There are businesses in almost every industry that require particular doors. Some that roll up and down, some that open or spin, and some keep the cold in. When it comes to doors, the shapes, sizes, and options can seem overwhelming. Allow me to break down a few of the more common types for you (in no particular order).
The first type of commercial door is your basic hollow metal/steel door. An excellent example of where you can find these types of doors is in a school or hospital. As implied in the name, these doors look like large metal slabs with a push/pull handle.
The second style for commercial doors is full glass with an aluminum door. For this style, think of a university, church building, government building, basically any building that has large window looking doors with a metal frame. These doors are prevalent due to their versatility and ease of maintenance.
The third style that we will be discussing is a rolling and coiling door. These aren’t as common in buildings’ public areas but are almost guaranteed to be in the back. These doors are used to transfer merchandise from the big rig trailer into the store or warehouse. They are similar to a garage door found in most homes with one exception; instead of just raising, they roll up like a snake as they raise.
There you have it; you now know more about commercial doors than the vast majority of the population. Before you go bragging about how smart you are, I want to warn you there are still many more types to learn about, but that is a topic for another time.
While many things unavoidably happen to a business, theft should never be one of them. When it comes to your business, you want to defend it against thieves, whether they come from outside or even inside your own business. It is not uncommon, especially in retail stores, for theft to come from employees.
If theft is a problem, it can be one of the top expenses for your business. We will specifically discuss how your doors can significantly reduce theft.
It is essential to recognize the exits and entrances of your building. A great way to do this is to look at your building’s floorplan as it will show you all the doors, windows, and stairs of your building. No matter the age of your building, it is vital to understand how the structure should appear. This allows you to better look out for any potential maintenance or repairs your business may need. Recognizing these things helps improve customer and employee safety and can help reduce theft.
Doors are the primary gateway in and out of your company. Make sure your doors are working smoothly and can be well secured. Locks are usually the first thing that comes to mind when securing your business’s doors and windows. Quantum Door Services specializes in ensuring local businesses keep their products and investments safe with quality safety features on all our doors. Our doors are reliable, and our team will work with you to find the doors and locks that will work best for your company. At Quantum Door Services, we have over 25 years of experience and a wide variety of commercial and industrial doors, including:
● Hollow metal steel doors ● Full glass and aluminum doors ● Rolling and coiling doors ● Specialty doors ● Gates, Grills, and security doors ● Sectional overhead doors ● High-speed doors ● And more
Like any other part of your business, your doors should be regularly maintained and require repairs now and then. Whether an incident caused damage or it’s everyday wear and tear, it’s essential to check if your door needs repairing to get back to functioning correctly. A few things that may signal a need for repair are frequent jams, broken glass, broken doorframe, difficulty opening or closing the door, or damage from weathering. If your door is very old or damaged beyond reasonable repair, it’s an excellent time to upgrade your entry. Even small differences in your door or lock functions can make your business less secure, making it easier for thieves.
Getting the right door for your business is crucial. We help retail stores, restaurants, and warehouses alike to find doors tailored to their needs. Quantum Door Services is competitive and provides excellent service, and our experienced team can help you discover how to protect your business best.
With commercial and industrial doors being used on a daily basis, it is a misconception that there is no inherent danger or risk when operating or simply being near them. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Your door is integral to your business’s day-to-day; because of this, it is important to be aware of safety tips and precautions you and your employees can take to help prevent accidents and injuries from occurring.
Understand –
Any commercial or industrial door can pose a variety of dangers if not properly understood and maintained. Be sure that all employees involved with your door or doors’ operation understand the risks involved and how to keep them properly maintained at all times. Because of their size, power, and speed, commercial doors can cause serious injuries. Be sure that any potential operator has proper training and follows clear safety protocols to reduce risk to both the employee, your building, and the door itself damages or injury.
Stay Aware –
While operating any commercial door, there are numerous potential risks to be aware of. It’s almost impossible to remove every potential for an accident, but being aware of the possibility can significantly reduce these risks.
