Tilt-Up Doors Comparison | Schweiss Doors

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Customers Tell Us “Tilt-Up Doors Are Difficult To Keep Sealed!”

While other doors may appear to be the same on
the surface, there is really... “No comparison”

Here's why . . .

Typical characteristics of a tilt-up door...

On tilt-up doors, one-third of the doorframe slides
back into the building when open, similar to old style
garage doors! The doors cylinders are attach to the
side of the doorframe. The door is guided by a
set of rollers that go along for the ride, guiding/
balancing the doorframe back into the building
which results in the loss of valuable headroom!

Remember the Old Style Garage Doors?

Some manufacturers have created an alternative
by building a hydraulic door similar to the old style
garage doors without hinges. The door, when open,
rolls back into the building structure, resulting in loss
of valuable headroom, and it has moving parts, push slides,
cam-rollers, and cam-tracks. The door, when open, teeters on
two pivot pins and the cam-rollers ride in a track that protrudes
back into your building.

TILT-UP DOORS ARE ALMOST

IMPOSSIBLE

TO SEAL PROPERLY!

Characteristics Of A Tilt-Up Door

Doors Are Narrower Than The Clear Opening, Now Try To Seal The Gaps.

Message to any Professional Engineer or a Mechanical
Engineer, Building ManufactureR, and End User of the door!

Any manufacturer that states that the door is "freestanding" and makes any of the following claims,
you need to investigate further:

Door doesn't require "any building supports."

Door imposes no load onto the building.

Only wind load is transferred to your building.

Freestanding door with no building support.

No massive header or horizontal bracing required.

It is clear that when you study the reaction and load information...
that a tilt-up door exerts considerable loads on the building in all load cases.

A.1

Check out the reactions at the base of the columns. Technically the loads at the base of the column
are translated into the piers, not technically the building.

A.2

Check out the loads at the top of the columns.

A.3

Check out the vertical load component at the top of the columns.

A.4

Check out the horizontal component of the load into or out of the building and the vertical component
of the load.

A.5

Check out all load cases. Take into account a portion of the dead load and a portion of the two wind
loads used in any reporting.

A.6

Check out the building reaction loads when the door is in the open position. Check out the reaction loads for the four load cases when the door is in the open position.

A.7

Engineering analysis clearly demonstrates that wind conditions will result in a substantial amount
of load being applied to the building by the door.

Therefore, despite the claims to the contrary,
a tilt-up door DOES require building supports.

You Lose Headroom With Tilt-Up Doors

Tilt-Up Doors Don't Have Top Hinges.
It's More Area To Seal Off To Keep Dirt And Weather out!

Tilt-up doors open to the inside of the structure. When the tilt-up door is in the fully open position, one third of the door slides back into the building similar to the old style garage doors - losing valuable headroom! Tilt-up doors obstruct valuable inside space when open and utilize a cam mechanism that travels within a framework, reducing headroom space inside the building structure. This costs you valuable headroom and space you paid for, in addition to blocking interior lighting!

Tilt-Up Doors
Lose Headroom

Tilt-Up Door

Lose Headroom

Almost impossible to create a
weather tight seal.

Customer Says:

“The headroom loss from a tilt-up door as compared
to a Hydraulic door type was a deal breaker for me.”

The Schweiss Advantage

Gain Headroom

Both doors seal tight.

Hydraulic & Bifold
Door Advantage

Are You Getting The Clear Opening You Paid For?

How Do You Seal The Sides Of The Door?

Diagram demonstrating a door sagging down, no longer allowing a clear opening

YOU WERE SOLD A CLEAR OPENING.

But, does the door sag down when open or not open all the way?

“Why am I not getting the clear opening I was promised?”

“Is there something wrong?”

Obstruction When Open

The Top Of The Door Doesn't Seal Tight Against The Header.

Tilt Up Door Travel Area goes inside building

LESS SHADE WHEN OPEN

Hingeless doors do not provide as much shade and will
cover your lights inside the building when door is open!

INSIDE BUILDING

Blocks inside lighting

Lose valuable inside space

Blocks cranes and hoists

Require Wider Building Structure

Water And Snow Can Blow In At The Top Of The Door If Not Sealed Properly.

Tilt-Up Door restricted by building taper.

Tilt-Up Door Vs. Hydraulic Door

Tilt-up Doors - Must stay clear of the building mainframe because the doors raise up
first then rolls back into the building.

Tilt-up Doors - Are restricted by the tapered building mainframe which narrows your
clear opening and requires a wider building to maintain the opening size needed.

Tilt-up Doors - Take up valuable headroom

Tilt-up Doors - Harder to seal

Require a wider building structure

Require a taller building structure

Require additional concrete footings to carry the loads

Require Special Footings

Self-supporting tilt up doors require special footers . . . $$$$

Tilt-UP Doors That Are Free Standing

Tilt-up doors require special footings - Hidden expense...

