The Complete Guide to Commercial Garage Doors in NZ

Commercial garage doors in New Zealand range from rugged Coloursteel roller shutters to lightning-fast fabric doors built for temperature-controlled warehouses. Prices sit anywhere between about $2,500 and $12,000+ per opening, and you can order them supply-only for DIY fit-off or as a fully installed package delivered to any region.

What makes a door ‘commercial’ here isn’t the sign on the building, but its ability to shrug off long duty cycles, high wind zones and the occasional forklift tap. Thicker curtain slats or insulated panels, oversized tracks, industrial-grade motors and compliant safety gear are the hallmarks. Choosing the right specification isn’t just an exercise in ticking boxes for the Building Code; it directly affects security, energy bills and downtime when tenants or staff can’t get vehicles in or out. In the guide that follows we unpack the main door styles—roller, sectional, high-speed, tilt and fire-rated—compare steel, aluminium and insulated constructions, spell out current NZ price brackets, and explain installation, maintenance and compliance paperwork. By the end you’ll know exactly what to measure, what to budget and which questions to ask suppliers.

What Counts as a Commercial Garage Door in the NZ Context?

In New Zealand, a door qualifies as commercial when it is engineered for heavy-duty service rather than occasional household use. Think 50–200 cycles per day, clear openings up to 8 m wide, and the ability to withstand winds of 1.0–1.5 kPa in Very High or Extra High zones. The NZ Building Code drives these specifications: Clause B1 (Structure) demands proven resistance to racking and impact, while Clause E2 (External Moisture) and AS/NZS 4505 set out wind-load and water-ingress benchmarks. Add tougher safety expectations under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015—light curtains, fail-safe brakes, and labelled pinch-points—and you have a different beast from the panel door on a suburban garage.

Commercial garage doors show up anywhere vehicles, goods, or people move in volume: warehouse docks, self-storage rows, farm machinery sheds, retail loading bays, even fire stations. Reliability and downtime cost become the key metrics, so suppliers typically offer industrial-grade motors rated for continuous operation and serviceable components (bolt-on curtain slats, sectional panel hinges, oil-filled counterweights) designed to be rebuilt rather than replaced.

Key Differences From Residential Doors

• Stronger construction – 0.55–0.95 mm Coloursteel slats, double-angle tracks, oversized torsion springs.
• Higher wind and impact ratings – engineered calculations or PS1 producer statements supplied for consent.
• Fire and smoke options – shutters certified to AS 1905.2 for up to 4-hour integrity.
• Cycle life – springs and motors rated 100,000+ cycles versus 10,000–15,000 in domestic models.
• Safety & automation – mandatory photo-eyes, monitored edges, and three-phase drives that can integrate with access-control systems.

These distinctions ensure commercial units cope with NZ’s harsher operating environments while keeping staff, stock, and the building itself protected.

Main Types of Commercial Garage Doors Available

Choosing among the many forms of commercial garage doors isn’t about looks alone; each style solves a different operational headache—whether it’s squeezing another pallet row into a warehouse or meeting the hygiene codes of a dairy plant. Below is a side-by-side snapshot, followed by a quick dive into the five door families you’ll see on New Zealand quotes.

Door Style	Max Single Opening (W × H)	Typical Supply-Only Cost*	Best For
Roller (shutter)	8 m × 6 m	$2,500–$7,000	Workshops, storage units, farm sheds
Sectional overhead	7 m × 5 m	$4,500–$9,000	Logistics hubs, showrooms needing daylight
High-speed / rapid-roll	6 m × 5 m	$8,000–$12,000	Temperature-controlled or high-traffic zones
Tilt / counterweight	20 m × 6 m	$10,000+	Aircraft hangars, vehicle showrooms
Fire-rated shutter	7 m × 4 m	$6,000–$15,000	Mixed-use builds, escape corridors

*2025 NZD, excludes installation and electrical.

Roller (Shutter) Doors

A continuous steel or aluminium curtain winds onto a drum above the opening, keeping side clearances to a bare 50–90 mm. Standard 0.55 mm Coloursteel slats suit low-medium wind zones, while wind-lock guides and 0.95 mm options cover Extra High areas. Perforated or punched slats let retailers keep eyes on stock after hours without sacrificing airflow. With only three moving assemblies—drum, guides, and motor—roller doors are cheap to service and a favourite for rental storage facilities that rack up hundreds of cycles daily.

