- Steel, timber or aluminium leaves
- Welded steel subframe, adjustable hinges
- No headroom required
A side-hinged garage door opens outward on hinges like a pair of large doors. In Cape Town it is chosen for two reasons: the garage is a workshop or store and needs a door that can be opened partly, or the house is old enough that a hinged pair is what the elevation was designed around.
Side-hinged garage doors we supply in Cape Town
- Steel side-hinged doors in ribbed and panelled profiles, coated for the position.
- Timber side-hinged doors in hardwood or clad, for period and heritage elevations.
- Unequal leaf pairs so one leaf works as a normal pedestrian door.
- Glazed upper panels where the garage needs daylight.
Hinged doors on period and heritage properties
The Victorian and Edwardian housing through the City Bowl, Woodstock, Observatory, Wynberg and Kalk Bay was built when a hinged pair was the normal garage door, and on those elevations a modern overhead panel looks wrong. In a heritage area a hinged pair is often what the approval expects, and we build to the proportions of the opening and supply the drawings the process needs.
Wind and hold-open catches
A pair of open leaves in a Cape Town south easter is two sails on hinges, and a gust will slam them hard enough to bend a hinge or split a stile. We fit proper hold-open catches as standard rather than as an accessory, because here they are not optional.
Space required in front of the opening
The leaves swing outward, so the apron has to be clear. On the short driveways common through the older suburbs there is frequently not room, and we check the ground at survey because this is what catches people out.
Hinges, locking and salt
Hinges, shoot bolts and locking are the components that seize on a coastal hinged door, and they are also what the door depends on entirely. We fit stainless or heavily coated hardware on coastal work, because a beautifully made timber pair on hinges that have rusted solid is not a door.
Frames and hanging
The frame carries the whole load, and on a heavy timber pair that load is considerable. We fit a proper subframe anchored into the structure with fixings in the right grade, and on an old wall we check what is behind the plaster before hanging anything on it.
Timber doors in a coastal climate
Hardwood here takes salt-laden wind and driving winter rain, and an unsealed edge will swell until the leaf stops closing. We seal all six faces, specify the timber for the position, and state the recoating interval honestly rather than optimistically.
What a side-hinged garage door costs in Cape Town
Priced on opening size, leaf material, glazing, locking, hardware grade and subframe. Timber costs more than steel and lasts well when it is looked after.
Common questions
About side-hinged garage doors
Roughly half the opening width in clear space in front of each leaf. Check for boundary walls, steps, paving edges and where cars actually park. If the driveway falls away steeply from the garage we set the leaves higher and use a threshold seal.
Yes, with a swing-arm operator on each leaf, the same type used on driveway gates. It works well but is slower than a roll-up motor and needs the swing area kept permanently clear. Most of our side-hinged customers stay manual.
Because the leaves were hung straight onto brickwork. We fit a welded steel subframe into the reveal first, square and plumb, and hang the leaves off that with adjustable hinges so the door can be trued up later.
Often, yes. If the frame is sound and square, new leaves cost a fraction of a complete door. Send a photo of the opening from outside and we will tell you which you are looking at.
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