Additional footings and Anchor Bolts must support the door in all positions.

Customer must figure back in what the additional footing
cost will be adding to the cost of the door.

Special Footings Cost Extra Money... Added Expense...

Customers Have Told Us Tilt-Up Doors Are Hard To Seal And Harder To keep Dirt And Debris Out Of Their Building

Tilt-Up Doors Have Gaps Around The Door Frame That Need To Be Sealed.

The tilt-up doorframes are narrower than the clear opening

A hingeless doorframe sits in-between two columns. As the door opens it lifts up and floats inward simultaneously. The door requires a gap on each side with at least enough clearance for the doorframe to tilt back into the building as it opens! The gap on each side needs to be sealed! The doors are typically 1.5" to 3" narrower on each side of the framed opening!

The DOOR DOESN'T SEAL WELL MAKING IT Harder to heat or cool
your building throughout the year, costing more!

Holes Cut In Sheeting

Those Holes Will Need To Be Sealed To Keep Water Out!

Door In The Open Position

The external truss near the center of the doorframe has to be sealed to prevent moisture or rain from leaking through. Doors lie flat in the open position.

Sheeting on tilt up door needs holes that have to be sealed

Tilt-Up Doors With An External Truss
Require Holes Cut In The Sheeting

An external doors truss mounts near the center of the doorframe. When cladding/sheeting the door, the sheeting is notched/cut out arotund the center truss brackets. They need to be caulked to keep moisture out!

In My Opinion, You Sacrifice Stability Of The Door When You Don't Have Top Hinges As An Anchor

Now, How Do You Keep The Door Sealed?

Forces are on the "Sides" of Doorframe

The cylinders on these style doors that raise and lower the door are connected to a pin that is cantilevered off each side of the doorframe. Both pins and rollers carry the entire weight and loads of the door. These doors have two support points and two guide rollers!

The tilt-up doors have no hinges to balance and distribute the loads of the doorframe.

Tilt up doors puts forces on side of doorframe - Level Frame

Keeping Outside Elements Out Of Your Building

By design, tilt-up doors do not contact the side columns, leaving a huge gap that needs to be sealed to keep the outside elements out of your building! When operating the door any slight movement from left to right will cause irregular gaps that are challenging to seal! The tilt-up door require two seals on both ends of the door. One seal mounts to the vertical column the other seal mounts to the doorframe. Both seals will be rubbing against each other when opening or closing. By design this door rotates as it opens - the doorframe rolls up and tilts inward into the building and the bottom tilts outward; both seals will be rubbing against each other as the door opens and closes. Maintaining a good seal can be a real challenge; keeping the weather seals intact and in place with every cycle!

Doors that do not seal well . . . cost more to heat!
. . . cost more to cool!

Tilt up doors puts forces on side of doorframe - Tilted Frame

Frost heaves and snow under the doorframe

With a tilt style door containing no hinges you get less stability. There are no fixed connections to the doorframe other than a cylinder on each side of the doorframe. These cylinders do not pull the door downward, it just floats downward. Even the least amount of snow or debris under the doorframe or a frost heave on the outside ramp will result in the bottom of the doorframe sitting slanted and not level with the floor. When a door just floats down instead of being powered down by its cylinders and pump, the bottom seals cannot do an adequate job of sealing the door in the closed position. This creates a gap on one side and a tighter fit on the other side resulting in an open gap or crack that will allow daylight, dust, dirt and snow to blow inside your building or even unwanted rodents to come inside.

Not So Weathertight

The large tilt-up doors can move left to right inconsistently when closing causing irregular gaps along the vertical edges, header and sill. The tilt-up door requires weather seals at the top and bottom, with double seals on the sides.

Comes In Kits - Must Be Field Assembled... More Time To Install!

When Your Door Is Hard To Seal, You're Losing
Heat In The Winter And Air In The Summer

Kit Doorframes . . . Need to be Assembled

Others companies ship their doors broken down as a bolt-together kit; a giant Erector Set with lots of bolts, small parts and cables to deal with! If by chance the kit is missing components or not assembled correctly it's gonna cost somebody extra time and money! Usually it ends up costing the end-user more when that happens!

Kit Door . . . Bolted Connections

Installation of bolts and cables on a moving doorframe is critical and is all up to the erector to do a good job. Are all the bolts tight? Did you miss any? Do I have the doorframe square? Did I bolt the truss in place? This all sounds like a real timely undertaking to install a kit door! Kit doors may save manufacturing time, but add more time for the installers to assemble the door at the job site! Schweiss doors are pre-assembled, pre-welded and delivered pre-hung within its own doorframe for easy installation.

Kit Door . . . Bolted Connections Vs. Welded Connections

Will a kit door be as strong as an all-welded doorframe? Welds never work loose and are a much stronger and permanent connections - welds never need to be reinstalled or tightened. Schweiss doorframe members are shop-welded, the doors are delivered pre-hung within their own doorframe for easy install.

