How to Choose an Overhead Door Location That Makes Good Business Sense
When you think about how to choose an overhead door for your business, you likely focus on factors such as door style, materials and access needs. As you weigh your options, don’t forget that the physical placement of your door is one of the most important business decisions of all. Even the best overhead door will fall short if you don’t put it in the right place.
Evaluating Your Overhead Door Needs
Before you can decide where you should put a commercial overhead door, you need to think about how the door will be used. This is essential to choosing the right door and getting the most out of your investment. Businesses typically use overhead doors for:
- receiving freight
- loading freight
- admitting vehicles
- controlling temperature conditions
- dividing storage and work space
- protecting warehoused inventory
- increasing facility security
In addition to thinking about the purpose for the door, you’ll need to think about the kind of traffic it will see. For example, it’s generally safe to assume that an overhead door used for freight shipments will see heavier traffic than a door used to secure a separate inventory area within your facility. You should also think about the employees, vendors, drivers and customers who will access the door. Professional truck drivers might not mind navigating to the back of your business to get to an overhead door, but everyday customers might not feel as comfortable doing so.
Placing Your Overhead Door for Optimal Success
Increasing the efficiency of your business operations should be your top priority when choosing an overhead door location. If you’re debating between several different locations, talk to your overhead door dealer or a contractor. These professionals can draw on their previous experience to help you make a wise decision.
Plot out your business’s traffic flow as you decide on overhead door placement. It’s essential that consumers who need to drive or walk up to your business don’t get caught behind freight trucks. If you need customers to be able to drive through your overhead door, it’s important that you place it in an area that’s easy to find from the road or your parking lot. Accessing your overhead door shouldn’t be so logistically difficult that you have to plan ahead to use it or provide customers with a complicated map.
If you’re looking for an insulated door, you should also consider the impact of outside weather conditions in different areas. After all, there can be a big difference between the exposure to wind, snow and rain on different sides of your building. Choose a location that will optimize thermal efficiency.
Need help finding the right location for your steel, service or fire door? Contact the pros at Overhead Door of Portland today.