Sectional Overhead Doors

Built from interlocking panels that travel up vertical tracks before sliding horizontally along the ceiling, sectional doors deliver the best insulation performance in the commercial lineup. PU-filled 40–60 mm panels reach R-values above R 2.7, trimming warehouse heating costs in Otago winters. Optional acrylic windows flood loading bays with daylight, reducing fork-lift mishaps. Just remember: you need at least 450 mm of clear headroom for the tracks and spring shaft.

High-Speed & Rapid-Roll Doors

When every second of air exchange hurts your chiller bills, rapid-roll fabric or aluminium-slat doors sprint open at up to 2.5 m/s. Soft bottom edges and light-curtain guards make them safe for foot traffic, while self-repairing zips can pop back into the guides after the inevitable pallet strike. Motors are three-phase and inverter-controlled, so specify a dedicated circuit during the build to avoid voltage drop.

Tilt & Counterweight Doors

A single leaf pivots upward on heavy-duty arms balanced by concrete-filled counterweights or torsion springs. With no ceiling tracks, showrooms gain an uncluttered interior—handy when displaying tall vehicles. However, the leaf swings outward roughly one-third of its height, so allow clear apron space on the forecourt. Steel RHS frames clad in aluminium composite or glass panels are common for architectural statements.

Fire-Rated & Smoke Control Shutters

These shutters look like ordinary steel rollers but pack mineral-wool-filled slats and specially insulated guides, certified under AS 1905.2 for up to four hours of integrity. They freeze automatically when signalled by a building’s alarm system, sealing off mezzanines and escape stair lobbies. Because weight balloons to 60 kg / m², chain-drive or gearbox motors and structural lintels are non-negotiable in the engineer’s PS1.

Building Materials & NZ Performance Standards

The curtain, panel or fabric you pick is far more than a cosmetic choice—it dictates how long the door will survive salt-spray, how often it must be serviced, and whether the council will sign off the consent. New Zealand’s mix of coastal air, extra-high wind zones, and seismic movement means a material that thrives in Auckland may corrode or flex itself loose in Southland. Below is a quick rundown of the common options and the rules they must satisfy.

Steel: Coloursteel & Zincalume

Traditional commercial roller doors are pressed from 0.55–0.95 mm steel coated in either Coloursteel or Zincalume.

• Coloursteel offers 40+ baked-on colours and good scratch resistance, ideal for branding.
• Zincalume (aluminium-zinc alloy) is cheaper and easy to over-paint on site.
  Closer than 100 m to breaking surf? Specify AZ200 or the new Coloursteel MAX® formulation to halt red rust. Powder-coating adds another barrier and lets architects chase non-standard hues without voiding warranties.

Aluminium & Polycarbonate Choices

Lightweight and naturally corrosion-proof, aluminium slats or extrusions suit rapid-roll and glazed sectional doors. Because the modulus of aluminium is lower than steel, suppliers beef up side guides and mullions to achieve kPa wind loads in Very High zones. Clear or tinted polycarbonate inserts give retail façades see-through security while trimming the door weight so a single-phase motor can handle the lift.

Insulated Panels & Thermal Breaks

For temperature-controlled warehouses, PU-filled sectional panels 40–60 mm thick rival the walls at R 2.7–3.5. Foam is bonded between twin steel skins, but the metal can still bridge cold to the inside. Ask for thermal-break track brackets and full-perimeter EPDM seals to cut condensation drips onto inventory. Expect around 20 % price premium over hollow panels, offset by lower HVAC spend.

Mandatory NZ Standards & Codes

Your commercial garage door must prove compliance with:

• AS/NZS 4505 — wind resistance testing and deflection limits.
• AS 1905.2 — fire shutter integrity and insulation ratings.
• AS/NZS 60335 — safety of electrically operated doors, including entrapment reversal.
• NZ Building Code Clauses B1 (Structure), B2 (Durability) and E2 (External Moisture).

Suppliers should supply a PS1 or test report referencing these standards; keep them on file for council inspections and future warranty claims.

Selecting the Right Door for Your Business Needs

A shiny new door is pointless if forklifts keep clipping it or the council refuses a compliance tick. The sweet spot is a model that fits your opening, survives local wind zones, meets the duty cycle and stays inside budget. Use the mini-framework below—or print a one-page checklist for the site toolbox—to compare options side by side before you sign a purchase order.

Measure Twice: Size, Clearance & Traffic Flow

• Record the daylight opening width and height to the nearest millimetre.
• Check headroom (roller drum needs ~400 mm, sectional tracks ≥450 mm) and side-room for guides or springs.
• Map vehicle and pedestrian paths; heavy two-way traffic may justify a pair of smaller doors over one giant leaf.