TAKES MORE TO ASSEMBLE!
WHAT DO YOU ACTUALLY SAVE?!?

“Who's responsible for the quality control?”

“Looks like I have to do all the work!”

“Hope all the parts are here!”

“Are all the holes in the correct place?”

Tilt Up Doors installing transfers liability to customer

Schweiss Makes a Sturdy Door!

Shop welded Door header with built-in wrap-around hinges

A pre-built welded doorframe with it's own framework

Door members welded and assembled at the factory

Thicker / stronger steel tube construction

No cables needed, No bolts necessary!

Schweiss Hydraulic Doors

Door Overview

Row of planes outside of hangar fitted with a Schweiss Door

Here’s Why “You Want Hinges!”

Schweiss hydraulic door hinges give stability to the doorframe at any position

THE IMPORTANCE OF . . . HINGES ON A DOORFRAME

The Schweiss hinge has a Robust design over tilt-up hydraulic doors that have no hinges! Schweiss Hydraulic Doors are designed with heavy-duty hinges that help carry the entire weight of the door when opening and closing! The advantage of heavy-duty hinges on a moving doorframe is that they distribute the weight of the doorframe evenly across the subframe header to give the door stability in all positions. By having the hinge run across the entire top of the door, the whole door is supported! It's all about surface area. Schweiss hinges help spread the forces over a broader portion of the doorframe and header lowering the stresses that are transfered to the hydraulic cylinders and components of the door!

Schweiss hinges give the door stability in all positions

Schweiss... safety / stability / performance... no matter what size door.

Yes, when your door has inferior hinges you sacrifice the stability of the
doorframe making your door significantly harder to seal.

With that being said, common sense will tell you how important it is to have "the strength and functionality" of hinges connected to the doorframe!

HINGES SUPPORT THE DOOR IN ALL POSITIONS!

Cylinder Lift Point

Hinges and Cylinders provide stability
to the doorframe in all positions.

Schweiss hydraulic door cylinders give even more stability to the doorframe

Forces are on the Doorframe

The hydraulic cylinders on Schweiss doors that raise and lower the door are connected to the doorframe between two vertical frame members. These vertical frame members balance the weights and forces on the hydraulic cylinders. Spherical bearings are also used to accommodate any flexing, making a strong and safe connection! Schweiss includes 6 to 24 hinges (depending on the door size ) that are connected to the doorframe to help carry the weights and loads of the door! Schweiss doors utilize hinges to provide a strong connection and safe door! Schweiss hydraulic cylinders have a direct force on the doorframe, not on a cantilevered pin that sticks out the side of the doorframe!

No Lost Headroom . . .

SCHWEISS HYDRAULIC & BIFOLD DOORS

Schweiss doors clear opening vs. tilt up doors lost headroom

A customer told us "The headroom loss from a tilt-up
door as compared to a Hydraulic door type was a deal
breaker for me."

Gain Headroom... With Hydraulic Doors

Schweiss Hydraulic Doors vs Tilt-up doors on tapered building

Hydraulic vs Tilt-up Doors

Hydraulic Doors - Utilize the full width between building columns

Hydraulic Doors - Lose no headroom

Hydraulic Doors - Mount on the face of the building column

Hydraulic Doors - Swing out when open

Hydraulic Doors - Allows you to keep your building costs down

Hydraulic Doors - Do not require additional footings

Utilize building space better

No restrictions

Save on building costs

Hydraulic Doors...“Overlap”

Doorframes Are Wider Than Opening, Leaving NO Gap On Each Side

ALL SCHWEISS HYDRAULIC DOORS ARE EASIER TO SEAL

Schweiss hydraulic doors are weathertight vs. Tilt up doors sealing

Seals Tight

SCHWEISS WEATHERTIGHT DOORS

Schweiss doors are extremely weathertight and designed so the doorframes overlap by two inches on each side column making it easy to seal on the sides of the doorframe. The two hydraulic cylinders pull and power the doorframe securely and seal against the door columns! Unlike most tilt-up doors, Schweiss doors are powered down. Tilt-up doors float down into closed position and the doorframe does not overlap anything, leaving a huge gap that needs to be sealed off resulting in dust and dirt blowing through the gaps and cracks.

“The thing I like most about my hydraulic door is that it seals from the outside.
Wind pressure seals it tighter instead of loosening the seal.”

Schweiss Design

Note: Schweiss doorframes overlap the side columns two inches, not allowing any gaps! Doors are easy to seal when the doorframe overlaps the column; it's harder to seal gaps when the doorframes do not overlap the columns!

Schweiss Doors Are Not An Erector Set

Doors Come Pre-Assembled And Welded At Factory

All quality control is done at the factory. No bolts to mess with!

Need Your Door Fast? Schweiss Lead Times Are Only 4 to 5 Weeks!

Schweiss Doors Only Has 4 to 5 Week Lead Time!

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