gbarrier wrote:I'm thinking just plain old hangar envy. Nice dog too.

Kind of makes you feel bad about what you might have called a guy.

LOL Gary!

I have been putting in lots of work on the hangar, but I must remind everyone that there is a bare fuselage sitting there instead of a flying airplane!

I've never owned a hangar but I've rented a lot of them with different door arrangements: electric metal bifold, electric wood bifold, manual wood folding closet door style, manual metal folding door closet style, staggered electric sliding doors, manual metal sliding door segments. So far my favorite is the electric metal bifold with a manual winch or generator backup. Some of the electric bifold doors don't have any kind of manual winch that allows the door to operate when power is out. You can solve that problem with a backup generator or install a manual winch.

I don't care for doors that require a track in the floor since it's a headache to keep it clean and lubricated. Water accumulates in the track and corrodes it eventually.

The manual metal closet style doors that ride on an overhead track are pretty good but they need a flap at the bottom of each door segment to keep out varmints, wind, rain, grass, etc. They also need pins in the floor to keep the doors secure in strong winds if there's no floor track. Some of the metal closet style doors are attached both to an overhead track and a floor track.

The wood closet style folding doors are way too heavy and require both an overhead track and wheels on the bottom to support their weight. Even the metal ones need additional bracing on the overhead track due to the wide span of the door and their weight.

With the metal closet style folding doors, panel width is a tradeoff between structural strength of each panel, total door weight and space taken up on each side by the folded door. I think three panels on each side is a good compromise.

I've also rented space in hangars with manual and electric roll-up doors and garage door styles. Security is an issue with the non-metal ones and the metal ones are expensive and complicated to construct.

One interesting variation in metal doors was a manual, three-panel per side, overhead track supported door on a track that was curved at the sides so the doors slid back parallel to the hangar side walls. It freed up space at the door opening but was kind of a pain to operate. Still needed a flap at the bottom of each panel to seal the door against the floor and floor pins to withstand wind.

I've never been in a hangar with a hydro-swing door but it looks similar to the electric bifold in pluses and minuses. You still need electric power and a backup generator in case of power outages. The single-piece design is nice and gap sealing at the bottom is simpler. Pins in the floor aren't needed. My experience with hydraulic cylinders is that they leak over time and the seals need replacement, which can be time consuming and expensive.

The hangar I'm in now has three huge metal sliding doors with a 100-foot opening and a floor track with electric-motor driven drive wheel. It takes 2-minutes to open or close it and the tire inflation pressure is important.

The reasons I like the electric bi-fold door the best are:
1. Maximizes door opening space
2. No floor track or pins needed
3. Relatively simple but strong construction
4. Wind resistant
5. No floor gap as long as the bottom door seal is good
6. Simple to open and close
7. Usable in power outages with standby generator or manual winch

I haven't done a cost comparison but I would think the electric bifold and hydro-swing are the most expensive.

I put a Schweiss bifold door in my hangar. The door is engineered to work properly over a long period of time, and maintain with ease. It seals well, and insulates easily. The door comes without finish siding, but with all the window and door cutouts you want. We sided ours with metal to match the building. Like it so well, that I put an 18X40 In the new shop. I thought the price was very reasonable.

Pilot: You made those doors?! Impressive and saved a ton of money spent on a powered factory door.
Treat yourself to one of these http://dragger.com to tame that incline!

Man you guys are privileged in the USA, we have roller doors or roller doors or nothing.

Or just weld you up one of these and use Mama's mower to move the bird in and out.

Gary, I'm going to need more details and pics of the mower being operated - actually just to be clear, are you saying you have a woman there that mows grass?

Doesn't everyone?

She's been fussing ever since I bought the 6 ft cut Toro for the runway and got rid of her old worn out mower a couple years ago. She wants her own zero turn mower.

I cut the grass this week. The wife is out of town playing Nanny for the daughters kids while our daughter is out of country. They say that absence make the love grow fonder. Probably so but I now for sure that it makes the laundry pile up.

Gary your hear that? me neither sure gets quite when the misses is out of town

pilot wrote:Progress!

Hangar door from inside:

https://youtu.be/to3Ngpl_iY8

From outside:

https://youtu.be/IfNR4U7O4j0

Just a note to say thanks to pilot for sharing his bifold door concept, which I have shamelessly copied. It’s taken a couple of years to get around to this, but I got fed up with snow and leaves blowing into the airplane house. Running a 240 volt underground cable out there as well, so we’ll have coffee and the dog and I will be comfy if/when we get kicked out of the house. :)

First door frame hung today. So far, so good...

Electricity. Lots of outlets scattered around. Maybe consider a 220 outlet in several places so you an move that welder around as needed. I find the hanger I'm in now leaves me a little wanting on power. Another thing I'd like to have is a couple of hose bibs on the inside and on the outside of the hanger. Just a though.

Yes, plenty of outlets, 13 and 16 Amp. Domestic mains power here in the UK is nominally 240 V. Sadly we only have a single phase supply.

Good idea to bury a water pipe along with the cable, minimal extra work now and it would make rinsing off sheep crud a whole lot easier...

Finished the doors now. The last bits of hardware took a while to figure out and make, but it works a treat. I have a bunch of CAD drawings if anyone would like to copy and improve.
https://youtu.be/yRaem5SA74Y