Measuring for Roller Doors
Roller garage doors in the UK are split into two distinct categories - Insulated, double-skinned aluminium and non-insulated, single skin steel doors that are a continuous, one piece curtain.
The measuring for both doors is the same in terms of taking dimensions from your garage opening, but the positioning and ordering is quite different for each, with more options for installation positions with the aluminium roller doors.
The insulated aluminium type roller door is the most popular type in the UK and can be fitted inside, inbetween, and even outside of the opening of the garage. The design of the door ensures that the side guides are always exactly the same width as the overall endplate and hood cover width, suiting this type of door to fitting in almost any situation. The most important dimensions are the guide width and overall height. The overall height in this instance is defined as the guide height plus the relevant size of the endplates, which depends wholly on the model chosen and the height of the door. This type of roller garage door is stronger and more secure by its design in comparison to the steel roller door, with some considerable insulation offered too.
The 'continuous curtain' steel roller garage door is a roller door where the whole curtain is one large sheet of steel, with a profile rolled into the design to form horizontal grooves. As the curtain rolls around itself, the roll diameter is larger than a roller door made of individual aluminium slats. This type of roller door is great value for money, but you do have to be sure you understand how it is measured and ordered. There is, however, great flexibility in regards to the installation process, especially with the height. The guide design on a continuous curtain door means it can only ever be installed behind a structural opening or framework, as the guides are not an integral part of the whole door, but seperate steel channels fitted seperately to the support brackets for the curtain roll.
Please see the bottom of this page for a downloadable PDF survey and additional links.
Insulated Roller Garage Doors
** Please note the illustration below does not apply to the Hormann Rollmatic or Garador Gararoll insulated roller garage doors. The ordering dimensions for these doors are the dimensions inbetween the guides and underneath the roll and endplates. i.e. The daylight opening sizes NOT including the guides and hood/endplates and roll. If in any doubt please check with us before ordering.
Steel Continuous Curtain Roller Garage Doors (Gliderol Roller Doors)
Important: The majority of Steel Roller Garage Doors are ordered in imperial dimensions, meaning they may not always match exactly with metric sizes by a few millimetres. There is also a degree of tolerance built into the door panel itself, around 10mm in both the width and the height.
Measuring and Ordering an Aluminium Insulated Roller Garage Door
Measuring for an insulated roller door depends on the desired location of the door, as this can impact the exact dimensions required. These doors are typically ordered using the overall width (Over Guide Width), including the guides which differ in size between manufacturers. As a result, the overall ordering width may change depending on your choice of manufacturer. For example, the Hormann Rollmatic and Garador GaraRoll will have different ordering sizes for the same sized opening, and are likely to be different to most other manufacturers.
- Measure the Width of your opening from the top and the bottom in several places
- Measure the Height of your opening from inside of the opening to the floor in several places
- Measure the inside faces either side of the opening
- Measure the headroom inside available
For SeceuroGlide measuring, follow this link:
SeceuroGlide standard aluminium roller door measuring >
Please also refer to the 'measuring tab' shown in the online shop when placing an order.
Take the smallest measurements as the one to use. If there is a large difference in various places then it may be better to remove the frame and replace everything.
Back to the top Ordering your door
Measuring and Ordering a Steel Continuous Curtain Roller Garage Door
It is important to note that when measuring for a steel single-skin curtain Roller Garage Door, that they can only be fitted BEHIND the opening unless a timber or steel frame is fitted, enabling the guides and supports to face fit internally.
Measure the structural opening in the same way as any other door, ensuring sufficient side and headroom has been considered for the chosen model of steel roller door.
Take the clear daylight opening dimensions (assuming a back face installation) and add the guide size (curtain overlap) for each side. This gives you the ordering width, although the height measurement is only if there is sufficient headroom for the roll.
- Structural Width + 50mm (Gliderol Single Steel Roller Door) OR + 100mm (Gliderol Double Steel Roller Door) = Door Ordering Width
- Height - The guide height required, i.e. ideally the height of the underside of the RSJ/lintel opening = Door Ordering Height
The ordering height is simply the 'guide height', the height between the floor and the underside of the lintel.
The ordering width does NOT take into account the overhang on either side for the fixing lugs or support brackets. Unlike aluminium roller doors, the ordering width is not the overall width for the installation (please check the measuring tab in the shop).
Example: For a structural opening measured as 2400mm wide and 2150mm high, the Ordering Size is going to be 2450mm width and 2150mm height.
Every roller garage door will have the bottom section of the curtain hanging down slightly when fully open, usually about 50mm, so if you do require the full drive through height when the door is open and you have sufficient headroom, then add on another 50mm or more to the ordering height to take the door curtain higher internally.
Please also refer to the 'measuring tab' shown in the online shop when placing an order.
Additional information
