B&D Garage Doors Perth: Roll-A-Door and Panelift Supplied, Installed and Serviced

We quote after measuring, because the figure moves with the door. The line comes first: a Roll-A-Door is the simpler door to build, and a Panelift costs more for the same opening. Then size, since a double or a tall opening means more steel and a heavier spring; then colour and profile, with standard Colorbond colours sitting below premium finishes and insulated panels; then the opener, and whether the motor you have can stay. Taking the old door away and any work to the opening are separate lines on the quote. There is no call-out fee, measuring and quoting cost you nothing, and the full figure is in writing before we order a thing.

There is no clear winner. Both are long-established Australian makers, both form their doors from Colorbond steel, and both offer roller garage doors, sectional doors and their own openers. B&D's residential range is built around the Roll-A-Door and the Panelift, with a spread of profiles and finishes across the two; Gliderol's reputation rests mainly on its roller doors, though it makes sectional doors and openers too. On any one job, what actually separates them is the look of the curtain or panels, which opener drives the door, and who fits it and comes back to service it. We supply and install B&D, not Gliderol, and we repair both.

Often the cheapest replacement is not replacing it at all. If the door is straight and the curtain or panels are sound, a new spring, cable, lock, set of rollers or opener costs a fraction of a new door and is usually done in one visit. If the door does have to go, the lowest-cost new door for a standard opening is a plain roller door in a standard colour with no motor, which is why the Roll-A-Door has been the default on sheds and rear garages for so long. A like-for-like swap, same type and size, keeps labour down because the opening, the guides and the power point need no work. Adding a motor, moving to a Panelift, choosing a premium finish or altering the opening each push the price up a step.

That depends on what has gone wrong and which B&D opener is on the door, because the steps differ between models; the label on the unit and its manual settle it. Two general fixes cover most calls. If the door has stopped after a power cut or a jam, use the manual release on the opener to free the door, move it by hand to fully closed, re-engage it and run it on the remote; if it then stops short or overruns, the travel limits need setting again on the unit. If the remote is no longer recognised, most B&D openers have a learn or code button, or a menu on the newer ones, to teach the remote back in. Our guide to resetting a garage door opener and its remotes walks through each step. If a reset will not hold, ring us; that often points to a tired spring or a failing control board rather than the settings.

Most of what wears on a Roll-A-Door can still be bought and fitted. Inside the drum is the spring, which relaxes with age and is behind nearly every heavy door; on the drum are the wheels the curtain is fixed to; down each side are the running strips in the guides that keep the curtain quiet; along the bottom rail sits the weather seal; and in the middle of the curtain are the lock and handles, including the Firmadoor lock found on many B&D roller doors. Openers have their own spares, such as drive gears and control boards. A Panelift uses a different list: cables, rollers, hinges, torsion springs and single panels. We carry the common items on the van and order the rest for older doors, and the roller door locks and handles in our parts catalogue show what is available.

No. The spring carries the weight of the door and it is under full tension whenever the door is down. On a Roll-A-Door it sits inside the drum; working on it means holding the whole curtain up while the drum is turned against the spring, and one slip sends the drum spinning and the curtain down on whoever is beneath it. On a Panelift the torsion spring runs along a shaft above the opening and is wound with steel bars, and a bar that gets away can break an arm or worse. We carry springs for both types, fit them in one visit and balance the door afterwards so the opener is not dragging it. Your part is the easy bit: keep sand out of the guides, use a dry spray rather than grease, and ring when the door starts to feel heavier, because that is the spring warning you.

There are two waits. The first is for the door to be made, because B&D builds each Roll-A-Door and Panelift to the measurements we take and in the colour you choose; that lead time moves with the door, the colour and the time of year, and we give you the expected wait when we quote rather than guess here. The second is install day. For a like-for-like swap on a standard single or double, old door out, new door hung, opener fitted and remotes coded, that is normally within the day. It runs longer if you are changing from a roller door to a Panelift, because the tracks and the opener position change, if the opening needs building work, or if a new power point has to go in first. Repairs are quicker: most B&D spring, lock, guide and opener faults are a single visit.