Up and Over Garage Door Brands

Up and Over Door Brands

Up and over garage doors are still the most common door type on UK homes, and for good reason. They're simple, dependable and usually the most cost effective way to close a garage opening, whether you're replacing a tired 1970s door or fitting out a brand new garage. The differences between brands aren't always obvious from a photo though, so this page runs through what each manufacturer is actually good at, who they suit, and where to start looking.

We've kept the technical detail light here. Measuring, mechanism choice, fitting position and electric operation all have their own guides, and you'll find links to those at the bottom of the page.

Quick brand chooser

GDO - the widest choice of designs, colours and sizes, including made to measure, at our best prices.
Garador - a classic UK name with a big spread of styles across steel, timber and GRP.
Hormann - premium German engineering in UK standard sizes, plus specialist ranges on request.
Cedar Doors - proper joinery made timber doors with real character for period and character properties.

The GDO brand is our own range of doors, built on over 30 years in the garage door industry. The range is put together around what buyers actually ask for: plenty of design choice, a long list of colours, and sizes that cover both standard openings and the awkward, non standard ones. These are classic UK designs that sit comfortably on traditional and modern properties alike, they're straightforward to install, and they're usually among our best priced options, especially when you need a purpose made size without paying a premium brand price. We're constantly adding new designs, colours and window options aimed specifically at UK homes.

Key features of the GDO range include:

Manufactured entirely in the UK, which means good build quality, fast delivery and proper aftercare support if you ever need it.
Huge range of designs in both galvanised steel and composite GRP (Glass Reinforced Polyester), with window options on several models.
Made to measure sizes across the whole range, so you can fit your exact opening with minimal infill panels and keep as much of your access width as possible.
Steel Fixing Sub Frame fitted as standar don ecrt door ordered - factory fitted
32 Standard Colours to choose from - factory colours to match or contrast with the rest of your exterior.

Good for:

Getting the best overall choice of designs, colours and sizes without overpaying.
Purpose made sizing where you want a clean fit and the maximum usable opening.
A low maintenance steel or GRP door that can look modern or traditional depending on the style you pick.

Any of our GDO up and over doors can be automated with a good quality remote control electric operator system.

Not sure on your sizes yet? Have a look at the measuring guide linked at the foot of this page first, then come back and choose your design and colour.

Garador is one of the best known up and over door names in the UK. The brand started life as part of Westland Engineers back in 1948 and has always been manufactured in Yeovil, Somerset. It's now wholly owned by Hormann, and while the doors share plenty of German engineering DNA, the latest factory is the result of major Hormann investment and the doors are still made entirely in the UK.

Garador is a strong all round choice if you want traditional up and over looks with a very broad range behind it, from simple ribbed designs through to more decorative and 'designer' style panels. The timber models use the same steel box section chassis as the steel doors, with the cedarwood acting as an infill rather than carrying the structure, so you get the character of timber without relying on it for rigidity.

Key features of the Garador range include:

Purpose made sizes across the steel up and over range, alongside a large selection of standard imperial sizes.
Choice of canopy or retractable lifting gear on most single door sizes, to suit your headroom and how you plan to automate the door.
Three core materials: durable steel, natural timber and low maintenance composite GRP.
A wide range of standard RAL colours, realistic woodgrain foils and modern special finishes, plus factory applied timber treatment colours on the cedarwood doors.
Steel sub frame fixing options available across the steel and timber ranges.
The Guardian security door range, a level 1 'Secured by Design' rated steel up and over door with heavy duty reinforced bracing at every critical point. It's manual only and comes with a heavy duty steel sub frame, so it's the one to look at when the garage contents are genuinely valuable.

Good for:

Classic up and over styling, from plain ribbed to more decorative panel designs.
Buyers who want a recognised UK brand with a lot of choice across steel, cedarwood timber and timber effect steel.
Straightforward ordering on both standard and purpose made sizes.

Hormann are a German company with a long history and real pedigree in manufacturing. Founded in 1935, they started producing up and over garage doors in the 1950s, and that basic but heavy duty one piece door is where the modern up and over comes from. Now a 4th generation family business, they arguably offer the best range of steel garage doors in the world. Their UK factory opened in 1979, and since the turn of the century their up and over doors have been tailored heavily towards standard UK sizes and requirements.

If you're weighing up "good" against "best" on build feel, finishing and premium options, Hormann is usually the benchmark people have in mind.

The Series 2000 up and over range is the one we sell online. It covers many standard imperial sizes in single and double widths, in robust steel and traditional timber, and was developed specifically for the UK market. These doors are always best ordered with the steel box section sub frame, which gives a better final finish and noticeably smoother operation.

