Roller Garage Doors – a Jaguar Owners Story
by Mike Campbell
Like most XK owners, keeping the car safe at night is of primary importance. So when the insurance company asked “Where will it be parked at night”, I knew it was time for me to clear out the collection of old broken lawn-mowers along with a lifetimes accumulated junk from my garage, in order to provide a safe new home for the car.
I had owned the car less than a month, when the tensioning wire came loose on one of the garage doors causing it to jam half way. In a moment of utter madness I disconnected the offending wire. This of course brought the entire door crashing down.
Standing there paralysed by sheer heart stopping terror, I watched as the door landed on my driveway, missing the front of my XK8 by an absolute hairs-breadth !. Not wanting to risk a repeat performance, I set about looking for a replacement garage door. I didn’t have far to look, as located on the outskirts of Crewe where I live, is Rolux UK, one of the countries leading manufacturers & installers of remote controlled roller garage doors. A quick 5 minute drive and I was at their factory showroom near Alsager, just a couple of minutes from Junction 16 of the M6 motorway. Parked outside the showroom was a silver XKR coupe, which I later discovered belonged to the Rolux UK director, Richard Cooper, who had recently purchased the car from former world snooker champion Dennis Taylor.
In their showroom, Richard was able to show me the wide range of options available. I was also able to see a model of the construction of the door, with all the toughness and security features essential for keeping out unwanted visitors. The remote control operation was also demonstrated along with the safety cut-off device that would stop the door closing, if an obstruction got in the way. Impressed with what I’d seen, I arranged for a surveyor to visit me the next day to measure my garage, and quote for one large double door. With an order placed, and a delivery date fixed, I was delighted to receive a call just a few weeks later saying my door was now ready and could be fitted earlier than expected.
Over the course of two days, a team from Rolux UK came and fitted the new roller garage door. As I was replacing two single doors with one, they first fitted an RSJ support beam, which enabled them to demolish the old brick support column and remove the two single doors.
From start to finish I was highly impressed with the professionalism of the installation team.
They carefully removed and preserved a course of brickwork, enabling them to put the bricks back after the steel RSJ had been fitted. The electrical fittings for the automatic door were all wired in properly and secured with appropriate ducting and the hole in the garage floor where the former breeze block support had been was rendered and made good with a new layer of concrete.
With the job complete, the new automated roller garage door works an absolute treat. Before having it installed, I would have said automatic doors were nothing more than a gimmick. However, you soon realise that like the very first time you bought a car with electric windows, or air-conditioning, you suddenly begin to wonder how you ever got by before.
The biggest benefit of course is on those days when it is pouring down with rain. I can now drive straight in to the garage, and from there enter the house, without having to step outside and get wet. Replacing the two original garage doors with one really opened up my whole garage and created a lot more space. I no longer have to fold in the door mirrors and inch gingerly into the garage, as side clearance is no longer an issue. Altogether, I am very pleased with the new door and it was certainly a worthwhile decision to have it installed.
Whilst based in Cheshire, Rolux UK can install automated garage doors throughout the country and their product range also covers carports, awnings and automatic driveway gates. The company has ISO 9001 accreditation along with Investor in People status and they have recently been awarded the accolade of Best Medium Sized Business of the Year by the South Cheshire Chamber of Business.
Please call or contact us for a ballpark figure on our Roller Garage Doors today!