Architecture Hydraulic Doors

Arizona Stucco - Stucco Hydraulic Hangar Door Perfect for Arizona Heat

Dave Sirota, President of Bassuk Brothers Property Management firm in Oro Valley, AZ went to Oshkosh specifically with the intent of ordering a hangar door. He even took his blueprints with him and ran into Mike Schweiss. He said enhancements that would make the door work better.

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I love the door. It gets pretty warm here in Arizona. I chose the hydraulic door because I like how it provides shade from the hot sun if I want to work outside my hangar. We used a synthetic stucco. If you put a regular stucco on I don't think it would work becuase it is so brittle and about a half-inch thick. We applied it with a trowel, it's like a super thick paint, it flexes and does not crack and is lighter in weight for the hydraulic rams to pick up.

Dave Sirota
Oro Valley, Arizona

Mike told him if he wasn't in a real big hurry Schweiss Doors would deliver the door when they had a truck going that way to another jobsite in the southwestern states and wouldn't charge him anything for delivery. That wasn't all that sold him on the door. He gave Sirota some ideas on windows and didn't charge him for modification needed for the windows to go in.

"It was just an incredible experience, he probably spent more than a half hour with me. "He was generous with his time. I just hit it off with him. I never considered anything else after I spoke with Mike," said Sirota.

Sirota decided on a 44×12 ft. Schweiss stucco hydraulic door for his hangar which houses a 1946 Cessna 140 and also provides for a small workshop in the corner of the hangar where he does car restoration.

"I love the door. It gets pretty warm here in Arizona. I chose the hydraulic door because I like how it provides shade from the hot sun if I want to work outside my hangar," said Sirota. "We used a synthetic stucco. If you put a regular stucco on I don't think it would work because it is so brittle and about a half-inch thick. We applied it with a trowel, it's like a super thick paint, it flexes and does not crack and is lighter in weight for the hydraulic rams to pick up. This stuff is maybe an 1/8 to a 1/4 inch thick. It comes in 5-gallon buckets."

Lifting Porch - Lifting Porch May be the coolest ever hangar-home

It's a house. No, it's a hangar. No, it's a hangar with a house inside. No, it's ... Well, it's all of the above for Daniel Shaw, a plumbing contractor at Geneva, Fla. Who has given new meaning to the term "hangar home."

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It started with the idea that I wanted a hangar home that didn't look like a hangar, hangars are basically ugly. We wanted to jazz ours up just a bit. When you drive up to it and push the remote button people are absolutely amazed!"

Daniel Shaw
Geneva, Florida

The structure is 50' wide x 60' deep x 30' tall, all metal. However, a 45' x 15' hangar home hydraulic door sporting a wrap-around porch with decorator railing, table and chairs, a "walk through" door with stylish window, and veranda "roof" gets your attention. Even more so when this big door opens and entire patio deck lifts with the hangar door.

Traditionally Schweiss designs an 18-inch reinforcing truss for their hydraulic doors. The Schweiss team wasn't initially aware of Shaw's full-width veranda porch being built into his hangar door.

Schweiss Doors got excited about the unique challenge. "If you think it, we can build it," has become the working mantra of the Minnesota-based firm which thrives on the business theme that the customer drives the deal.

"We wanted to make certain that our door helped bring Dan Shaw's dream alive," said Mike Schweiss, CEO of Schweiss Doors. So they juggled computer-driven templates and welding dynamics (including a larger hydraulic system for the heavier door) to better facilitate the unique ideas incorporated into his remarkable hangar home.

The owner endorsed the design strength of the Schweiss doors saying the extra-weight of the wrap-around porch posed no problem for the powerful hydraulic system.

Glass Garage Door - Glass Adds Reflective Touch To Garage Door

At certain times of the day the glass on Bruce Hamon's garage door reflects the beautiful Denver surroundings he lives in. While it allows others to see within, the big advantage is it allows him to see out as if looking through a picture window inside his home. The Glass door also adds a real touch of class to his residential property.