Hormann also offer a very wide range of European metric sized steel and timber up and over doors on request. That includes the heavy duty "Open for Infill" chassis, which lets you use a thoroughly tested mechanical host to create your own bespoke timber garage door, with all the safety and automation side certified and ready to go. For high traffic garages, the N500 style 402 and 902 doors are steel doors with a pedestrian access door built into the main panel.

Good for:

Buyers prioritising premium engineering and brand confidence.
High quality steel doors in popular UK standard sizes, with options well beyond the basics.
Anyone also looking at matching operators and accessories from the same manufacturer.
Unusual metric sizes and specialist features, via the purpose made ranges below.

Cedar Doors are a UK specialist joinery manufacturer with over 35 years of experience making timber garage doors for traditional properties. This is the brand to look at when timber is non negotiable and you want a proper joinery made door rather than a timber look substitute. All Cedar timber is sourced from suppliers holding full PEFC Chain of Custody Certification.

Key features of the Cedar Door range include:

Traditional joinery construction: standard doors use solid mortice and tenon joints combined with modern assembly and gluing techniques, giving strong, durable panels that won't warp or twist over time.
Sizing diversity: every door can be made to exact purpose made sizes, or ordered in standard imperial sizes.
Bespoke timber sub frames: a wide choice of matching timber sub frames so the door sits properly into brickwork, stone or timber clad garages.
Steel chassis options for builders: alongside the solid joinery range, Cedar also offer timber panels set into a rigid steel chassis. It isn't in our online shop yet (prices on request) but it's popular with housebuilders, because it combines standard timber door sizes with the quick, straightforward fit of a steel sub frame.
Available in traditional boarded, raised and fielded panel, side hinged and sectional designs, with a big range of factory colours, handles, glazing and lifting mechanism options. Cedar also make timber sectional doors, which make far more sense on the wider openings where a one piece timber door gets heavy.

Good for:

Period homes, cottages and design led renovations.
Natural timber appearance and traditional detailing, with factory finished treatments and colours so there's no need to treat the door on site.
Buyers happy to maintain timber to keep it looking its best, and anyone who simply prefers timber as a material around the home.

Choosing without overthinking it

To keep the decision simple, pick your brand first, then your size, then the exact design and colour:

Biggest range and strongest value, especially on purpose made sizes? Go with GDO.
Broad choice from a classic UK name across steel and timber? Go with Garador.
Premium engineering and brand confidence? Go with Hormann.
Real timber joinery? Go with Cedar Doors.

Specialist up and over doors

Not every garage suits a standard up and over door. If you've got an unusual opening, you need a particular feature, or you're working on a design led project, the options below will get you the right result without compromising on fit, safety or reliability. It's worth knowing that the Hormann and Garador steel box section chassis is so good and so robust that other manufacturers use it as the basis for their own timber and GRP up and over doors.

Built in pedestrian access (wicket door)
If the garage doubles as a workshop, gym, utility space or general storage, a built in access door means you can walk in and out without lifting the whole panel. Hormann N500 style 402 and 902 doors offer this and we can also provide hardwood made to order joinery timber up and over garage doors in various hardwood species for special projects.

High security manual up and over doors
Where security is the main priority, the Garador Guardian is a level 1 'Secured by Design' rated steel door with reinforcement at every key point and a heavy duty steel sub frame. It's manual only, so it suits garages holding bikes, tools or other valuables where you don't need electric operation.

Architect and bespoke projects (Open for Infill)
The Hormann 'Open for Infill' principle lets you buy the door with everything ready except the panel design and material infill, so your joiner or contractor can create the face of the door. It's popular with architects when no standard panel design will suit the property, and you keep the reliability of a proven mechanism. There is a weight limit on the infill, so where heavier hardwoods are involved see the ET500 below.

Unusual sizes and heavy duty construction (Hormann N80 and N500)
Hormann's German made N80 and N500 ranges are purpose made and very robust. They're the answer for unusual metric sizes, and the strength of the chassis allows features like pedestrian wicket doors within the main panel, along with other structural details that simply aren't possible on a standard door.

Maximum robustness for heavy cladding (Hormann ET500)
Developed from a commercial application for underground car parks, the ET500 is the most robust single one piece up and over door available anywhere. It's designed to carry heavy architectural cladding and bespoke timber facing, so it works well where a joiner is creating a unique heavy timber door. The chassis is set up ready to accept various heavy timber types, and comes complete with counterbalance mechanism, electric operation and steel sub fixing frame.

* Specialist ranges are priced on application.

How to buy specialist options

If you can't find the exact specialist model online, we can still supply it. Send us:

Your structural opening width and height, brick to brick.
Your preferred fitting position, between the opening or behind it.
The feature you need (pedestrian access, security rating, bespoke infill, unusual size, heavy cladding).
Photos of the opening, inside and outside, if you can.

We'll confirm the correct ordering sizes and recommend the most suitable brand and model for what you're trying to achieve.