Gaining access to your new shed!
Once you’ve decided on a basic design for your new shed, the next question often is “How do I get in?”. Whilst personal access doors are usually included in one form or another on almost every shed we build, the decision to go with either a traditional roller door or a steel sliding door is often a more complicated decision.
Roller doors
Roller doors are the bread and butter of shed access, whether they are manually operated or automated with motors. Available in a large variety of sizes (both widths and heights) they are a cost effective and secure way to gain/limit access to your prized possessions. As roller doors go up in size (Often over 3.1m high), there is a requirement to change from a domestic roller door to an industrial door. These industrial doors can be motorised (via a larger motor) however are most commonly operated via a chain and gear system. This is what you would typically see in a large warehouse, factory, or farm environment where truck access and high clearance are paramount. One thing to consider is the fact that industrial doors require access inside the structure some other way in order to be able to open them from the inside. Even motorised industrial doors require this, in case the remote runs out of batteries or in the unlikely event of the motor failing/power going out.
Steel sliding doors
Most often seen in farm sheds, steel sliding doors work with the bay sizes and operate via a track system. These tracks allow the door to slide out and open either left or right, depending on your requirements. These doors can also be double tracked or split. Whilst sliding doors can allow for a larger opening, often useful in providing access for machinery, the cost of supplying and installing a sliding door is much more expensive than that of a roller door. Additionally, they can’t easily be automated and don’t seal up as well as a roller door, making it easier for dust and vermin to get inside. This means that overall, they are a lot less common to see (and can be less secure as well in some cases).
Pedestrian access doors
All that considered, there are often situations where a shed is not large enough or is utilised in a way that does not require the use of either a sliding steel door or a roller door. In this case, a personal access door would be the way in and out. These can be steel doors (the most common) but also glass sliding doors that you would normally see providing access to a house. Pedestrian access doors are available in a variety of sizes, typically from 820mm up to 1100mm wide and even wider in a double steel 920mm configuration. Glass sliding doors are typically 1800mm wide but once again, Melbourne Garages can provide alternatives to suit your specific requirements. PA doors can sometimes be all that is needed to complete your shed and allow you to get everything you need in and out with minimal fuss.
