Our full list of Questions and Answers is shown below, click on the more link to see the detailed answers to some of the questions.
Obviously a lot depends on your structural opening and internal dimensions as well as your preference for colour, electric operation and many other factors but if put on the spot to give a quick answer we would say the sectional garage door does tick more boxes than the roller garage door. For a detailed explanation of both doors as a comparison see our 'sectional vs roller door' page.
One thing is very true with roller doors that is not quite such an issue with sectional doors and that is the old saying 'Buy cheap and buy twice'. A cheap roller shutter door is not worth bothering with and you would be better off with a good quality up and over with a 10 year guarantee.
When we say 'cheap' there are some very, very good prices on offer for the Gliderol single skin steel roller door and that is a no frills excellent roller garage door that would always be a better buy than a low quality aluminium roller door, there is a lower limit specification on these type of roller doors where they are best avoided.
The roller door is only popular in the UK as it is the one that is most advertised and promoted and this is driven from the simple fact that it is relatively easy to manufacture one with minimal set up costs, albeit usually not very good in quality. The best roller doors are manufactured by a handful of large established companies who have vast experience in manufacturing garage doors. Many small manufacturers have sprung up in the UK to take advantage of a fast growing market which came about because it is possible to install a roller door into almost any size or shape of garage opening, and as they are all made to order you can also send out a salesperson with very little experience in doors and they can sell from some fairly basic measurements with confidence.
The sectional garage door is much more of a technical product and far more 3 dimensional and therefore harder to survey, sell and install easily without proper training. However a basic sectional door, even a single skin steel door is far stronger and more reliable than a cheap roller door and would offer better security all round. Also, remember every sectional garage door is manufactured as a manual door primarily with the electric operation as an option, most aluminium roller doors, especially larger doors are only ever electrically operated and therefore the quality and reliability of the motor and all associated electronics and safety systems are very important to the operation of the whole door and in an aluminium insulated roller door you cannot see the motor as it is fitted inside the barrel of the roller door mechanism. At least with a sectional garage door the motor choice is enormous and all the working parts are completely exposed and can be judged.
We do however appreciate that most people buy roller garage doors as they are neat and compact without tracks inside the garage and this should not be underestimated as a very valid reason for purchasing. What we see a lot of however are people asking us for spare parts for roller doors they have had fitted which have now failed after a very short period so again back to the saying 'Buy cheap and buy twice'!! If you do want a roller garage door then do your homework first and do not be tempted by lower and lower prices being offered on a roller garage door that is not generally recognised. All the roller doors and sectional doors on our website are thoroughly tried and tested as you would expect.
Call us for advice with your size, specifications and colour requirements (01926) 463888