A Case Study on the Perfect Commercial Doors and Garage Door Openers for Car Dealerships

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

Our all-glass G-4400 commercial garage doors help this amazing space reach its full potential! You'll be able to move cars between areas with ease.

When searching for new strategies for your car dealership, ask yourself how you can stand apart from the competition.

This blog is the perfect place to figure out the answers to that question! By finding ways to implement different marketing strategies it is possible to increase sales, but a stellar first impression has the biggest impact.

RelayCars’blog notes that consumers searching for new vehicles back up their purchases with 13 to 14 hours of research. By the time they're ready to buy, they only shop at one or two car dealerships!

There's no better chance to make a sale and hook a new customer than the moment they arrive at your dealership! Your business has to stand apart because you might never get another shot at changing a customer's mind.

Upholding the right image in your dealership can go a long way in influencing their purchase decision. By maintaining a professional, clean, trustworthy atmosphere you'll leave customers with the right impression.

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

Keep your showroom clean, bright, and open to keep customers comfortable. Image from Freepik.

Car dealership design is our game, and we work primarily with commercial garage doors and garage door openers (otherwise referred to as operators when talking about commercial garage doors).

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

You won't get a better view than what our G-4400 provides! With an excellent view all around the building, entrance, and exit doors, moving cars between areas is a cinch. You can't beat that kind of service!

We work hard to bring you the best advice on picking commercial garage doors and garage door openers to suit the needs of you and your car dealership. Follow our lead, and you'll end up with a space that's functional, adaptable, and easy to work with! Customers will love it and so will you.

Use All-Glass Full-View Garage Doors to Let Your Best Cars Shine in Your Showroom and Move Them Hassle-Free

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

To get this look, you'll need our all-glass G-4400 overhead door, which can fit as seamlessly with your building as you see here. Matching overhead doors to your building, windows, or other doors is easy with our personalized garage door colors.

Our G-4400 garage doors are not only functional and beautiful to look at, but they come with a host of important benefits, too.

Here are three things to know about our commercial all-glass garage doors.

1. You have a whole range of standard and semi-custom garage door colors to choose from.

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

Did you find the perfect color and want to match it? Get the color codes for GENTEK or aluminum coil suppliers ROYAL here.

If you have an idea for your garage door color and don't see the right fit, speak with our team.

Get exactly what you want with a customized garage door color. Whether you want to make your building stand out or coordinate with other exterior features like window frames, we've got you covered.

Hot Tip: Things like sheen, application technique, and garage door material can affect the final appearance by slightly influencing the color.

2. Whether you're looking for transparency, privacy, or something in between, you can find it in our selection of 20 garage door glass varieties.

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.

All our G-4400 all-glass garage doors come with plenty of glass options, all of which meet safety standards. You can get them in tempered or non-tempered glass.

Do you want to learn about tempered glass?

It takes a lot to shatter tempered glass. It's break resistant and five times more durable than your standard glass. In the unlikely event that it does break, the pieces will be smaller and not as hazardous.

3. Four your peace of mind, we have warranties on all our all-glass commercial doors.

  • Seal defects on all standard garage door windows are covered for a decade.
  • Rust-related perforation aluminum is under warranty for a decade.
  • All other garage door components get one year of coverage.

For the Toughest Garage Doors, Use Commercial Sectional Overhead Steel Doors Insulated with Injected Polyurethane

Our energy-saving garage doors are high performing and the best-insulated you'll find thanks to the garage door weatherstripping that keeps energy and heat inside where they belong.

Three overhead garage doors facts you might not know

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

To provide the best insulation possible, G-5000 commercial garage doors use high-pressure injected polyurethane foam. Not only does this foam make fantastic insulation, but it will protect your cars and your building from cold and water damage.

1. Our G-5000, G-5138, and G-5200 overhead garage door models come with a selection of 5 standard and 4 premium colors to choose from

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

HELPFUL TIP: If you need a custom color for your commercial sectional door, they are available!

2. To cover a range of needs, there are three insulation options for these commercial garage doors

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

Better insulation means a higher R-Value.

The R-Value measures thermal resistance in building and construction, so the R-Value of a garage door can be influenced by a few factors. Location, the purpose of the space, and insulation type can all change the R-Value of a door.

For energy-efficient and durable garage doors, choose one injected with high-pressure polyurethane foam.