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"I think it has a great ram physics application. Schweiss Doors is greate about putting out a system that is mechanically great, it's not under designed like other doors that are too light and flimsy. I had a lot of experience with hangars and I wanted to maintain at least a 13.5 ft. opening. I made metal work fabrication adjustments to reinforce my big wood frame garage."

Bruce Hamon
Denver, Colorado

The Schweiss glass residential hydraulic door is custom-made to 30' 5" x 13' 10.25". Not only does it open to his patio area and the beautiful scenery outside, but when open it provides an extended rain roof.

"Putting glass on the door occurred to me after I got the door, I was going to put wood facia on it. Fortunately I ordered a heavy duty frame. It's really spectacular to see through that door. It's one of those things that you don't get tired of to look out in the winter or open up in the summer."

Hamon is satisfied with the door mentioning how the heavy duty cylinders open the door straight and quickly and close secure and tight.

"I think it has a great ram physics application. Schweiss Doors is great about putting out a system that is mechanically great, it's not under designed like other doors that are too light and flimsy. I had a lot of experience with hangars and I wanted to maintain at least a 13.5 ft. opening. I made metal work fabrication adjustments to reinforce my big wood frame garage."

Find a door for any application you need and fit it with the custom exterior you're looking for to add your own style. Browse our custom door options today and get inspired!

Louisiana Hall of Fame - Schweiss Hydraulic Doors Highlight Louisiana Hall of Fame

The Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame opened its doors with a grand red carpet reception attended by throngs of inductees and sports fans. The beautiful 27,500 square foot museum is located downtown in the Historic District of Natchitoches situated within a complex of seven historic French Quarter buildings that have become icons of New Orleans.

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"Those doors are quite impressive. The museum itselft was named one of the 10 best new projects in the world by an architectural publication, Azure magazine, for 2013."

Doug Ireland, Hall of Fame Chairman
French Quarter, New Orleans, LA

The Louisiana Hall of Fame hydraulic doors went into the first and second floors of the new building. The exterior doors are opened to bring exhibits in and out of the museum. The doors outer cladding, like the building, has pleated copper panels that control light, views and ventilation and they blend seamlessly into the exterior of the building.

Two Schweiss custom-made one piece hydraulic doors, each measuring 14 ft. 11.5 inches wide x 11 ft. 5/8 inch tall were made especially for this project. The aluminum-framed one piece doors had some special applications. The architects called for a custom fabricated flat hinge design. This was in order for the doors to blend into the wall, making it look like there actually wasn't a door there when it was in the closed position. The doors were windloaded to 90 mph, exposure B specifications. An emergency battery system was also added to the order in case there would be a power outage in the building.

Their experience working with Schweiss Doors was good. It was a tough job because of the complexity and uniqueness of the design.

Martha's Vineyard - Art Studio/Guesthouse Built to be different

Film maker/artist/author,Travis Wood, appears to be adding architectural design to his intriguing resume. Evidence of this new dimension is a most unique structure, a combination studio/guest house that he and his father constructed on their vacation property on Martha's Vineyard, hugging the south shore of Massachusetts.

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The homeowners have been using the door for a couple of months and absolutely love it. They like the 'muscle of the machine' - the motors and the steel. It's kind of cool, sort of an industrial pool house look.

Douglas Gauthier
Brooklyn, New York

Surrounded by Martha Vineyard's greenery and the beckoning waters of Buzzards Bay, the Woods decided this structure should be an open invitation to readily view Mother Nature at her best, regardless the season.

Relating to the engineering pledge of Schweiss being able to fit the customer's needs, the aluminum framework of this Schweiss hydraulic 'window wall' measures 25',9" wide by 11', 4 1/8" tall. With framework designed for six windows the Schweiss door weighed 1,439 lbs. 'empty'. With the special combination (MacroLux) polycarbonate and glass siding, finished weight is 1,743 lbs. One battery easily handles the door. But they have backup batteries just in case, indicating that backup energy is almost a necessity when living in the unpredictable weather hazards of Martha's Vineyard.

