Installing strip doors in your warehouse, commercial kitchen, or other industrial location can both improve working conditions and save you money. Some of the greatest benefits of installing strip doors are highlighted below:
PVC is the most common material used on curtain door plastic strips. The type of PVC you will want to use is largely dependent on where it's being installed:
Although many strip doors are clear for visibility purposes, there are also tinted versions available for use in specific applications like welding partitions or forklift traffic lanes.
In general, the PVC material used to make strip doors is rated based on the following criteria:
Mesh strip doors
are a great option for spaces that just need to control insects, with no temperature regulation. These doors also promote airflow through rooms that need to be aerated due to cooking or cleaning.They're a great option for back doors of restaurants, cafeterias, and food prep facilities, and the strips are weighted on the bottom to prevent them from blowing too freely in a breeze.
Temperature Range | Standard: 0-160 degrees Fahrenheit
Polar Reinforced: -40-140 degrees Fahrenheit | Standard: 0-160 degrees Fahrenheit
Polar Reinforced: -20-150 degrees Fahrenheit | Standard: 0-150 degrees Fahrenheit
Polar Reinforced: -20-140 degrees Fahrenheit | Standard: 0-150 degrees Fahrenheit | N/A | -30-125 degrees Fahrenheit |
Insect Protection | ||||||
Dock Doors | ||||||
Cooler Doors | ||||||
Freezer Doors | ||||||
Spray Areas | ||||||
Restaurant Doors | ||||||
Personnel Doors | ||||||
Light Industrial Doors | ||||||
Medium Industrial Doors | ||||||
Forklift Traffic | ||||||
Temperature Control | ||||||
Workflow Improvement | ||||||
Comfort Control | ||||||
Warehouse Doors |
One of the best things about strip doors is that a tear in one strip doesn't mean the entire door has to be thrown away. However, knowing the difference between the styles of plastic flaps for doors and how they attach to the mounting bar is an important part of your purchasing consideration.
Looped strips feature a heat-sealed loop at the end of each strip. Because this type of strip slides onto a mounting bar rather than attaching to individual hooks, it is less likely to fall off and interrupt the workflow of your business. The mounting bar also makes it easier to clean the door; simply remove the bar to take the door down and clean everything at the same time.
Punched hole strips have several holes at the end of each strip. To hang this type of strip, each hole must be matched up to a hook or peg in order to stay fastened. This design makes individual strips easy to replace or clean, but they are more prone to ripping off in high-traffic locations and can be more tedious to attach.
Perhaps after browsing our selection of strip doors, you've decided that buying a roll of material and creating your own customized strip door is the best option for you. Follow these steps to create a tailor-made strip door without the fear of wasting material!
In addition to recording the dimensions of the doorway, it's important to note anything that may hinder the installation of the door like space limitations on either side of the door or obstructions within the door frame.
Consider what type of traffic will be moving through the door. For personnel, carts, and general traffic, 6"-8" wide strips will work fine. Larger equipment and industrial-type traffic should use 12"-16" wide strips. Check out the chart below for some guidelines on choosing the right width.
Door Height |
Exterior Door/Heavy Traffic |
Interior Door/Light Traffic |
||
---|---|---|---|---|
Strip Width | Strip Thickness | Strip Width | Strip Thickness | |
7' |
4"-6" |
.060" |
||
8' |
8" |
.080" |
||
10' |
8" |
.080" |
||
12' |
12" |
.120" |
||
14' |
12" |
.120" |
||
16' |
16" |
.160" |
||
18' |
16" |
.160" |
If you're installing an exterior door, it's best to go with 100% overlap to protect against inclement weather and wind. Indoor applications can generally get away with 25%, 50%, or 75% overlap.
Find the strip width you chose on the chart below, and cross reference against the percentage of overlap you want to get the "multiplying factor."
Multiplying Factors |
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Strip Width |
25% |
50% |
75% |
100% |
4" |
4 |
6 |
||
6" |
4 |
|||
8" |
1.75 |
2 |
2.5 |
3 |
12" |
1.35 |
2 |
||
16" |
.875 |
1 |
1.2 |
1.5 |
Then, follow these instructions to determine the amount of material you will need to create your custom strip door. This calculation gives you the answer in linear footage so you know how long of a roll you should buy to complete your project. In the example below, you would need a roll at least 104' long to create a strip door to cover your door opening.
Instructions |
Multiply the door width (') by the multiplying factor you found in the table above. |
Add 1 to get the total number of strips you need (adding an additional strip accounts for edge exposure). |
Multiply the total number of strips by your door height (') to get the total linear footage of PVC strip needed. |
Example (4'W x 8'H door with 8" strips and 100% overlap) |
4' x 3 = 12 |
12 + 1 = 13 |
13 x 8' = 104' |
The type of strip you need to purchase is entirely dependent on where you will place the strip door. For example, if you're installing the door into a freezer, you will need to purchase a low temperature strip. If visibility is important because you're placing it in a high traffic area, then a standard, clear PVC strip is the perfect choice.
There are a variety of ways that you can mount your strip door, and while the most common ways are wall or in-jamb mounts, there are others to consider listed in the chart below!
Type of Mount | Explanation | Best Application | Potential Drawbacks |
---|---|---|---|
In-Jamb Mount | Hardware that is mounted within the doorframe | Doors where space immediately around the doorframe is limited | Lowers the height of the door |
Wall Mount | Hardware that is mounted above the door | Good for the majority of applications | Requires more strip material to cover the same door opening |
Universal Mount | Hardware that can be mounted within or above the doorframe | When a large number of strip doors are ordered with varying mounting requirements or there is uncertainty over which mounting option will work best | Can affect the amount of strip material needed to cover the entire door, depending on which mounting option is used |
Piano Hinge | Hinge that allows the entire door to pivot | Doors that need to accommodate two-way traffic or large equipment with little clearance room | Lowers the height of the door |
Overhead Door Bracket | Brackets that allow the door to be mounted away from the door opening | Doorways that contain an obstruction like a door track or a pipe | Takes up more space around the door as the brackets project from the wall around the doorway |
Sliding Track | Track that allows the strip door to be slid completely out of the way without taking it down | Doorways where the strip door is not always necessary due to climate or application | Must be ample room on one or both sides of the door to use this type of mount |
Accordion Hardware | Hardware that works similar to a sliding track but can be mounted within the doorframe when there is not enough space on either side of the door to mount a sliding track | Doorways where there is not enough space to allow for a sliding strip door; doorways where the strip door is not always necessary due to climate or application | Can limit the amount of space within the doorframe |
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