- One-piece steel or timber panel
- Counterbalance spring mechanism
- Motorisable with the right operator
A tip-up garage door swings out and up in one panel, running back into the roof space on a simple frame. It is the door on a great many older Alberton houses, particularly through Alberton North, New Redruth, Florentia, Raceview and Verwoerdpark, and it is still a sensible product where the geometry suits it.
Tip-up garage doors we supply in Alberton
- Steel tip-up doors in the traditional ribbed and panelled profiles.
- Aluminium tip-up doors where a lighter panel is wanted.
- Timber tip-up doors where the house calls for it.
- Single and double widths, on new or existing frames.
Where a tip-up door works and where it does not
It needs clear space in front of the opening, because the panel swings out before it lifts. This is the reason we fit very few of them on the ridge at Meyersdal: on a steeply rising driveway the panel swings out toward ground that is coming up to meet it, and the door either fouls the slope or fouls the car. On the flatter northern suburbs it works perfectly well.
Replacing an old tip-up door
Most tip-up doors we replace have gone out of balance, rusted at the bottom edge, or had the frame move. Where the frame is sound we fit a new panel to it, which is the cheapest route by a distance. Where it is not, the frame is replaced with the door and we say so up front.
Balance and safe operation
A tip-up door is held by tension on each side, and the balance is the whole safety story. An out-of-balance tip-up door is heavy to lift and can come down hard. We replace the tension components in matched pairs and set the balance so the door stays where you leave it.
Corrosion at the bottom edge
The bottom edge of a tip-up panel is where these doors die, and on properties nearer the industrial belt it happens faster. Where the rest of the panel is sound we can often repair or replace the bottom section, and we specify a better coating on the replacement so the same failure takes longer to come back.
Motorising a tip-up garage door
Tip-up doors can be automated with a rail-mounted operator and the correct arm, but only once the balance is right. Automating a heavy tip-up door is how operators get destroyed. We check the door by hand before quoting the motor.
Maintenance for tip-up doors
Tension components, pivots and frame fixings, checked annually. The failure that matters usually gives warning in how the door feels for weeks beforehand.
What a tip-up garage door costs in Alberton
Usually the least expensive garage door for a given opening. Priced on width, panel material, finish, whether the frame is being replaced, and whether it is automated.
Common questions
About tip-up and up-and-over garage doors
Yes, and we still fit and repair a great many of them. They are the simplest mechanism we build: one counterbalanced panel, few moving parts, and cheap to repair. They remain a sensible choice for a detached garage where sealing is not critical.
That is how the mechanism works — the bottom of the panel arcs outward as it lifts. You need roughly a metre of clear space in front of the door. If you park close to the door, a sectional or roll-up door is the better fit.
Yes, with an operator that has a swing arm or a curved rail to follow the arc of the panel. The springs must be correctly balanced first — a heavy, badly balanced tip-up door will destroy a motor in months.
Almost always the counterbalance springs have fatigued or one has broken. It is a straightforward repair and should be done promptly, because an unbalanced tip-up panel can drop hard enough to injure someone.
Related
Also worth a look
Insulated Garage Doors
Warmer garage, quieter house
Foam-cored sectional garage doors with thermal breaks and full perimeter seals, for attached garages, converted rooms and bedrooms above the garage.
- 40mm bonded polyurethane core
- Thermal break at every section joint
- Full perimeter seals, all four edges
Industrial Roller Shutter Doors
Alrode, Alrode South, Spartan side
Heavy-duty galvanised shutters for the Alrode manufacturing belt, specified by span and duty cycle for openings up to 8 000mm wide.
- Openings to 8 000mm wide
- 0.8mm–1.2mm galvanised slat
- Chain hoist or motorised
Wooden Garage Doors
Meranti, cedar and saligna
Meranti, cedar and saligna garage doors built on a galvanised steel frame and sealed on all six faces before they are hung. Tip-up or sectional, manual…
- Timber on a galvanised steel frame
- Sealed all six faces before hanging
- Tip-up or sectional mechanism
