A Car Dealership Case Study: Exploring Commercial Doors & Garage Doors

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

These all-glass G-4400 commercial garage doors make it simple to move vehicles into and out of the showroom and service area.

Looking for ways to make your car dealership more visually appealing to customers or to set it apart from others?

If that sounds familiar, the information in this case study is precisely what you need. While it’s possible to implement different marketing strategies and improve the effectiveness of your sales team, what matters most your customer’s first impression.

RelayCars’ blog highlights an interesting fact. Today’s car buyers spend up to 14 hours researching potential vehicles before making a purchase decision. This changes the landscape from what it once was. In the past, customers visited multiple dealerships to explore their options. Today, they might only visit one or two dealerships.

For dealerships, that means one thing – you need to make a killer first impression. The problem? You get only one attempt because once a customer has formed an opinion about your brand, it takes a lot to change it.

A professional opinion of an auto dealership is critical. Your customers should see you as unique, reliable, and honest.

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

An inviting showroom is clean, bright, and welcoming. Image from Freepik.

Within this case study, we will identify car dealership design elements that help your facility stand out, including the role of commercial garage doors and garage door openers (note: in commercial garage door terminology, these are often referred to as operators).

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

With 2 high-speed overhead doors like our G-4400 you gain a clear view of both inside and outside the building, boost service efficiency, and enhance the aesthetics.

Within this guide, we’ll provide you with information to choose the ideal commercial garage doors and garage door openers. It’s all about creating. Sustainable, functional, welcoming space for your customers and your vehicles.

All-Glass Full-View Garage Doors: A Great Way to Showcase and Move Vehicles

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

This all-glass G-4400 overhead door ties in directly with the rest of the building’s architecture. We offer immense customization options to ensure that you’re able to match the color and style of your facility.

Our G-4400 garage doors provide both aesthetic improvements and enhanced functionality.

Below, we’ll explore three important facts about commercial all-glass garage doors.

1. Choose from a wide range of standard and semi-custom garage door colors:

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

Want to ensure that other elements of your facility match? No problem. Just use the GENTEK and ROYAL color codes here.

Want a color that you don’t see offered above? Explore other choices available to you with our team.

It’s never been easier to create a customized garage door color and blend in with your existing aesthetic or match other new elements of your dealership to your showroom and commercial garage doors.

An Important Note: Flat, satin, semi-gloss, and gloss finishes alter the final color of your commercial garage door, as can the material of the garage door and the color’s application method.

2. We offer 20 options when it comes to garage door glass, so it's possible to customize visibility and light transmission.

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.

Our G-4400 all-glass garage doors are available in both tempered and non-tempered glass, and we guarantee they meet all relevant safety standards.

Not sure what tempered glass is or why it matters for your dealership?

Five times stronger than conventional glass, tempered glass is also more break resistant. When it does break, it crumbles into less dangerous pieces, rather than shattering into dangerous shards.

3. We offer limited warranties on every one of our all-glass commercial doors

  • We cover standard garage door windows against seal defects for a full decade.
  • We offer a decade of protection against rust-related perforation of the aluminum.
  • All other garage door components are protected for a full year.

Commercial Sectional Overhead Steel Doors Insulated with Injected Polyurethane: Strength and Resilience for Commercial Requirements

Preventing heat and cooling loss within a dealership is important. Our energy-saving garage doors feature high-performance garage door weatherstripping to reduce energy consumption, green up your image, and reduce energy bills.

Explore three critical facts about overhead garage doors

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

The high-pressure injected polyurethane foam used in these G-5000 commercial garage doors delivers impressive protection against air intrusion and water leaks.

1. Our G-5000, G-5138, and G-5200 overhead garage door models come in multiple standard and premium colors:

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

Important Note: Our commercial sectional doors can also be custom colored.

2. Choose from three insulation levels for all commercial garage doors:

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

The importance of the R-value

The R-value of a garage door indicates its ability to insulate your space. The higher the R-value, the greater the protection. However, that can vary depending on factors like geographic location, the use of your space, and more.

