A Cleveland commercial door is more than a mere ornamental feature. It keeps your business premises secure, helps regulates inside temperatures, and is often an essential component of your operations. If an industrial door is damaged, your job site may be left vulnerable to the elements or even trespassers. Beyond that, damaged doors can deter potential customers, clients, or tenants. Leave the problem unaddressed long enough, and it could adversely impact your insurance coverage. But even when you know action is required, the choice of whether to repair or replace it may not be clear-cut. We can help.

Most commercial doors are built to withstand extensive daily use. But the “life expectancy” of any door depends on the materials it’s made of, the elements to which it’s exposed, and how much usage it gets. Direct exposure to UV light, high humidity, fluctuating temperatures, and heavy traffic will inevitably shorten the amount of time between repairs and/or necessary replacement.

The Northeast Ohio commercial door experts at Advance Door Co. can provide insight on which factors to weigh when making such a decision. We also offer personalized consultations to provide our clients with the best short- and long-term options for repair or replacement based on the door’s condition, age, function, singularity, and associated costs.

We’ll start by examining the type of Cleveland commercial door you have (automatically locking security door, powered security door, steel security door, keypad door, fire door, etc.). This will allow our industrial door repair team to determine if the current setup is truly serving your safety, security, and aesthetic needs, and if not, what alterations or swaps may be necessary to achieve those.

While are door techs are equipped to repair and replace a broad range of commercial door types, we’re going to focus here specifically on identifying and addressing commercial pedestrian doors damage. Sometimes referred to as “man doors” or “walk-through doors,” commercial pedestrian doors are basically any doors people use to enter the front, side, or rear of a commercial building. They’re smaller compared to overhead commercial doors. Depending on their purpose and location, they can be made of steel, wood, aluminum, or fiberglass. Because commercial pedestrian doors tend to get a lot of use, they can sometimes require more frequent maintenance and replacement – though repair jobs are typically less extensive (and less expensive) than what’s required for overhead doors.

Common Types of Commercial Pedestrian Door Damage

Some of the most common types of commercial pedestrian door damages are:

• Alignment problems. This is often just a side effect of regular use (or even misuse) that ultimately results in the door effectively dragging against the frame or floor. It may not be a security issue per se, but the scrape and sound can be annoying.
• Bent frames. This can be the result of routine forklift/delivery use or possible misuse. Sometimes we see it result from break-ins. A bent frame on a commercial door is going to directly impact the fundamental security and operation of the door.
• Corrosion. Damage due to corrosion is typically a side effect of exposure to certain elements (which may or may not be avoidable, depending on your operations). Our Cleveland commercial door repair experts typically see this where doors are exposed to extended periods of bright sunlight, humidity, air salinity, or extreme weather. Certain door materials may be more vulnerable to element exposure than others. Corrosion can be unsightly, but it may not be a major functional issue unless the door becomes entirely rusted out or brittle. Wait that long, though, and you’re likely looking at a replacement over repair.
• Door warping. This is a less common problem with commercial doors compared to residential doors, but it does happen now and then.

Cleveland Commercial Door Repairs

When problems with a commercial pedestrian door disrupt operations or reflect poorly on your brand, prompt action is important.

Commercial door repair makes sense when the cost to do so is less than the cost of replacement AND it will extend the effective usage for more than a few months. (If you end up having to replace it a couple months down the line anyway, it may be better to skip the repair and go straight to replacement.)

Issues that can (usually) be fixed with a professional repair include:

• Hardware replacement. Some parts of a door can wear out quicker than others. The larger components of a door may be fine, but the handle or hinges are rusty, sticking, or failing in function. We can often replace the hardware without replacing the entire door.
• Door frame alignment. Commercial door alignment problems are common, and they can crop up without warning. However, if you let them go too long without repair, they can cause permanent damage – not just to the door, but the surrounding door, floor, and ceiling. It could even become a safety issue. Schedule maintenance as soon as possible for this issue.
• Door sealing. If you start to feel a draft from the door, you hear a whistling sound when it’s breezy, or you notice your energy bill has been a bit higher lately, your door may need sealing. This is a common maintenance issue that can usually be resolved with repair.

Cleveland Commercial Door Replacement

Doors don’t last forever. Some surefire signs your pedestrian commercial door needs to be replaced:

• It’s warped. When a door is warped to the point that it’s tough to close or open, it’s time to replace it. Our team may be able to recommend a replacement that will stand up better to the day-to-day onsite conditions to which it is exposed.
• It won’t close. Sometimes, if the problem is something like a faulty component or busted hardware, we might be able to repair it. But often, doors that no longer close properly need to be swapped out entirely.
• The frame is bent. A door jam or frame that’s bent and no longer plumb and level will need to be replaced entirely.
• The door is very old. The definition of “old” here may depend on the type of door – some doors are built to last 50 years, others may not last more than a decade. If the parts of the door that require repair are so old as to be outdated, we may recommend total replacement. Same goes if the existing door fails to match current building codes or compromises security. In these cases, it’s often more cost-effective and safe to simply replace it.

If you are unsure whether the door problem you’re having requires replacement or repair, contact our commercial door professionals for an assessment and estimate.

Advance Door Co. provides commercial door products, services, repairs, and replacements to customers throughout Northeast Ohio, including Cleveland, Parma, and surrounding communities.

Additional Resources:

5 Crucial Aspects of Commercial Garage Doors, Sept. 23, 2022, Architect Magazine