Waterbury's industrial history left a lot of working buildings: shops, warehouses, auto repair bays, contractor yards and storefronts along the main corridors and in the industrial areas near Route 8 and I-84. A stuck loading door or a jammed roll-up gate can stop a business cold, so commercial door problems tend to be urgent ones.
Common commercial door types
- Rolling steel doors. Slats coil around a barrel above the opening. Common on loading docks, storage units and storefronts.
- Sectional steel doors. Like a residential door but heavier, often insulated, with windows for light. Common in auto shops and service bays.
- Security grilles and gates. Open-mesh roll-up grilles for storefronts and counters.
- High-speed fabric doors. Used in warehouses and cold storage to cut down on lost heat.
- Commercial operators. Heavier-duty versions of a garage door opener, often with three-button stations, timers and safety edges.
Problems we hear about
- Door won't close all the way or reverses, often a safety edge or photo eye issue.
- Broken springs on a heavily used door.
- Slats bent by a forklift or truck, so the door binds in the guides.
- Motor or operator failure, or a door that has to be chained up by hand.
- Bottom seals and weatherstripping torn up after a winter, letting cold air and snow into the building.
Cold-weather notes for businesses
An open loading door in January lets out a lot of heat. Worn bottom astragals, side seals and dock seals are worth replacing before winter. Busy doors also wear springs much faster than a home door, and a spring failure in the middle of a shipping day is far more disruptive than a planned replacement.
What to have ready when you call
- The type of door and its rough size.
- The operator brand, if it has one.
- Whether the door is stuck open or closed, and whether that's a security problem.
- The business address and the best time for a technician to come out.
Safety first on commercial doors
Commercial doors are much heavier than home doors, and their springs hold far more tension. If a door is stuck partway, hanging crooked or making a loud banging noise, stop using it, keep people and forklifts out from under it, and lock out the operator so nobody runs it. Don't try to chain a door up or wind a spring on your own. Make sure photo eyes and safety edges are working, since they're what stops a closing door from hitting a person or a vehicle.
How long commercial repairs take
Simple jobs like realigning photo eyes, adjusting an operator or replacing a bottom seal are often done in an hour or two. Replacing springs on a large rolling steel door, or several bent slats, can take most of a day, and some parts for bigger or older doors have to be ordered. If a bay can't close at night, say so on the phone so the company knows the door is a security problem as well as a repair.
Planned maintenance
For doors that cycle many times a day, a regular inspection schedule catches worn springs, frayed cables, loose slats and failing seals before they shut down a bay. Many businesses keep a simple log of each door's cycle count and service dates, which also helps a technician spot a spring that's close to the end of its life.
Ask the company
- Do you work on this type of door and this operator brand?
- Can you work around our business hours or shipping schedule?
- Do you carry commercial liability insurance?
- Will you test the photo eyes, safety edges and the manual chain or crank before you leave?
- Can you set up a regular inspection schedule for our busiest doors?
Common questions
Can you help with commercial garage doors?
Yes. We can try to connect you with an independent company that works on commercial doors in the Waterbury area. Not every residential company handles commercial work, so mention it when you call.
What kinds of commercial doors are there?
The most common are rolling steel doors that coil above the opening, sectional steel doors like a heavy-duty version of a home door, and high-speed doors for warehouses. Fire doors and security grilles are specialty items.
How often should commercial doors be serviced?
Doors that cycle many times a day should be inspected at least twice a year, and some facilities do it quarterly. Springs on busy doors can wear out in a fraction of the time a home door's springs last.