Entrance doors and garage doors

Aluminium entrance doors: what to look for

A good entrance door is strong, warm, closes tightly and suits the façade. When choosing an aluminium front door for a house, look at:

• The profile. For the entrance to a heated home, thermally broken profiles are used so the cold doesn't come through the frame. More on this in the article what a thermal break is.
• The infill. The door can have a solid panel, glass or a combination. A panel gives more privacy and warmth; glass brings more light into the hallway.
• The locking. Multi-point locking presses the door against the whole frame and makes it much harder to force than a single-point lock.
• The threshold and seals. They decide whether there's a draught under the door and whether rain gets in.
• The opening direction. In houses the front door usually opens inwards. It opens outwards when there's no room in the hallway or when the rules for that building require it.

Types of garage door: sectional, roller or side-hinged

There are a few basic systems for a garage. Each has its advantages depending on the size of the garage and the space in front of it.

You'll find a detailed comparison in the article sectional or roller garage door, and for the entrance see also how to choose an entrance door.

• Sectional garage door. Made of horizontal panels that rise and tuck under the ceiling. It takes no space in front of the garage, closes tightly, and the panels are usually insulated. The most common choice for houses.
• Roller garage door. Slats that roll up into a box above the opening. A solution when there's no room under the ceiling for a sectional door, but it insulates less well.
• Side-hinged or sliding door. Opens like a large double door or slides to the side. Needs free space in front of or beside the garage.

What is measured for a sectional garage door

A sectional door is installed on the inside of the garage, so the space around the opening matters as well as the opening itself. We take all the measurements at the site visit, but it helps to know which ones count:

• the width and height of the opening;
• the headroom above the opening up to the ceiling, where the mechanism runs;
• the free space to the left and right of the opening for the tracks;
• the depth of the garage, because the door runs back under the ceiling;
• beams, pipes or lights on the ceiling that may get in the way;
• whether there's power for a motor and where it can come from.

What drives the price of entrance and garage doors

We don't give prices without a site visit, because every door is made for a specific opening. Book a free site visit and you'll get a quote for your opening. The price mainly depends on:

• the size of the door and the opening;
• the profile and infill of the entrance door: solid panel, glass or a combination;
• the type and thickness of the garage door panels;
• the design, colour and finish;
• the locking, handles and extras such as glazed side panels or fanlights;
• the motor and remote for the garage door and whether there's power on site;
• removing the old door and the state of the opening.

Looking after entrance and garage doors

Aluminium doors don't need painting and don't warp, but they still need a little attention:

• Wash the entrance door with water and a mild cleaner. Once a year, lubricate the hinges and the lock mechanism.
• Keep the threshold and seals free of sand and leaves.
• With a sectional door, keep the tracks clean and watch whether it moves evenly and without new noises.
• If the door has a motor, check that it stops and reverses when it meets an obstacle. If it doesn't, stop using it and contact us.
• Never adjust the garage door springs yourself. They are under high tension and working on them is a job for a specialist.

How an order with us works

We make entrance and garage doors to the size of the opening, so everything starts with a site visit:

• Enquiry. Write to us through the quote form or call. Photos of the entrance or the garage, inside and out, help a lot.
• Free site visit. We measure the opening and check the ceiling, walls and power supply.
• Quote. You get a quote describing the door, colour and extras.
• Production. The door is made to the measured sizes.
• Installation. We remove the old door, fit the new one and show you how to use and lock it.

Entrance and garage doors in Ruse and North-East Bulgaria

Our showroom is in Ruse, at bul. Lipnik 135, where you can see profiles and samples and talk the door through with us. We come for site visits all over Bulgaria, including Varna, Veliko Tarnovo, Shumen, Razgrad, Silistra and Dobrich. The visit and the quote are free.

Before Bulgaria we worked for more than 15 years in Germany and the Netherlands. We usually make the doors in the colour of the windows so the façade looks unified. If you're choosing an aluminium front door or a sectional garage door in Ruse and the region, book a free site visit.