What Are the Optimal Commercial Doors & Garage Door Openers for Car Dealerships? [Case Study]

These full-view garage doors are in the G-4400 design, 14' 0" X 12' 0 with an anodized aluminum frame.

This stunning, open space has a lot to work with! It's amazing how smoothly you can transition cars to your dealership's service area with these G-4400 commercial garage doors. These all-glass doors create an amazing space and make it easy to move cars into and out of the service area at your dealership.

There are many changes to your dealership that can be used to draw in new customers. What are they? What can I do to make my dealership unique among the competition?

If you're searching for answers to these questions, you've found the right place for guidance. While you can implement different marketing strategies to increase sales, you only have one chance for your brand to make an impact on potential customers.

RelayCars’ blog shows that the modern consumer is internet savvy, spending up to 14 hours online researching for vehicle purchases. Because they're aware of what they're looking for, they typically make their purchase at the first or second dealership they visit.

A disappointing impression may put off customers and prompt them to take their business to the competition. Maintaining a professional atmosphere will ensure that potential customers view your business as a stand-out brand.

Salesperson displaying various cars to potential clients in a stunning and bright showroom.

Keep your showroom in impeccable shape and make good use of the space to keep your customers comfortable. Image from Freepik.

This is the place to find all the information you need when it comes to assisting with car dealership design! We take special care answering questions about commercial garage doors and garage door openers (otherwise known as operators) and helping to figure out your needs!

These full-view commercial garage doors are in the G-4400 construction, 14' X 12' with an customized color frame

The high-speed overhead doors like our G-4400 guarantee that you see everything happening. This will ensure your customers receive exemplary service! Separate entrance and exit doors let cars be easily transitioned with ease between indoor and outdoor areas.

The goal of this blog is to offer you high-quality recommendations when choosing commercial garage doors and garage door openers. With the right choices, your space will be satisfying to see, and it will better serve you, your vehicles, and your customers. Finding the right look will help the outside match the service your customers will receive inside!

All-Glass Full-View Garage Doors > Provide a Versatile Way to Display Your Most Stylish Vehicles and to Relocate Them After the Showroom

This full-view commercial garage door is in the G-4400 construction, 14'X 8' with an customized color frame.

The solid glass G-4400 overhead door maintains the sleek appearance of this building. Take advantage of our personalized colors for your garage door. Coordinate the colors of your new overhead door with your window frames, building, or your other doors!

Our G-4400 garage doors are aesthetically pleasing and functional. They boast several useful features that will work for your business, and you'll see how they are right for you.

Here are 3 things to know about our commercial all-glass overhead doors:

1. They are available in a wide range of standard colors in addition to our range of semi-custom garage-door colors.

An image of the garage door colors offered with our full-view G-4400 commercial garage door

If you love these colors and want identical matches, check here for the color codes on GENTEK or ROYAL (aluminum coil suppliers).

If you're searching for something you don't see in the color offerings, speak to our team!

We would be thrilled to create a customized color for your overhead door to better allow you to coordinate with your exterior features. Find something to set your business apart!

Keep in mind: Different types of sheen (flat, satin, semi-gloss, or gloss), door materials (wood, steel, aluminum, etc), and method of applying the color (spray, brush, and so on) can alter the final product.

2. Whether you're looking for full transparency or a more private setup, you'll find what works best for you in our selection of 20 different types of garage door glass.

Image of the 8 different type of glass offered with our G-4400 commercial doors. Clear, Satin, Graylight, Mirrorpane, Satin Grey, SuperGrey Tinted, Satin Black, and Fluted Polycarbonate Bronze.

If you want a tempered glass or are searching for something non-tempered, these all-glass G-4400 garage doors have an option for you. Each of these glass options meet safety standards.

Time to learn about tempered glass!

At 5x the strength with a higher resistance to breaking, tempered glass is the champion. If damaged, shattered glass will be less dangerous and smaller than the shards produced by standard glass.

