Don’t make these 5 common door installation mistakes.
The best way to help our customers is to provide everything they need to get the job done right. While we have already created a thorough installation manual, we wanted to outline some of the most common bifold door installation mistakes – and more importantly – how to prevent them.
Hopefully this information will give you the confidence you need to install a Diamond bi-fold door and provide the foresight you need to avoid these common errors.
Why prevent these mistakes in the first place?
Before we get into the common Diamond bi-fold door installation mistakes, we want to explain why it is important to prevent errors in the first place.
Like most things, it comes down to time and money. When an installation mistake happens, you will need to spend the extra time and money to fix the mistake. Whether this means hiring your install crew back, ordering replacement parts, or waiting for the door to be fixed. All are unnecessary, preventable expenses for you or your business.
Mistake 1 – Not Enough Concrete
One of the mistakes we often see starts with building construction. Standard concrete practice is to pour the concrete floor to the edge of the building. While this works fine for other door installations, since Diamond doors are installed to the outside of the building, the concrete often does not extend far enough to create the seal along the bottom of the door.
How can you prepare the concrete for your shop or hangar bi-fold door? Make sure your concrete floor extends at least 6” past your building to ensure a great door seal.
Mistake 2 – Insufficient Building Prep. For Door
Another mistake during building construction is the preparation of wood buildings for door installation. In order to properly transfer the bi-fold’s weight directly to the post (and not put strain on your building) the door jam posts need to extend to the top cord of the truss. With this done, the corner hinge bolt can be put through the post of the building, transferring 67% of the door weight to the post.
It is important to communicate with your building contractor to ensure the building is properly prepared for a bi-fold door. We provide the door specifications and drawings along with your quote. Our representatives are more than happy to discuss building preparation during the design stages of your project.
Mistake 3 – Wrong Wire Size for Motor
The next common installation mistake is regarding building wiring. Diamond doors come from factory pre-wired and tested. While the entire frame is wired and ready, the building connection at the top of the door still needs to be made. It is important for the functionality of your door to make sure the appropriate wire size is used.
Experienced electricians will know which wire size to install for building projects. Usually, this expertise is correct. However, our door motors require more current than one would expect, due to the door’s electric brake. While the common electrician specifications define an appropriate distance and gauge of wire for most projects, those standards are not sufficient for our door’s motor and electric brake.
The Diamond Doors electrical owners and operator’s manual has the electrical requirements listed to properly wire the door to the building. To have your shop or hangar door in working order, ensure your electrician follows our requirements and does not deviate from them.
Mistake 4 – Trimming the Bottom Rubber Seal
Sealing your door is an important step during install for your building to be secure from natural elements. Mistakes with the top and bottom rubber seals are crucial to avoid for a well-sealed door.
During the door installation process, when the bottom rubber seal is pulled into the track along the bottom of the door, some stretching may occur, especially with larger doors.
The rubber seal should be trimmed on site (before attaching to the door) with a foot extra to accommodate for shrinkage over time and seasonal change. If the seal is trimmed too short, or if any overhang is trimmed off after installation, you run the risk of gaps in the corners of the door where the seal will contract over time.
To prevent this, ensure you trim your bottom rubber seal to the correct size prior to installation. Always feed the extra rubber seal into the tracks along the bottom of the door, never trimming the excess off once installed.
Mistake 5 – Poor Top Weather Seal
Now that we have covered the most common install mistake with the bottom rubber seal, we can move onto the last most common install mistake: installing the seal for the top of the door.
To ensure a proper seal along the top of the bi-fold door, the top weather seal needs to be fastened correctly, sandwiched with a bead of silicone between the door frame and j trim. Without this order of install, you will have a compromised seal.
The installation order for the top weather seal is as follows (as per the installation manual): door frame, top weather seal, continuous bead of silicone, top j trim. This way there will be no gaps along the top of the door.
How we are committed to easy door installation.
Installing a Diamond bi-fold door is overall a fairly simple process. The entire door comes pre-wired, and all electrical is tested in the factory. The door frame is finished painted with a quality two-part paint. We also have a detailed installation manual for your reference. Our manufacturing and design processes all aim towards less work for the end customer.
Now you should be ready to install your shop or hangar door with confidence. If you are still unsure, we can find an experienced Diamond Door installer near you.
We are here to help!
If you are looking to purchase a Diamond bi-fold door, have any further questions, or have a problem that we did not mention above, please contact us and an associate would be happy to provide you with support and solutions.