Polyurethane is a perfect insulating material for several reasons:

  • Rain and cold weather can't win against it
  • It makes a great shield against air and vapor
  • Your garage door section will have a higher resistance to flexion
  • Polyurethane is an impressive 2x as effective as polystyrene at the same thickness

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

Check out this comparison of a garage door that is insulated with polyurethane versus Styrofoam.

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

  • Perforation of steel because of rust is under warranty for a decade
  • You'll get a decade of protection against the cracking and rot of wooden end blocks
  • Delamination of steel skin from polyurethane foam is covered for a decade
  • You have one year of protection for all other door components
  • Standard windows are protected from seal defects for ten years

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

Although this G-5000 garage door is small at just 7' x 8', you can get a custom garage door to suit the specific needs of your business. We offer small doors, giant doors, and everything in between.

Car Dealers & Commercial Building Owners Love the Elevation of High Lifts and Vertical Lifts

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

Here you can see all the headroom you get with a high lift system. This garage door opens vertically and then rolls in a horizontal curve for maximum efficiency.

When it comes to purchasing commercial and industrial garage doors, you can't use your residential experience to guide you.

You must first determine the right lift and clearance for the industrial or commercial door

Below you'll find 6 types of garage door lifts:

Standard Lift This often-used lift requires at least 10 inches of headroom. Illustration of Garage Door Standard lift
High-lift Track If you have a large amount of overhead space, this lift is for you. Illustration of Garage Door High lift
Full Vertical Lift This is the selection for projects with doors that open vertically on the above wall. Illustration of Garage Door Full vertical lift
Inclined Garage Door Tracks High, slanted ceilings like a cathedral style will need this type. Illustration of Garage Door Inclined track
Front and Rear Low-Headroom For small spaces (10 inches between ceiling and door) Illustration of Garage Door Low front headroom

The high clearance you'll get with a high lift and vertical lift makes them the most well-suited for industrial, commercial, and agricultural doors.

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

If you're looking for something low-maintenance and doesn't cause a lot of noise check out this versatile high lift.

The Right Hardware Makes All the Difference for Commercial and Industrial Garage Doors

Use the knowledge of garage door experts to find the right length and thickness for springs.

The large size of commercial doors means they're substantially heavier than what you'll find at home. The springs are a crucial component, as they carry out most of the opening and closing process after the door opener initiates it.

Think about it in terms of weight and physical transfer:

  • If a spring is longer, it can perform more open/close cycles.

HOWEVER

  • Shorter springs are stronger!

Only a garage door expert can figure out the best way to balance these two aspects and get the right spring in your hands.

3 varieties of commercial hardware

Commercial doors frequently have "high lift" type hardware because they need to offer better clearance and move along 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 look at the commercial door

  • To accommodate the increased height and large overhead clearance of the door, commercial hardware must be larger and heavier.
  • Varying in thickness from 1⅜ to 2 inches, commercial doors are insulated with polystyrene or polyurethane.
  • Priorities for commercial doors are different than what you'll find in residential doors. The focus is on toughness and energy efficiency
  • Because it adheres so strongly to a door's walls, polyurethane insulation is highly resistant to bending.

You can't count out the hardware! Commercial and residential hardware is not the same.

Because it's used at such a high frequency, the hardware that supports a commercial sectional door has to be incredibly strong.

It's easiest to see when looking at the kind of tracks being used.

  • Thin steel is okay for less-used residential doors.
  • Commercial doors require thicker steel, and tracks and rollers will be between two and three inches long.

The spring system isn't always the same.

The number of opening/closing cycles a door needs to perform is more important than its size.

If a door is meant to be used 25 to 50 times a day, you'll need a spring system that can handle that load. You're looking at 25,000 to 100,000 opening and closing cycles!

Another thing to factor in is the way the door actually moves.

For residential doors, you can usually count on standard or reduced clearance.

Commercial doors have additional movement that might be elevated or vertical. That depends on the kind of clearance above the door and the height of the door itself.

Commercial doors do have other parts and components, but their use often depends on the kind of weight and importance the building owner attaches to service interruptions of the doors. Repairs can be expensive and skipping out on them might result in the hardware wearing down.