3. For your peace of mind, our all-glass commercial doors come equipped with a limited warranty.

  • Seal defects for standard garage door windows are covered for 10 years
  • You are insured against rust-related perforation of aluminum for 10 years
  • All other garage door components are covered for 1 year

Commercial Sectional Overhead Steel Doors Insulated with Injected Polyurethane > Keep Your Energy Inside Where It Belongs

Our impressive energy-saving garage doors have top-of-the-line insulation and garage door weatherstripping. This system works to keep your energy and heat inside and cut down on energy loss.

There are three things to keep in mind concerning these overhead garage doors:

These sectional commercial garage doors are in the G-5000 construction

These G-5000 commercial garage doors use a high-pressure injected polyurethane foam to achieve unbeatable insulation. This protects your building and your vehicles from damage caused by water leaks and cold air.

1. We've got colors! Our G-5000, G-5138, and G-5200 overhead garage door models come with several choices. There are 5 standard or 4 premium colors to suit your needs.

An image of the standard and premium garage door colors offered with G-5000 commercial garage doors.

IMPORTANT REMINDER: We also make custom colors for these commercial sectional doors!

2. We strive to provide choices. For insulating your commercial garage door model you can choose between these insulation options:

  • G-5138 = R-12
  • G-5000 = R-16
  • G-5200 = R-18

Better insulation has a higher R-value.

The R-Value can change with your location, the level of insulation, and the purpose of our space, since R-level indicates thermal resistance. This is a term used in building and construction lingo, but it's important to know when choosing insulation.

Garage doors that have been injected with high-pressure polyurethane foam are more reliable when it comes to preserving and retaining energy.

Go with Polyurethane for dependability:

  • Rain and cold weather won't win against polyurethane
  • Polyurethane acts as a solid barrier against air and vapour
  • Reinforce the resistance to flexion your garage door has. Polyurethane adheres to the walls of the door and will guarantee you see improvement.
  • Polyurethane insulation is twice as effective as Polystyrene for the same level of thickness.

An illustration that explains the difference between  Styrofoam and polyurethane-insulated garage doors

Check out this comparison of polyurethane versus Styrofoam for yourself!

3. Our G-5000 commercial steel doors also come with a limited warranty.

  • You're protected for 10 years from perforation of the steel due to rust.
  • Any rot or cracking of the wooden end blocks is covered for 10 years.
  • Don't worry about delamination of the steel skin from the polyurethane foam. We have that covered for 10 years.
  • All other door components are covered for a year.
  • Standard windows are protected for 10 years if you experience seal defects.

This commercial overhead garage door is in the G-5000 construction, 7' X 8', and insulated with injected with high-pressure polyurethane foam.

Coming in at 7' x 8', our G-5000 garage door is smaller than previous models. Whether you're searching for a larger size door to fit in tall trucks or something smaller, we have you covered. We can create custom garage doors suited to the unique needs of your project.

High Lift and Vertical Lift > Commercial Building Owners and Car Dealers Alike Love These Lifts

For added clearance, this sectional G-4400 all-glass commercial garage door has high-lift tracks.

The high lift system pictured here is helpful if you have garage door tracks close to your ceiling. The high lift works by allowing the garage door to open vertically and move horizontally.

Finding a garage door suitable for commercial or industrial spaces is a whole new game compared with residential models! Check out the examples to see how.

The table below will determine the kind of clearance and lift you need.

Here you'll see 6 types of garage door lift:

Standard lift You'll need 10 inches of headroom for this most-used lift. Illustration of Garage Door Standard lift
High-lift track If you have high ceilings and a lot of overhead space, this high clearance lift is for you. Illustration of Garage Door High lift
Full vertical model Commercial projects have doors which open vertically along the wall above them, making the full vertical lift the ideal choice. Illustration of Garage Door Full vertical lift
Inclined garage door tracks Vaulted and cathedral ceilings will typically require this lift. Illustration of Garage Door Inclined track
Front and rear low headroom Small spaces (fewer than 10 inches between the door and ceiling) are perfect for this lift. Illustration of Garage Door Low front headroom

If you're searching for a lift for an industrial, commercial, or agricultural location, go for the the higher amount of clearance provided by the high lift and vertical lift.