Two circular 'porthole' windows rather conspicuously dominate the window wall. When the door is closed, it provides a glass background for a bar counter occupying 6' of the window wall. The two 'porthole' windows center above the bar, that wraps into a U-shaped configuration inside the studio. The 'presentation wall' that abuts the Schweiss window wall is slotted mahogany. "It's a system we designed to make it easy to hang art work without having to drill.

Bar Pod - Mobile Container Bar Pod Makes Its Debut At The 'Big Game'

Bar Pods have only been in production for about a year. They made their debut at the Nightclub and Bar Convention last year in Las Vegas. They are a deluxe, all-inclusive, velocity service, waste reducing concession bar for beer, wine, or mixed drinks (or all three in one unit), on tap that can be adapted to customer needs. They are equipped with the TurboTap, a patented retrofit draft beer-dispensing device made from high-grade stainless steel that slips over the end of a standard U.S. beer faucet.

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It is an amazing door. I would say that it has lived up to everything we imagined, plus more, 5,000 pounds of door opening effortlessly.

Bar Pod Owner
Las Vegas, Nevada

The newest Budweiser Bar Pod has a Schweiss 23.1 ft. x 8.10 ft. one-piece hydraulic side mounted container door on it. You might have even seen people belly up to the Budweiser Bar Pod at this years Super Bowl. The compact, mount anywhere Schweiss hydraulic pump unit is ideal for these type of containers and when opened the door provides a nice shaded canopy for customers. It opens and closes in a matter of seconds ready for the next day of service or to go on the road to the next fun venue.

"It is an amazing door. I would say that it has lived up to everything we imagined, plus more," said the owner. When asked what he liked best about the Schweiss product he responded: "5,000 pounds of door opening effortlessly," and the advantage of having a large shaded canopy when open.

As the word got out that Schweiss Doors was producing container doors, they have been manufacturing containers as well as container doors for more and more people.

'Star Shaped' Hangar Home - 'Star Shaped' Hangar Home is Designed for Optimum Use

Any pilot with a square or rectangular shaped hangar will attest to the fact that there will always be some unusable space within it. Tom Green of Marcelona, Michigan, not only put significant thought into his Lakes of the North Airport hangar home, but meticulous attention was paid to his unique two-plane hangar.

From the air you can see that Green's hangar home is shaped like a big star; it has two Schweiss 42×12' clear private plane hangar hydraulic doors. Looking at the hangar home from the outside you'd be amazed there is even a hangar there. The hydraulic doors, both at about a 45 degree angle from the elevated taxiway, and the hangar itself blend magnificently into the home.

His planes enter the hangar three feet up suspended in the air on ramps allowing the entire floor of the hangar to be completely open — the planes never get lowered down, they go out on ramps. He chose hydraulic doors over bifold doors because he needed the clearance. Using heavy sheeting on the outside in addition to the bump-outs, he needed a very strong door. Because of the added weight of cladding and bump-outs on each hydraulic door, Schweiss Doors supplied a larger beefed up cylinder lift system that handles the heavy doors smoothly. He chose a hydraulic door because it swings straight out. With this alcove, the door closes around it.

Ski Lodge - Designer Door is Precise fit for kicking Horse Ski Resort Home

Not only is Golden, British Columbia a place of spectacular scenery, but it is an authentic mountain town offering a rich history and plenty of cultural experiences located in one of the most beautiful places on the face of the earth. Situated at the base of the Kicking Horse Mountain Resort in the Canadian Rocky Mountains is a 3,500-square-foot residence and gathering place for an active family of five.

Photos © Nic Lehoux Architectural Photography.

On the garage is a Schweiss one-piece hydraulic designer door clad in Clear Heart Western Red Cedar. The custom-made 20 ft. 8.5" x 8.1 ft, door has electric photo eye sensors, a door base safety edge and remote opener.