Garage doors injected with high-pressure polyurethane foam are stronger and longer lasting than other options.

Polyurethane foam delivers substantial performance benefits because:

  • Water resistance
  • Cold resistance
  • Prevents air and vapor intrusion
  • Because it adheres to the door’s walls, it increases the garage door section's resistance to flexion.
  • 2x as effective as polystyrene ounce for ounce

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

Above, you can see the differences between polyurethane versus Styrofoam.

3. Our G-5000 commercial steel doors come with substantial warranty protection:

  • 10 years against rust-related perforation of the steel
  • 10 years against end block rot/cracking
  • 10 years against steel skin delamination due to polyurethane foam
  • A full year of protection on other hardware
  • 10 years of seal protection for windows

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

This G-5000 garage door is smaller than many. It measures 7' x 8'. We provide custom garage doors based on your project and needs.

High Lift and Vertical Lift: Options to Raise Your Commercial Garage Door

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

This is a high-lift system. It provides more headroom with garage door tracks closer to the ceiling. The garage door opens vertically all the way to the wall before curving inward.

Commercial and industrial garage doors require the right type of lifting system, which is much different from residential garage door openers.

Garage door lifts: The 6 types

Standard lift The most common type of lift this option requires at least 10 inches of headroom. Illustration of Garage Door Standard lift
High-lift track Designed for high ceilings, it maximizes overhead space, offers greater clearance. Illustration of Garage Door High lift
Full vertical model Ideal for situations where the door must open vertically along the wall above it. Illustration of Garage Door Full vertical lift
Inclined garage door tracks Designed for facilities with vaulted or cathedral ceilings. Illustration of Garage Door Inclined track
Front and rear low headroom Dealing with low headroom? This option requires less than 10 inches. Illustration of Garage Door Low front headroom

High lift and vertical lift garage door openers best suited for agricultural, industrial, and commercial garage doors thanks to their increased clearance.

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

This commercial garage door uses high lift hardware to deliver substantial overhead clearance.

Heavy-Duty Hardware: Durability and Usability for Commercial & Industrial Garage Doors

When it comes to garage door spring thickness and length, it’s critical to work with your garage door experts.

Commercial garage doors are heavier than residential doors. It requires more power to open and close them. While the garage door opener provides the initial lift, garage door springs balance the weight and actually do more of the work.

Garage Door Spring Factors

  • Longer garage door springs can perform more work over time.

BUT

  • Shorter garage door springs offer more strength to handle larger garage doors.

An experienced garage door expert balances strength and work capability to deliver the right solution for every application.

Commercial Garage Door Hardware: Understanding the 3 Types

Commercial buildings often have low headroom. To combat that, commercial garage doors often have high lift hardware.

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

In addition, you’ll find considerations related to the commercial garage door itself, including the following:

  • Commercial hardware must be larger and heavier to combat the increased height of the door.
  • Commercial doors are typically 1-⅜ to 2 inches thick.
  • Commercial doors are usually insulated with polystyrene or polyurethane.
  • Robustness and energy efficiency are two of the primary concerns with commercial garage doors.
  • Polyurethane offers greater resistance to flexing because it adheres strongly to the door's walls.

Pay attention to the mechanism

A commercial sectional door mechanism must be more efficient to combat the increased use. All hardware must be stronger to support a larger door that is opened and closed more often.

This also applies to the garage door track:

  • Residential garage doors use thinner tracks because they are used less frequently.
  • Commercial garage door tracks and rollers will be 2 or 3 inches long and manufactured from thicker steel.

Counterbalancing (spring systems) differences:

Counterbalancing systems for garage doors should be chosen based on the expected use of the door.

If a commercial garage door will be used up to 50 times a day, it must have a spring system that can withstand up to 100,000 opening and closing cycles.

Door movement also makes a difference.