Commercial Garage Door Openers Carry a Heavy Responsibility, Hence Why They Are so Powerful

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

A jackshaft-type operator as you see here is perfect for high-lift garage doors. Its strength and versatility make it highly favored. It also comes with the additional benefit of a chain to manually raise the door.

Quotes for garage door openers have a broad range. When you're performing price checks, ask these three things to help determine what's right for you:

  • Voltage

    Increase your voltage if your door is used more often. If it's a choice between 220 V or 115 V, our advice is to choose 220.

  • Engine power

    Since a door opener is intended to replace human power, you'll need more for larger doors but can get by with ½ for a small door.

  • Central or side opener

    If you're dealing with vertical or raised movement, you'll want a jackshaft (sideways) type door opener. You'll also want to make sure the jackshaft comes with a chain hoist.

The voltage differs between commercial door openers and residential ones. Residential only requires a 115-V, but for North American commercial door openers you'll choose between 115, 220, or 575 V.

In a competition of jackshaft-type garage door openers, LiftMaster model RBH operator is the champion. It ranks at the top for commercial and industrial use.

  • It's strong enough to lift huge garage doors
  • A high number of open/close cycles (the number of times a commercial garage door opens and closes)
  • It's a great match with larger sectional doors or those using a vertical or high lift that has rolling doors and grilles.

Do you want to learn about RBH?

The letters RBH translate to roller bearing (chain) hoist. For a longer-lived drive system, LiftMaster's RBH has heavy-duty roller bearings. These go a long way in ensuring a smooth mechanism.

Have a look at the image below to get a clearer understanding of how a garage door opener works and what it contains.

LiftMaster RBH Garage Door Opener Features

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

Clutch

During the open/close cycle, the clutch makes the garage door slide just enough to mitigate any sudden movements. This helps to prevent damage to the door and the operator.

The motor in the operator

  • The motor unit won't overheat thanks to overload protection.
  • The shaft coupling's high torque ensures that the motor starts very quickly.
  • Repairs are a breeze thanks to the error codes the motor provides. This helps in diagnostics and ensures quick repair times to get everything working again.

Timer

  • You can decide how long the door stays open. Choose any time between one second to 99 minutes and set the timer.
  • The motor won't idle during a breakdown because of the TimerSecure, Race timer function.
  • The Mid-Course Stop function saves you energy and time.
  • Open your door to a height that you specify and close it again. Dealership Mode allows you to do all of that without pressing the remote the usual number of times.

Wall control panel

The MAS (Maintenance Alert System) makes sure you won't miss inspections or preventative maintenance due dates. It alerts you with a flashing LED light after a certain number of open/close cycles have been performed by your door opener. You can program this in cycles of 1000.

Get the exclusive heavy-duty industrial dual-sided photo eyes (CPS-UN4) only with the G-4400 commercial garage doors!

Any commercial space (dealerships, car washes, etc) that frequently deals with contaminants like oil, water, and dirt would greatly benefit from the heavy-duty polycarbonate housings. They're perfect for indoor or outdoor use, and they are resistant to dirt, water, and dust. They're also equipped with sensor lights that let you know when the sensor is properly aligned.

As a reminder, selecting 575-volt compatible commercial door operators can help lower your energy bills!

Our Commercial Garage Door and Operator Experts Are Standing By to Upgrade Your Car Dealership or Commercial/Industrial Space

When you're ready to realize your vision for your business, contact the garage door experts waiting over at DSI North Door Systems. They'll be by you every step of the way as you enhance and improve your business. To best meet your needs, Hicklin Door Services offers the following:

  • A consultation, at no cost to you, either in our showroom or at your business.
  • A free, inclusive quotation to go over all details and offers, while keeping in mind that the price of a garage door installation depends on several factors.
  • You'll get a complete quote with measurements taken on-site for a completely professional experience.
  • Your garage doors are a central part of your business and some of the largest, most vital moving pieces in your building. We know how important they are, and our Planned Preventive Maintenance program will help keep them in excellent condition for the sake of your business, your customers, and your bank account.

Getting the right commercial garage door to suit the unique needs of your business is one of the most important decisions you can make. This is an area where more money up front translates to a big pay-off later on. Pinching pennies with your garage doors might save you a little in the beginning, but the high cost of repair calls will make you regret not investing in a high-quality product. Let us help you make the right choice and guide you through the process.

Contact us right away at 978-741-1600!

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