Due to the rise in prices for materials and installation of garage structures, some car owners prefer to equip their own "house" for their car. This is a wise decision, because, having saved on paying for specialists, you can make the manufacture of garage doors yourself, investing in high-quality materials and automation. The fastest type of installation is to buy a ready-made structure of the appropriate size, which is assembled by hand according to the instructions from the manufacturer. Craftsmen who are confident in their abilities can independently carry out all stages of work - from a drawing to a finished structure.
Types of garage doors
First of all, you need to decide which garage door you want to equip with your own hands. To do this, you should orient yourself on the ground, according to the size of the structure and the amount that will be easy to part with.
- The cheapest and easiest is the manufacture of swing gates. They can openinside if the garage is close to the sidewalk, or outside if space allows.
- Popular and easy to use are sectional garage doors. Ready-made standard sections are sold from manufacturers, but can be made to order if the design is non-standard. It is quite possible for an experienced designer to completely independently manufacture parts of this type of gate, from drawing to final installation, but the cost of time and money will be considerable.
- Lifting gates are also in demand, as they are very easy to use. These designs do not require academic training for installation, but the calculations, on which the price of materials and automation depends, must be carried out with high quality.
Sectional constructions
Any automation creates additional comfort, as it saves the driver's time. In addition, sectional garage doors have the following qualities:
- This type of construction is considered to be the warmest, hermetic and weather resistant. If the garage is connected to the house, then no drafts, streams of rainwater or snow enter the dwelling.
- Full guarantee of the safety of the car is provided even in the event of a power outage. Automatic gates of this type are almost impossible to hack.
- They are very compact and give maximum space for the passage of the car.
Thanks to these qualities, sectional mechanisms are the most popular among garage owners. They open smoothly andquiet, which is important if the "home" for the car is in close proximity to the home, yours or your neighbors.
Sectional structures in action
To figure out how to make a gate yourself, you should know their individual elements. They consist of a canvas, which is connected by loops, and a torsion system, which includes cables, drums and a spring mechanism.
The canvas is a sandwich panel made of galvanized sheet steel with insulation between two sheets. In the form of insulation, polyurethane foam is most often used. If the garage is cold, then a panel of 20 mm thickness will do. To equip a warm room for a car, a panel from 35 to 45 mm is selected. This web thickness is equivalent to a wall thickness of 1.5 bricks.
When lifting the gate, the panel first moves up along the vertical axis, refracts at the junction of the hinges and goes to the horizontal axis of the frame under the garage ceiling. Polyamide balls provide soft and silent running.
It is quite difficult to design and install a garage door of this type with your own hands, so the best option would be to buy a finished product from the manufacturer with self-assembly according to the instructions.
Mechanisms for gates
Today any kind of garage doors can be made automatic. The most commonly installed are sectional and sliding gates. They are preferred, first of all, because of the maximum saving of space both indoors and outdoors, comfortuse and reliability of the design. Craftsmen turn even swing doors, previously closed exclusively with a lock, into automatic gates by attaching them to the opening mechanism.
The modern automotive market is replete with various types of devices. You can purchase models from the simplest and cheapest mechanisms to those with a special code keypad, such as a radio-controlled key fob or card reader. It all depends on the amount that the owner is willing to invest in the comfort and safety of his garage.
Automatic drives
Gate automation is most often a conventional rack and pinion drive that you can install yourself. It is powerful and quite reliable, equipped with a radio path, a lamp and a remote control. At night, the lighting lamp automatically turns on when the doors are opened, which allows you to put the car in the garage with great comfort and safety.
If you install swing gates for a garage with your own hands, then the automation can be linear or lever type. Her work is as follows:
- motor with the help of a gearbox rotates the screws;
- nuts are moved by screws along the guide axis, as a result of which the energy of the motor is converted into linear motion, and the nut opens the gate;
- to lock the doors when opening and closing the nuts, press the switches at the extreme points, thereby stopping the drive;
- controls the drive unit equipped with a security system in the form of electronic sensors that recognize the signal from the key fob, or when a car hits aobstacle.
Automation for sliding gates is basically an electromechanical drive. Its design includes an electric motor, a gearbox and a control unit. All kinds of electromechanical devices have an unlock function in case of emergency power failure.
Selection of materials
If you have the desire and ability to design and install a garage door with your own hands, it will not be difficult. It is easier and cheaper to make hinged or up-and-over doors. The latter option is preferred for rooms that are limited in external space, for example, located next to the sidewalk. Such a garage is difficult to open without blocking the street, so sectional or up-and-over type doors will be the solution.
Before choosing a material, it is necessary to decide what type of automatic device will be installed on the gate. The dimensions, weight and material of the product together dictate the power and load capacity of the entire mechanism.
The simplest up-and-over doors consist of the following materials:
- wood blocks for ceiling and vertical box;
- metal pins;
- corners for the frame and rail of appropriate sizes;
- spring and metal rod for tension adjustment;
- electric drive;
- door leaf.
The dimensions of the materials are selected according to the measurements of the garage door frame.
Choicedesigns
Manufacture of the gate should begin with the choice of cloth. It will take less time and it will be more reliable to buy sandwich panels of the appropriate size. They can be matched by color and texture, from inexpensive solid colors to expensive ones with precious wood inserts.
If you think about how to make a gate yourself, then a wooden shield upholstered with galvanized iron will be the best solution. It can be insulated with Styrofoam and ennobled with plastic of any color or wood panels.
Manufacture of garage doors
When the materials are thought out, the calculations are verified and the tools are selected, the process of manufacturing parts of the structure begins. For this you will need:
- assemble a frame from wooden bars fastened with corners, respectively, the width and height of the entrance to the garage;
- install the finished frame in the opening and secure with pins, while the lower part should go into the floor a couple of centimeters;
- make the gate yourself, sheathing a canvas of wood with galvanized iron;
- install insulation and line the gate with plastic or wood panels;
- rails are made from metal corners along which the shield will move;
- make a support mechanism from the corner, for this you need to drill two holes for attaching to the longitudinal rack on one side and on the other - three holes for installing the spring bracket;
- from a corner with a hole of 0.85 cm, make a hinge assembly and weld at the bottom of the frame between its lower side of the rib and the middle of the hole for the lifting levermechanism;
- weld a plate with a prepared hole to adjust the tension to the end of the lever;
- connect the bracket with the spring with the adjusting plate, the outer spirals of which are used for hooks;
- attach a rod to the bottom of the spring, which will act as a tension regulator.
Installation of the structure requires the mandatory use of welding for greater reliability of the entire device.
Using a ready-made design
Every garage owner decides for himself how to make a gate - from scratch to installation on his own, which can take a lot of time and money, or buy a finished structure and insert it according to the instructions from the manufacturer. The second option will require slightly more financial investments, but will speed up the installation and start-up of the mechanism as much as possible.
If you carry out the installation without seeking help from specialists, using ready-made gates, then the savings will be 25-35%. This is an excellent indicator, considering that professionally made garage doors are much better, more reliable and more beautiful than handicraft ones.
Manufacturers give a guarantee for their products, which is also important. So the choice must be between expensive quality and quick installation or a long and expensive process of designing and installing the gate yourself.