Residential doors usually move with standard or reduced clearance. However, commercial doors must also deal with elevation or vertical clearance depending on the door and the installation area.

Commercial garage doors may also use other components depending on the need to prevent outages and ensure operability at all times. Service interruptions often mean a lack of profitability for dealerships, so it’s important to consider hardware options carefully.

Commercial Garage Door Openers: Considerations When Choosing an Opening System

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

This jackshaft-type operator is ideal for high lift garage doors due to its side-mounted location. It also offers more than ample power and is combined with a chain to manually open the garage door if necessary.

Cost is one of the most important factors when talking about commercial garage door openers. When obtaining quotes, consider these three factors:

Voltage

115, 220, 550 volts – the more use a door will see, the higher the voltage should be. Choose 220 V over 115 V when possible.

Engine power

½, ¾ or 1 hp – smaller garage doors can make do with less power (½ hp for small doors). Larger doors require more power (¾ hp for larger ones)

Central or side opener

Raised or entirely vertical movements require a jackshaft-style garage door opener. It should also include a chain hoist for manual operation.

The LiftMaster model RBH operator is the most commonly used jackshaft‑type garage door opener for commercial and industrial applications in North America. It offers a number of benefits, too, including:

  • Ample power for large doors
  • Offers a substantial number of cycles (length of use)
  • Usable with larger sectional doors with vertical or high lift or with rolling doors and grilles

What does RBH mean?

The “RBH” in the name stands for chain (h)oist, and (r)oller (b)earing and is an indicator that this commercial garage door opener is designed for heavy-duty use.

Explore the schematic below to better understand how the opener works and its capabilities.

Features of the LiftMaster RBH Commercial Garage Door Opener

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

Clutch

When opening or closing a garage door, the clutch forces it to slide, which prevents sudden movements. This helps prevent damage to the unit.

Motor

  • Overload protection for overheating protection.
  • The shaft coupling's high starting torque during run-up means the motor starts quickly.
  • Computerized error codes for easy troubleshooting by a professional garage door repair expert.

Timer

  • Set a timer to operate the garage door as necessary, with intervals varying from 1 second to 99 minutes.
  • The timer ensures that the motor does not idle in the event of a malfunction.
  • The mid-course stop function saves energy and wear and tear.
  • The door can open to a pre-programmed height before closing again without having to use the remote button when operated in Dealership Mode.

Wall-mounted control panel

The wall control panel provides a visual alert when maintenance is needed thanks to a flashing LED light. This helps improve energy efficiency, performance, and longevity. Note that the maintenance alert system (MAS) can be programmed in increments of 1,000 cycles.

G-4400 commercial garage doors heavy-duty industrial dual-sided photo eyes (CPS-UN4)

Photo eyes offer vital safety and protection. This unit offers heavy-duty polycarbonate for the housing and is sealed against dust and water intrusion. That makes it well-suited to indoor or outdoor installation depending on your dealership’s needs. The solid sensor light signals correct alignment.

Note: A commercial garage door operator compatible with an existing 575-volt system can help save money and reduce power consumption.

Commercial Garage Door Specialists and the Solutions You Need

Ready to talk about new commercial garage doors for your car dealership? Speak with our experienced specialists at Norwood Door Systems. We work with you at every step of the way within your project. We can provide you with:

  • A free consultation at your dealership to determine your needs and make recommendations.
  • A free quotation including a full list of details and specifications on the price of a garage door installation depends on a number of factors.
  • Accurate on-site measurements to ensure proper sizing of commercial garage doors and garage door openers.
  • A Planned Preventive Maintenance program to help ensure that your commercial garage door and opener system remain in peak condition for as long as possible. Garage doors are the largest moving components of your facility and require regular maintenance for safe operation.

It’s important to choose a commercial garage door that meets your specific needs and requirements. While a high-quality door and opener might mean more money initially, they will last far longer than other systems. You will also save considerably when it comes to repairs during the lifetime of your commercial garage door and opener.

Get in touch with us today at 508-668-9393!

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