What kind of garage doors are best for apartment buildings? We did this job recently and used Raynor flush insulated doors in a charcoal grey to match the decor.
Things to consider are:
- Style that will match or enhance the apartment building or garages
- Color availability. Garage doors can be painted but powder coat finishes are more enduring
- Long life hardware and springs. Because of high use, it is wise to consider 25,000 – 100,000 cycle hardware. Many apartment building garages are under very high daily use.
- Gauge thicknesses. Heavier gauges hold up much better in an apartment building environment. We service hundreds of apartment building garage doors and the most common problems is denting and other similar damage. This can be solved by using 24-gauge steel or thicker.
- Locking mechanisms.
- If the garage doors will be automatic, the garage doors will be automatically locked by the operator. But if the garage has no other entrance or exit than the garage door, it is extremely important that you add a “vault release” locking mechanism to the top section of the door with a key that can be used to get into the garage in the event of a power outage or other problem.
- If the garage door will be manual with an outside key-handle lock, remember to order the locks keyed differently and perhaps consider the extra cost of master keying if the tenant loses their key.
- If using remotes, remember that every time a tenant changes you will need to change the codes on the garage door operator motor.
- Most landlords charge a refundable fee for failure to return the remotes and keys when they move out!
Planning ahead will save a lot of time and headache when administering dozens (or hundreds) of tenant garages.
#garagedoor #apartments #martindoor
