NEW from Carteck - The Toplight Insulated Side Hinged Door

GarageDoorsOnline is pleased to announce the arrival of the new CarTeck Toplight insulated side hinged doors to our ecommerce range – a very practical upgrade for UK garages that are no longer used to park a car but still need to be secure, dry and usable all year round. You can now browse and configure the full range in our online shop.

A better use of your garage

Across the UK, more garages are used as store rooms, home gyms, workshops and utility spaces than as actual parking bays. A big, draughty up-and-over door is rarely ideal for that. The Toplight side hinged doors are purpose-built for this kind of everyday use: you open just one leaf for quick access, the integrated toplight windows bring natural daylight inside, and the insulated panels help keep the chill off while you get on with things.

Insulated panels that actually make a difference

Each CarTeck side hinged door is built from 40mm thick interlocking insulated steel panels with a rigid foam core, set in an aluminium hollow section frame. The complete doorset is designed as a system, with the panels, frame and seals working together to reduce heat loss. For a garage that backs onto the house, or where you do a bit of work through the winter, that means a noticeably warmer, less draughty space and less chance of condensation on tools and belongings.

Double weather strips around the leaves and three-sided seals in the frame help cut down cold air trickling in around the edges, while the standard aluminium threshold includes a thermal break to reduce cold transfer from outside. In day-to-day use it means fewer cold draughts around your ankles and a much more stable temperature in the garage.

Secure access you can use every day

Because a lot of non‑parking garages hold bikes, tools and stored household items rather than vehicles, security is just as important as insulation. Toplight side hinged doors use a high-spec euro cylinder as standard, with anti‑drill and anti‑pick protection and a sacrificial break‑off section that still allows the lock to be operated with the key. The inactive leaf is locked with top and bottom flush bolts, so when you only need pedestrian access you can leave the second leaf firmly secured.

For garages that connect directly into the house, or where you’re keeping higher‑value equipment, you can step up to the optional 3‑point hook locking. This uses hook locks at the top and bottom of the active leaf plus a central mortice lock, making it very difficult to prise the leaves apart. Combined with heavy‑duty concealed hinges that are hidden from view, you get a door that feels solid when you close it and offers a credible level of resistance to attack.

Natural light without losing privacy

One of the biggest frustrations with older garages used as utility space is the lack of daylight. The Toplight design solves this neatly. A row of vertical toplight windows runs across the upper section of the door, bringing in natural light so you can see what you’re doing without always switching on the strip light. The glazing is a scratch‑resistant polymer double pane; the outer face is frosted/satin to protect your privacy, while the inner pane is clear to maximise light levels.

Mock leaded designs in natural lead grey come as standard to give a classic look, but plain or alternative leading colours are also available if you prefer something more understated or to match existing windows. For a garage that faces the street, this combination of light and privacy is particularly useful.

Designed for UK homes and habits

These doors are made to measure up to 3.5m wide and 2.5m high, so they work just as well on a single garage that’s now a storeroom as on a larger opening that might once have taken a double up‑and‑over. You can choose a standard 50/50 split or an asymmetric layout to give yourself a wider everyday access door, which is ideal if you’re regularly wheeling bikes, lawnmowers or tools in and out rather than driving a car.

From a visual point of view, the Toplight range uses the same insulated panels as CarTeck sectional doors, with Trend and Trend Satin colours plus wood effect finishes like Golden Oak and Rosewood, so you can match the rest of the house. Whether you’re lining the garage out as a gym, shelving it as a store, or just want it to feel more like a usable room than a cold lock‑up, these insulated side hinged doors make that space far more pleasant to use day in, day out.

You can see the full CarTeck insulated side hinged range, including the new Toplight styles, in our online shop