Security & Safety Requirements

• Specify wind-lock bottom rails, steel shoot bolts or motorised dead-locking if stock is high-value.
• Confirm photo-eyes and monitored safety edges to satisfy the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.
• In multi-tenant sites, ask whether fire-shutter zones are mandated by the fire engineer.

Automation, Access Control & Smart Integration

• Match motor duty rating to cycles—warehouse docks often need 30+ cycles/hour, meaning three-phase gear drives.
• Layer on keypads, RFID tags or smartphone apps for controlled access.
• Check if the controller can talk Modbus or BACnet for future building-management integration.

Weatherproofing, Insulation & Noise

• Coastal sites: upgrade to marine-grade Coloursteel MAX® or aluminium.
• Cold storage or office-adjacent areas benefit from 40–60 mm PU-filled sectional panels and full-perimeter EPDM seals.
• Brush strips and acoustic backing mats cut clatter in mixed-use precincts.

Budget & Lifetime Cost of Ownership

• Compare CAPEX (door + install) against OPEX (energy loss, service intervals, parts).
• Example: paying an extra $1,200 for insulation can save ~$500/year on heating a 200 m² space—ROI in three seasons.
• Ask suppliers for line-item quotes so freight, consents and removal of old units aren’t nasty surprises.

Installation, Maintenance & Compliance Considerations

Even the toughest commercial garage door will fail early if it’s hung out of plumb or ignored after hand-over. Getting the install, paperwork and servicing right protects your investment and keeps WorkSafe inspectors off your back.

Professional vs DIY Installation in NZ

• Most councils and insurers expect a competent person to fit commercial doors; that normally means an accredited installer who can issue a producer statement.
• DIY can work for a small roller door in a Low wind zone, provided you follow the manufacturer’s instructions and can lift 80 kg safely.
• Allow two technicians and a scissor lift for larger units; budget 4–6 labour hours for a 3 m × 3 m roller, double that for a sectional with torsion springs.

Building Consents, Producer Statements & Warranties

• Replacing like-for-like often skips consent, but new openings, fire shutters or doors over 7 m wide usually need council sign-off.
• Ask the supplier for a PS1 (design) and PS4 (construction review) referencing AS/NZS 4505.
• Warranties typically run 10 years on the curtain and 2–5 years on motors; misuse or skipped servicing voids them quickly.

Routine Maintenance Schedule

Plan on monthly visual checks and an annual service by a qualified tech. Keep a written log; it’s cheap evidence if an incident occurs.

Date	Task	Performed By	Notes
25/08/25	Lubricate guide tracks	J. Smith (Site)	No wear observed
01/10/25	Spring tension test	ABC Doors Ltd	Within spec

Tip: add the log to your H&S folder so it’s handy during audits.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

• Door stops short → re-set limits or clear debris in guides.
• Excessive rattle → tighten track brackets; replace worn nylon rollers.
• Motor hums but won’t lift → check chain tension, then test capacitor on single-phase units.
• Curtain dented → individual slats can be replaced onsite; don’t hammer them flat as this weakens the profile.

Cost Breakdown & Pricing Guide for 2025

For budgeting purposes split the bill into three buckets — the base door, the extras you specify, and the labour to hang and wire it. The figures below represent typical 2025 supply-only prices ex-factory, rounded to the nearest $100 and exclusive of GST.

Average Price Ranges by Door Type

Door Type	Standard Size (W × H)	Supply-Only Price (NZD)
Roller shutter	3 m × 3 m	$2,500 – $4,000
Insulated sectional	5 m × 4 m	$6,000 – $9,000
High-speed rapid-roll	3 m × 3 m	$8,000 – $12,000
Fire-rated shutter	4 m × 4 m	$6,000 – $15,000

Add roughly 15 % for openings wider than 6 m or Very High wind-zone upgrades.

Customisation Factors That Affect Price

• Coloursteel non-standard colours: +$250–$600 per door
• Wind-lock guides for Extra High zones: +$300–$800
• Vision panels or polycarbonate windows: +$150 each pane
• Insulation upgrade (40–60 mm PU): +20 % over hollow panels
• Fire-rating 2-hour vs 1-hour: +$1,200–$1,800 differential

Additional Costs: Installation, Motors & Ongoing Service

• Professional install labour: $800–$1,800 per opening depending on height and access
• Three-phase gear drive vs single-phase: +$700–$1,200
• Electrical connection by registered sparky: $300–$600
• Annual service contract: $180–$350, or $25–$40 per month on a plan
• Replacement remote controls or photo-eyes down the track: $80–$250 each

Getting Accurate Quotes & Avoiding Hidden Fees

1. Provide clear opening dimensions, wind zone and cladding thickness with your enquiry.
2. Confirm freight terms — South Island deliveries often add $250–$600 plus hi-ab off-load.
3. Ask whether removal and disposal of the old door is included.
4. Ensure quotes list PS1 documentation, commissioning, and operator training; if it’s not written, it’s not included.

