Industrial Fiberglass Doors

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Industrial strength

The many good properties of fiberglass doors that make them resistant to moisture-induced peeling and warpage also make them idea for more harsh and hazardous environments. Factories, refineries, and industrial plants are dangerous environments in which there are many corrosive, flammable chemicals both in use or in storage.

Other less dangerous environments, such as schools, may have municipal or state-level requirements on the kinds of doors that must be installed to ensure the safety of children in the event of fire disasters. Such environments may use fiberglass-reinforced plastic as one of the main materials in the doors.

Industries and non-industries

Fiberglass-reinforced plastic (FRP) is a material that is resistant to corrosion and has many of the fire retardant properties of regular fiberglass. Where can one find doors that use this material? For example, the lab at a big pharmaceutical company where drugs are manufactured en masse may house chemicals that emit corrosive vapors or store liquid chemicals that are easily ignitible. A more mundane place might be the indoor pool at the local recreational center or college where chlorine vapors would do great harm to a steel door.

Environmental considerations

As someone who is interested in industrial fiberglass doors, what are some considerations to take into account regarding the environment in which the door will be situated? The nature of the chemicals, their volatility and reactivity with fiberglass should be a factor in selecting the door. Most fiberglass products have great performance in fire tests, breaking down only after extended time in very high temperatures. If possible, lab tests should be conducted so check that the particular door material can resist the chemicals. The door might also need to pass slam and impact tests if collisions with heavy objects is expected. For example, shifting around large objects in motorized vehicles can lead to unintentional collisions.

Door properties

What are some things to consider in terms of the properties of the door? One might think about the need for insulation. Residential fiberglass doors usually have thermal resistivity values (or R values) of 6 to 7, which is 4 times better than wood doors. Industrial doors should be no worse than that. As energy conservation becomes more important in the coming years, expect the ecological impact to become a more important factor.

Economical

The costs of an industrial fiberglass door are surprisingly low in comparison to its alternatives. To start, the warranty for such doors range from 10 to 20 years, similar in length to its residential counterparts. Over the life of the door, one will need to spend resources and manpower on repairing the door by either refinishing, repainting or hinge-realignment. But the crux of the cost lies in the long replacement period: metal doors may only last 5 years.