. Hose the door down regularly to wash the salt off, more often if you're close to the water, and rinse the tracks and guides too. Keep grease off the tracks, where it only collects sand. Get the door serviced, so rust on a spring or cable is caught before it lets go.

A well-kept garage door can last for many years, and most of the parts that wear out can be replaced. Springs, rollers, cables and openers have their own lifespans and get swapped as they go. The door itself usually lasts much longer, unless rust or a car gets to it first.

The signs a door is near the end are rust through the panels, or parts that aren't made any more. Until then, repairs and regular servicing are usually the better spend.

If you're weighing up a new door, the questions above are the ones that matter. Measure your opening and headroom first, and think about the salt and wind where you live. For what the job itself involves, from taking out the old door to setting up the opener, see garage door installation.

Thom can talk you through the door types and what suits your garage. New door supply and installation by Deadlock: Only work valued at $3,300 or less.