High-Rise Parking Structure
- Date Added: 06/19/07
Challenge
This 66-story mixed-use building is home to a number of up-scale
establishments including department stores, a hotel, and luxury condominiums.
Virtually all shipments and deliveries of any consequence enter through a loading dock and large door on a side street. At 24’ x 16’, just covering this door opening presents a sizeable problem. Since the door is the “mouth” of this building, it has to be big enough to accommodate a variety of truck loads. Consequently, the longer this large door is left open, the greater the loss of energy.
Wind gusts whistling through the skyscraper canyons, coupled with low winter temperatures caused energy costs to skyrocket. And these powerful winds caused their current sectional style garage door to operate very slowly.
Another major problem that building management experienced was massive repair bills in the first year of operation. Accidents resulting from vehicular collisions amounted to $40,000 during that year. These accidents had a common pattern: As the door opened, approaching vehicles would speed toward the opening thinking the way was clear, when in fact, the door was not completely up. The result was door damage, downtime and massive energy loss as the door remained open while being serviced.
Solution
Working with the local ASI distributor, the fragile existing sectional door was replaced with a high speed, Marathon Hydrarol hydraulic powered door.
This change has solved the doorway problems at this facility. The maintenance expense has been eliminated. Operating four times faster than the old door means that the doorway is fully accessible in just seconds. Along with the ability to avoid accidents, the speed of the door enables efficient handling of the several hundred truck trips through the doorway that occur daily.
In addition to high speed, the Hydrarol door has other features that made it the ideal solution. Unlike fabric doors that could deliver the necessary speed, the Hydrarol curtain is comprised of rigid slats. Each slat has an exterior aluminum shell, dense foamed in place polyurethane insulation, and an interior PVC shell to provide protection against criminal intrusion. And, what about those winds? A fabric door would become a huge sail, slowing down considerably with a wind speed of over 25 mph. The Hydrarol door is designed to withstand high winds, thanks to its nylon windlocks and the door’s rigid slats. Weather protection is provided as the Hydrarol is weathersealed along its entire perimeter.
With the wind factor and level of activity in and out of this facility, tremendous demands are put on the door operator, but the Hydrarol’s patented hydraulic operator is specifically designed to take it. Warranted for five years, the U.L. listed operator is maintenance free, a major benefit, considering the amount of traffic the door is expected to handle. Because of the unique design of the Hydrarol, the operator delivers superior performance without the trauma of the high winds preventing the door from operating properly.
The door is actuated by remote control from the security office. Problems at the main doorway can throw off the schedules of a number of businesses in this building. The Hydrarol roll-up door has provided one less thing to worry about.