Richard Bembridge is no stranger to Diamond Doors and it was a record of excellent service that brought him back for a bifold door for his hangar home in eastern Manitoba, Canada.
“I have two hangars at the St. Andrews airport,” said Richard. “The newer one has a Diamond door on it. I had some service experience with Diamond Doors and they were phenomenal, so it was a really easy decision to make.”
Diamond Doors offers standard tin cladding and polycarbonate sheeting as finishing options. However, each door is customizable and can be designed to suit the exact finishing requested by the customer. For Richard, the polycarbonate panels were exactly what he was looking for.
“I was pretty set on a Diamond door when the process began. When it became apparent that the Diamond door could achieve the polycarbonate panels to allow for this light feature that we wanted, it was a no brainer.”
With polycarbonate panels on the top and bottom half of the door, Richard is satisfied with the results. “It works really [well] and at night time it lights up spectacularly,” he says.
Polycarbonate sheeting is a great choice for natural light and can offer some insulation value. The 30mm polycarbonate offered by Diamond Doors provides insulation capabilities similar to that of many double pane windows. This makes it the perfect choice for an insulated hangar home in Manitoba’s cold and snowy winters.
Another advantage to a Diamond bifold hangar door is that it is installed on the outside of the building. This creates room for a larger clear opening – and taller planes.
“One day we might want to move an amphibious airplane in and out of here, so height was a consideration,” said Richard. “The way that the door moves, it’s up and out of the way. It makes it so that whatever you’re moving in and out is not impeded by the door in its parked position.”
Diamond Doors is proud to offer a quality hangar home door and customer service to match. “Everything I’ve had to do with Diamond Doors has been A plus,“ Richard added. “For that reason, I would absolutely recommend using a Diamond door for your hangar, or hangar home, or your project.”
Learn more about a bifold door for your hangar home by visiting our Aviation page. Or, request a free quote for your next hangar door by clicking the button below.
Video Transcript
My name is Richard Bembridge and I’ve been a pilot for around seven years.
It was my son’s interest that got me started. He graduated high school, decided he wanted to become a pilot, and I basically followed in behind him.
We have two planes. We have a 1947 Stinson 108. That’s a really nice plane to take on a short trip. And we have a 2007 Cirrus SR22 GTS Turbo Normalizing that is for long cross country [trips].
We decided to build this house probably three or four years ago now. Particularly, it was about having the ease and access to the plane and the convenience of flying. When you’re finished you put it away in your own space – no different than your car. It’s also easier for maintenance. The mechanic can come here, or there’s some cleaning and maintenance attributes that you can perform yourself, in your own home and the comfort of not having to travel to where your hangar may otherwise be.
In the door itself, it fronts the entire house so we didn’t want a wash of black metal or some other coloured metal to complement the rest of the building. We wanted some kind of clear component to it so the polycarbonate panels became a focus of designing the door.
I put them on both halves of the door so that we didn’t have that inconsistency. It works really good, and at night time it lights up spectacularly. You turn the lights on inside the hangar and the door is absorbing all the light and broadcasting it out into the darkness. It’s quite nice.
Diamond Doors is a staple in the aviation community – I think everybody in Manitoba knows that if you’re building a hangar, Diamond Doors is the foremost consideration.
I have two hangars at the St. Andrews airport. One of them is rather old and one of them is rather new. The newer one has a Diamond door on it and I had some service experience with Diamond Doors and they were phenomenal, so it was a really easy decision to make.
Quite frankly, the only research I really did was online. I was pretty set on a Diamond door when the process began, and as I said, when it became apparent that the Diamond door could achieve the polycarbonate panels to allow for this light feature that we wanted, it was a no brainer.
Height was a consideration. One day we might want to move an amphibious airplane in and out of here, so height was a consideration. The way that the door moves, it’s up and out of the way. It makes it so that whatever you’re moving in and out is not impeded by the door in its parked position.
The mechanical attributes of the door are kind of tried, tested, and true – you almost take them for granted a little bit. The built-ins, if you will.
It actually is a great option for anyone building a building of this nature, where you have to move something in and out that is the size of an airplane or tractor. Perhaps you want to have a storage for antique cars or something.
Everything I’ve had to do with Diamond Doors has been A plus. For that reason, I would absolutely recommend using a Diamond door for your hangar, or hangar home, or your project.
