Metal doors of the door - choices
If wooden entrance doors are still popular, then the gate or grill, intended for outdoor use, is made mainly of metal. About what metal doors, gates, lattices are, it is worth talking especially.
When we are going to choose a gate for a garage or a personal plot, we often listen to the recommendations of our friends, pay attention to their appearance, and take an interest in cost.
And we forget about the technical parameters that are just the main ones in this issue. In order not to be mistaken, it is necessary first to study the types of these products, understand by what principle they are classified, and only then choose gates, doors, and lattices.
Types of gates
Gates are classified according to several criteria:
- By area of use they can be household or industrial, and vary in size and design. As a rule, industrial doors are designed for intensive use, and household doors - for moderate use.
- To destination gates are garage and entrance. The first block the passage into the garage or other premises, and the second limit entry into the open area.
- According to the opening mechanism distinguish between mechanical gates and electric.
- By the principle of action - Swinging, lifting (see. Doing the do-it-yourself lifting gates correctly), sliding (sliding) and sectional (folding).
In addition, gates and doors are evaluated by parameters such as wind load resistance, sound insulation, thermal conductivity, and so on. In short, a lot is needed when choosing a gate.
Entrance metal gates
Gateway to the territory of the site can only be swing or sliding. Swing open to any side convenient for you - either outward or inward. A sliding roll back to the side like a coupe door.

Sliding usually made a strict form, without design frills that can interfere with the work mechanisms. But they help to save space significantly, since they do not require space for plowing, but move along the fence.
Swing doors of the gate can not boast of such an advantage, but you can decorate them using various decorative elements. Make entrance gate of a variety of materials. This can be steel sheets, rolled metal in a rigid frame, sandwich panels in a frame of aluminum profiles, steel or cast iron grates.
For resistance to weathering, structural elements are coated with powder paint or protective film.
Garage Doors
At the garage door has its own classification. They can be:
- Swing
- Sectional
- Lifting and turning
- Rolled
You can’t tell a lot about swing gates - this is the most common and cheapest type of gate, which requires enough space to open the doors. Their advantages and disadvantages are also known to all.
The advantages include:
- easy installation
- low cost
And to the disadvantages:
- sagging shutters under its own weight
- insulation complexity
- the need to clear the surrounding space (for example, from snow or grass) for free opening.

Tilt-up metal doors and gates are made of galvanized metal coated with powder enamel and are a single sheet. They are ideal for garages and other utility rooms that require good thermal insulation.
Despite the impressive weight of the structure, the lifting gate works easily and practically silently thanks to the spring shock absorber and torsion spring, which compensates for the weight of the gate. It is possible to operate such gate manually, but it is much more convenient to install an electric drive.
Attention! Installing overhead doors can only be in a rectangular opening, and in front of the garage there should be free space that must be cleared of snow in winter.
The most convenient from the point of view of installation and operation can be considered a rolling gate, consisting of separate metal lamellae connected to each other. To install them, the device is not necessarily a metal box and a perfect alignment of the opening, moreover, they can be placed both indoors and outdoors.
And also the owners of such gates do not have the need to clear the snow in front of the garage in winter in order to open them.
Metal grilles
Very often, the owners of country houses decide not to hide the beautiful buildings behind deaf and high fences, and enclose the site with bars. In this case, the doors and metal gates at the entrance to the site must match them in style.
Metal grilles могут быть сварными или коваными. Проще и дешевле всего изготовить конструкции из сварных металлических прутьев. Но выглядеть они будут лаконично и достаточно скромно.
If you are a fan of exquisite shapes, you are more suited to the beautiful patterns of wrought iron grilles, which even resemble lace from afar (see. Doing the forged do-it-yourself) do the right thing. They are much stronger than welded, but they are more expensive.

Such gates and doors are used not only in private domains. Latticed doors are often installed at the entrance to the common vestibule in front of several apartments. This is a great addition to the metal entrance door, to which attackers will have to get even. And apartment owners can chat with uninvited guests without opening the door for them.
Lattice doors have a standard frame and lattice design. The frame and the box of such a door are made of a shaped tube or corner.
The box is attached to the opening with pins that are driven into the wall and welded to the box by welding. Latticed gates do not have such a constructive element as a box - they are hung on hinges, welded to the supports.
Hardware for metal doors and gates

On what you should not save, installing metal doors, grilles, gates - so it is on the hinges, locks, and in the case of non-standard products - on other opening mechanisms. Hinges for heavy metal doors should be of excellent quality, and it is better if they are hinges with a thrust bearing. Their number is also important for quiet, easy and smooth operation.
Locks for metal doors and gates should have not only high secrecy and reliability, but also resist atmospheric influences, since they will always be under their influence. Cylinder locks least meet these requirements.
You can automate metal doors and gates by installing a special drive on them. But it is better to entrust such responsible work to competent specialists.