This commercial sectional garage door is in the G-5000 construction and has high lift. With tracks close to the ceiling like this one, there is a lot of overhead clearance

A commercial garage door with this high lift hardware has an impressive amount of overhead clearance. It's a quiet, easy to maintain, energy-efficient garage door that can meet a wide range of needs.

When You're Talking Commercial and Industrial Garage Doors, The Right Hardware Makes All the Difference

There is one critical step you can't miss. Have garage door experts properly calculate the length and thickness of springs.

Commercial doors are heavy and engage the open and close cycle frequently. This makes having the correct springs an important part of the process, as they bear a heavy workload. The door opener begins the process and the springs finish it.

Springs account for weight and physical transfer:

  • If your door utilizes frequent open and close cycles, you'll need a longer spring.

BUT

  • Shorter springs are stronger than their longer counterparts.

A trained garage door expert will be able to find the right spring for the job.

3 varieties of commercial hardware

Commercial doors typically use "high lift" hardware because commercial buildings often have high ceilings. This hardware offers better clearance, and it is able to follow the ceiling.

Hardware Light Duty
  • 14-gauge steel tracks and mounting brackets*
  • Pull rope
  • Single hinges
Heavy Duty
  • 13-gauge steel tracks and mounting brackets*
  • Pull chain
  • Single or double hinges
Super Heavy Duty
  • 12-gauge steel tracks and mounting brackets*
  • Pull chain or chain hoists
  • Single or double hinges
  • Reinforcement bars
Hardware

Light Duty

  • 14-gauge steel tracks and mounting brackets*
  • Pull rope
  • Single hinges

Heavy Duty

  • 13-gauge steel tracks and mounting brackets*
  • Pull chain
  • Single or double hinges

Super Heavy Duty

  • 12-gauge steel tracks and mounting brackets*
  • Pull chain or chain hoists
  • Single or double hinges
  • Reinforcement bars

*The lower the gauge number, the thicker the steel

Let's apply this to the commercial door itself:

  • Large and heavy commercial hardware goes with the height and overhead clearance of the commercial door.
  • Commercial doors can have a thickness range of 1-⅜ to 2 inches. They will be insulated with polystyrene or polyurethane as discussed above.
  • Strength, toughness, and energy efficiency are some of the most desired qualities in commercial doors.
  • Polyurethane has notable benefits when compared to an uninsulated door. Because it adheres so strongly to the walls of the door, the insulation keeps the door structurally sound.

Hardware is the final ingredient in making sure you have exactly the right commercial door for your needs! Commercial hardware is unique and does not match residential hardware.

Commercial sectional doors are operated at a high frequency. You want a mechanism that can keep up! They require sturdy hardware to support the large, heavy door.

The differences are easy to spot:

  • Thinner steel can be used on less-used residential doors.
  • Commercial doors have tracks and rollers that are 2 to 3 inches long and are made with thicker steel to accommodate the size difference.

Counterbalancing requires a different spring system.

Rather than base your choice of system entirely on size, think about how often it will perform the open/closing cycle and consider the bigger picture of how much the door needs to handle.

You'll need a spring system that can support 25,000 to 100,000 cycles if your commercial door opens anywhere from 25 to 50 times a day. These calculations are vital for the right equipment.

Factor in how your door moves

For residential doors, they'll only require standard or reduced clearance.

The door's height and how much clearance is available above the door will be considerations for commercial doors. These determine whether or not there is movement with elevation and if the door moves vertically.

Depending on how much gravity the building owner attaches to service interruptions of the doors and the resulting repair cost, there are other considerations to be made when purchasing commercial doors. There are parts that can be matched to the specifications of your particular building.

Commercial Garage Door Openers > Stalwart and Tough to Get the Job Done

This is LiftMaster's RBH operator, a jackshaft-type that is robust and powerful with a chain to open it manually.

You're looking at a jackshaft-type operator. This operator is best suited for garage doors with high lift, as it's mounted on the garage door's sidewall. This operator is favored for its versatility and power and has a chain that allows you to manually open the garage door.