Do Not Walk or Stand Under Doors In Motion
Make sure to wait until the door is no longer moving, making sure nothing has malfunctioned at that it has opened completely and correctly. Like any other piece of mechanical equipment, door systems can malfunction. These may not have safety features such as sensors, and if you’re caught under one in motion, you may be in trouble. Be sure to keep moving doors in your line of sight and clear of any obstructions while operating.
Alternate Entrances and Exits
Avoid using an industrial door as a main entry or exit. The easiest way to avoid the risk of injury is by using an alternate “personnel” or “man-door.” These access points are generally safer with less risk of an operator or mechanical issue. This is the best way to avoid injury in an environment with a commercial door.
Notify –
Be sure to have regular maintenance performed on any doors you may have. Keep a log or report to notify a manager or foreman of any issues or concerns regarding your commercial or industrial doors. Then if necessary, contact a professional that will be able to repair or replace your door. Quantum Door Services is here to help assist any questions or safety concerns you have about your industrial and commercial doors!
The Winter season and the cold icy conditions that come with it can pose numerous problems for any garage door solution. Whether the door is making noise, becoming hard to close, or simply building up with dirt and debris, below are typical problems to address and potential solutions to prepare for the winter months.
Loose or Worn Components – If snow or ice can accumulate on or around a garage door, the resulting pressure on areas such as moving parts or hinges can force things like screws to wear or come loose more easily. It’s a good idea to observe the door for these types of issues regularly and tighten any hardware that may be affected.
Weather Stripping Wear and Buildup – Weatherstripping is susceptible to wear and tear, just like any other garage door material. Typically being made of rubber, it may dry out and crack as time goes on. This is even more prevalent during winter. Weatherstripping may also freeze and become stuck to the floor surfaces or pavement, making it difficult to operate the door properly and potentially get stuck, further deteriorating the material. If you find the weather stripping on your door is in a cracked or peeling state, make sure to address the issue and possibly replace it before the cold from snow and ice make things worse. Make sure to check around any points of contact between weather stripping or other components and be sure to clear them of any dirt or debris that would allow melted snow or ice to enter. Not having the proper seal provided by weather stripping can cost you time and money in additional repair or replacement of your door; keep these preventative best practices in mind to save yourself a potential headache.
Lubrication – Lastly, it is just as essential to be sure that your door is lubricated during the winter months. Without being properly lubricated, your door components are liable to get cold and stick, which may cause unnecessary damages. If you’re able to lubricate components such as tracks and pulleys, do so, but make sure not to over lubricate. Remove any excess oil or lubrication as too much can do just as much harm as not enough. If you’re not able to do this yourself, contact a technician at Quantum Door Solutions who will be able to assist you.
Quantum Door Services is here to help you with your preventative maintenance all year long. We invite you to utilize any of our trained technicians to not only fix any issues but provide long-lasting solutions.
Quantum Door Services Presents: Commercial Door Repair – Splicing a Grouted Steel Door Frame – Presented by Zane Ketchum
Location: Riverton, Utah
Grouted frames are typically very durable. But, they rust at the base of the frame. Over time the rusting steel frame expands. Doors can bind or not open at all. Here’s a repair option for the door professional.
Zane – It’s important to get down to the concrete so you can have some consistency when you’re measuring up. Looks like I’m going to have to take these seals off too. Well as you can see, all the work that needs to be performed is going to be from this point down. So I’m going to be doing a lot of work on my knees and laying down, so it’s a tough job, everything just utilizes your hands.
So what I do is I mark the frame. Here’s the damage of the rust, and I’m going a couple of inches above that. You can easily see where the rust is, but sometimes underneath here it doesn’t quite show itself, so when you go to weld it just melts really quick. So you want to come up with some and get good steel. You don’t want to go too high up because at that point you’re just removing a lot of the integrity of the frame. The rust is expanded and the opening is less wide than the door, it causes it to bind. In fact, you have to kick it open, its so forced in here that it’s literally swelled shut. I’m going to leave this extremely strong frame in place and just cut the bottoms out.
Zane Begins Working on the Door
I’m going to set my frame up here, that’s my plunge line. That will get me right where I need to be, once I put that frame back in. I’m going to show you how I make sure that’s straight.
“Small laser level attached to opposite jamb”
I’ve got my laser setup. So I’m going to make a bunch of dots. Those dots are right on the laser line.