How to Evaluate NZ Suppliers & Installers

A commercial door is only as good as the people who make and fit it. Before signing a purchase order, take a moment to check whether the company can actually deliver on its glossy brochure promises. A little homework now prevents frustrating delays, blown budgets, or—worst case—non-compliant hardware that council refuses to sign off. Use the points below as your quick due-diligence checklist.

National Manufacturers vs Local Fabricators

Nationwide brands offer broad ranges, in-house engineers, and long warranties, but their scale can mean four-to-six-week lead times and higher overheads. Local fabricators often turn around custom sizes inside a fortnight and know the quirks of your regional wind zones, yet may rely on imported components and shorter guarantees. Decide which trade-off—speed or corporate backing—matters most for your project.

What to Look For in a Supplier

• Proof of NZ-made curtain or panel materials
• ISO 9001 or similar quality certification
• Membership of Door & Access Systems Industry NZ (DASINZ)
• Transparent lead times and freight terms in writing
• Stocked spare parts and a stated service response window (e.g., 24 hours)

Buying Online: Supply-Only & Direct-to-Site Delivery

Web-first platforms such as DoorsNZ let you price and order custom roller doors without a salesperson visit. Ensure the site provides clear measuring guides, freight insurance, and the option to nominate your own installer or pick from a vetted network. Confirm how off-loading will be handled—tail-lift, hi-ab or forklift at your end.

Key Questions to Ask Before Committing

1. Can you provide a PS1/engineer’s design statement?
2. What is the warranty period for curtain, motor, and electronics separately?
3. How many service technicians operate in my region, and what is the call-out fee?
4. Will spare parts still be available in ten years?
5. Is commissioning, user training, and first-year servicing included in the quote?

Quick-Fire FAQ on Commercial Garage Doors

Below are straight-to-the-point answers to the questions business owners ask us every week. Skim them now, bookmark for later, or pass them to the facilities team.

How long do commercial roller doors last?

With regular lubrication and an annual professional service, a quality steel roller door will normally clock 100,000 cycles—roughly 15–25 years in a busy workshop. Failure to tension springs or clear guide tracks can cut that lifespan in half.

Can I paint a Coloursteel door after installation?

Yes. Wash with sugar soap, scuff the surface with 240-grit, then apply a solvent-borne etch primer followed by two coats of exterior acrylic or polyurethane enamel. Avoid dark colours on north-facing façades; excessive heat can warp slats and void the paint warranty.

Do I need a building consent for replacing an existing door?

Most like-for-like swaps in the same opening are classed as “low-risk work” and skip consent, provided the new door meets the original wind and fire ratings. Widening the aperture, adding a fire shutter, or changing cladding usually triggers council approval and a PS1.

What wind rating should I specify for a high-wind zone?

For “Very High” or “Extra High” zones under NZS 3604 expect design pressures of 1.0–1.5 kPa. Ask the supplier for test data under AS/NZS 4505 and consider wind-lock guides or heavier 0.95 mm slats to prevent curtain blow-out.

How often should a commercial door be serviced?

Visual checks—tracks, fasteners, safety beams—should be done monthly by on-site staff. Schedule a full mechanical and electrical service every 12 months (or every 20,000 cycles) by an accredited technician to keep warranties valid and WorkSafe auditors happy.

Ready to Secure Your Premises?

Choosing a commercial garage door isn’t simply a tick-box purchase—it's a long-term commitment to security, compliance and running costs. You now know how to match door types to daily traffic, why Coloursteel gauges and wind-lock guides matter in Kiwi weather, what paperwork councils expect, and the realistic price brackets for 2025. Measure accurately, confirm the wind zone, insist on PS1 documentation, and budget for an annual service plan; do that and your new door should give two decades of reliable cycles with minimal fuss.

If you’re ready to price up a shutter for the workshop or an insulated sectional for the distribution bay, grab our free measuring checklist or request a fast, no-obligation quote from the team at DoorsNZ. We’ll custom-build to your exact dimensions, ship anywhere in Aotearoa, and put you in touch with trusted installers if you’d rather not DIY. Secure it once—do it right.