There is no single answer when you're talking about price quotes and cost of door openers. Ask these three things when performing price checks:

Voltage

Are you looking for 115, 220, or 550 volts? If you're weighing the 220 V against the 115 V and you have a door operating at high frequency, go with the 220 V. Choose the higher voltage.

Engine power

½, ¾, or 1 hp? A door opener is intended to substitute human power, so ½ hp will do the job for small doors, but you'll need ¾ hp for larger models (ex.: 14' x 14').

Central or side opener

If your door is raised or moves entirely vertically, you need a jackshaft (or sideways) type of door opener. Make sure it comes with a chain hoist.

115-, 220-, or 575-Volt door openers power North American Commercial door openers. Residential door openers will use a 115-Volt.

Want to know the NUMBER ONE jackshaft-type garage door opener? Here's the LiftMaster model RBH operator. This operator is suitable for both commercial and industrial applications.

  • The Liftmaster model is strong enough to lift large garage doors.
  • It can handle a higher amount of open and close cycles.
  • Use the Liftmaster model for larger sectional doors, those with a vertical or high lift or that uses rolling doors and grilles.

Defining RBH:

This acronym translates to Roller Bearing (chain) Hoist. LiftMaster’s RBH operator has the sturdiest roller bearings in order to get the most life out of your drive system and have a smooth mechanism.

Check out the drawing below to see the main components of a garage door opener for yourself.

Important Features of the LiftMaster RBH

Drawing of all the key components and parts of a commercial garage door opener. This is LiftMaster's RBH operator

Clutch

The clutch comes in...clutch! This part halts any sudden movements in the garage door's open or close cycle and prevents damage to the door and operator.

Operator Motor

  • Overload protection is a built-in fail-safe. It will shut down before any damage is suffered from overheating.
  • This is a quick start piece due to the shaft coupling's high starting torque during run-up.
  • It generates error codes to make the diagnostics process quick and simple for repairmen who help get your opener working for you again.

Timer

  • You can customize the timer for your personal needs, ranging from one second to 99 minutes.
  • You don't have to worry about your motor idling thanks to the TimerSecure, Race timer function.
  • The Mid-Course Stop function saves the two most valuable things: energy and time.
  • Dealership Mode offers the ability to set your door to open to a programmable height and then shut without needing to press remote the usual three times.

Wall control panel

After your door has completed a specific number of open and close cycles, the MAS (Maintenance Alert System), will flash an alert using a LED light. You can program this alert in increments of 1000 cycles to act as a reminder of necessary inspections and preventative maintenance.

Heavy-duty industrial dual-sided photo eyes (CPS-UN4) > Available exclusively with G-4400 commercial garage doors

Suitable for indoor or outdoor use, the heavy-duty polycarbonate housings are built to keep out water, dust, and dirt and come equipped with solid sensor lights that indicate proper sensor alignment. These are ideal for commercial spaces that contend with nuisances like oil, water, and dirt.

Choose a commercial door operator that will be compatible with existing 575 Volt for lower power bills!

Trained Professionals Are Standing By! We Are Eager to Assist With Your Commercial Garage Doors and Operators for Your Car Dealership or Commercial/Industrial Space!

Have you thought about your business and your unique needs? Do you have a vision you want to realize? Bring it to our garage door experts at A-1 Overhead Door Systems!

  • We provide a free consultation in our showroom or we can bring the consultation to you at your business.
  • We also give a quotation at no cost to you, including a detailed look at our offerings, while taking into close consideration that the price of a garage door installation depends on a number of factors.
  • To make sure you receive a thorough assessment and quote, we take on-site measurements.
  • Garage doors are critical to your building and are likely the biggest moving pieces that see daily use. They're highly significant for your business so they're important to us, too! That's why we offer a Planned Preventive Maintenance program for all your garage doors.

Don't settle for less - get exactly what you need from your commercial garage door. The price of repair service calls is no joke, and your project is worth the extra upfront cost. Be smart now and save later!

Contact us right away at 978-342-3344!

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