“I draw dots across the laser line that’s the cut line.”
Horizontal Frame Cut
An effective way to cut the grout filled steel frame is with a masonry blade attached to an angle grinder. You can plunge it directly into the frame, and you can control its depth of cut.
“Be careful of grinder kicking back!”
And the width isn’t a problem either. I’ve taken the guard off to show how effectively you can cut on a line.
“Sparks can cause fire and damaged glass.”
So try and have your power tools do the work for you; you can swing a sled around and break this out, you have a chance of breaking the concrete. It could be more weathered than what it looks like on the outside, on the inside of the frame from all the moisture damage. So if you break it free with some vibration with your roto hammer, let’s get that on hammer not drill.
“Removal from the side of the frame.”
This one’s actually working pretty well. So the frames have a return that’s stuck in behind the concrete, so if you chip out enough concrete for this to lie flat, you can leave this portion in here as kind of a stem, support the way if you feel it’s necessary.
“Vertical frame cut.”
You just saw the horizontal cut portion and I’m gonna do a vertical cut portion now, just in case the site axis is limited or the wall’s really brittle; this limits damage in that way. I just don’t do it all the time because you know it’s basically twice as much dust.
“Use tool guards – removed for video only”
Anyway as you can see you just kind of plunge into the floor, you don’t have to go all the way down because it’s probably rusted already anyway. But what you want to do is peel the frame back so you can get in there with your roto hammer or grinder and have access to the returns because you want your new frame piece just to slide in easily that way if there’s any grinding of the bottom of the frame that you need to do it just removes easily. So you just basically chisel away at both sides just removing about three-quarters, maybe an inch of the material. Anything smooth on the concrete you want to remove, that will be a hindrance to your new frame matching up or aligning properly, it’ll just make it stick out a little bit so chisel that smooth stuff off and just kind of round it off and have a nice axis for your frame piece.
“Only grind the bottom of frame piece to match floor not top”
Now we try and fit the frame in there this side works but this side does not so I’m going to grind off the bottom of this, that’s the trick. What they are is magnet holders for tools. Make sure they’re clean. They’re strong, but after you do this and you tuck your frame in place, it doesn’t go anywhere, and when it cools it doesn’t go anywhere, well it still does but not near as bad. That’s what the inside of the frame looks like, it’s just literally eaten away. They even used duck tape for some reason to trap extra moisture I guess. So we’re going to do something these folks didn’t, that is we’re going to seal our frame. I use an undercoating, W3M, I’m not sure it’s the best but I think it’s better than paint; it doesn’t chip off. Put it on the bottom, just make sure it’s all in there, I got a little on the outside I’ll wipe that off but I’ll paint the inside like that and I don’t do the very top cause boy this stuff stinks when it gets hot from welding. As you can see the bar magnets are holding the side piece in perfect alignment prior to my spot welding. After spot welding, I’ll remove the magnets and continue with the spot welding around the frame. So a little note about welding here i use spot welds. I do not weld on the inside corners as it’s too difficult to remove with a grinder, and you do not want to use continuous welds because the heat will cause warping. A 60 and a 120 flap disc will make that smooth work for you.
“Any good ideas? Leave a comment!”
Some magnets in a small tarp will help trap the heat for quicker bondo drying. I have found that stainless steel countersunk coarse-thread screws and plastic sleeves work very well. Unlike most other anchor types, these won’t rust and can be easily removed in the future if needed. And the bondo is dry.
“Used a small palm sander to sand smooth.”
And here you have the completed frame splice repair, it’s very durable and will last for many years.
“Splicing a steel frame with hinge.”
Here is a heavily rusted frame that has actually damaged the hinge. You can splice this new piece in easily by following these quick steps. You reference the top of the hinge to a two inch cut mark and a top of a hinge to a four inch reference line. That will be used in the future to align your new frame. Your cut mark will be a level cutting line where you’ll make your plunge cut and that 4 inch reference mark will be a way to confirm that your new hinge frame is aligned with the old one because your door is not moving, so it has to be aligned perfectly or it won’t work properly. This frame has been bondoed and sanded to a smooth finish and is ready for primer paint. And here’s the completed frame prime paint and ready to go.