The reason they used a hydraulic door was because the architects liked the cleanness of the one-piece door and the detail of the jambs in particular. From an architectural perspective they said it's fantastic. They really like the product, the appearance of it and the way it can be integrated seamlessly with the exterior materials of the house.

When a world-class architect specifies Schweiss Doors, it must be for a good reason.

Carriage House - Carriage House Helicopter Hangar is Likely the Most Unique in USA

The Carriage House on the lakeshore property of Sid Morris, Cornelius, NC is very likely the most unique in America! It doesn't house horses and horse buggies. It doesn't house antique autos. Instead it houses his R44 helicopter. And that chopper gets to the Carriage House by first landing on a helio pad on the end of his 200' dock. A small electrically driven dolly then gently lifts the chopper with operator and guides the chopper to its proper stall inside this remarkable 4-star carriage house.

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I see the Schweiss guys each year at Oshkosh for the big experimental air show. Plus I see their doors at hangars wherever I go. They make a very good product and we've been very happy with their service. The doors were delivered on time as scheduled. It's the only door I would consider.

Sid Morris
Cornelius, North Carolina

"I started tinkering with the idea of putting a landing pad on top of the boat house," said Morris. "But I didn't want to leave my Helicopter sitting outside. After about three years of doodling various ideas, I decided on the concept of an elevated dock running directly to the carriage house. Or perhaps more accurately my helicopter hangar."

Parking space for his helicopter is provided by a 43' long and 16' high center concourse area. Two Schweiss helicopter hangar hydraulic doors, each 10' wide by 12' vertical provide access to this structure. Both the Schweiss doors are designed with French doors on the exterior. When these doors are closed, they match perfectly with the rest of the exterior design. You don't have any impression of looking at a garage door.

Morris already knew about Schweiss doors. His mountain hangar is fitted with a 40' x 18' Schweiss bifold. Delivering that door up a 4,000 ft. mountain was quite a task but the Schweiss guys got it there. It was through the woods, up the hills, over the bridges, etc., but they got the job done.

Morris said it didn't take much thinking to go Schweiss for his carriage house too. He needed a 12' Schweiss Bifold. "So it didn't take much thinking to go Schweiss for my carriage house too. I needed a 12' vertical clearspan and didn't want to build higher to hook up bifolds. So these two hydraulics are perfect. No loss of headroom. Very well built. Just lots of structural integrity."

"I see the Schweiss guys each year at Oshkosh for the big experimental air show. Plus I see their doors at hangars wherever I go. They make a very good product and we've been very happy with their service. The doors were delivered on time as scheduled. "It's the only door I would consider," concluded Morris.

Guthrie - Minneapolis Theater Hydraulic Window

It seems only fitting that the one-of-a-kind Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, MN, should have a door just as unique. In the case of the 285,000 sq. ft. Guthrie Theater, designed by French architect Jean Nouvel, the door is not really a door. It's instead a 17' x 16' operable window built into the side of the theater's Endless Bridge, an observation platform that cantilevers 178' outward from the theater's fourth floor lobby on the Mississippi River side. It provides spectacular views of the historic river valley, St. Anthony Falls, the Stone Arch Bridge, and the Mill Ruins Park.

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I like the Schweiss doors a lot. They are very unique and user-friendly once installed. Everywhere I've ever installed these doors, they have become the focal part of the entire property; they really do. There were 30 trades on the Yankee Stadium job, and when we had those doors working it basically came to a standstill. There are some particulars of the Schweiss doors that are very favorable to some people.

Anthony Rosalia
Bronx, New York

A new Schweiss door is also used as a ticket sales booth at the Guthrie Theatre. The modern and simple style of the door camouflages into the wall when closed with a seamless finish while it functions with both purpose and aesthetics.

The door was designed by W.J. Higgins & Associates of Wausau, WI. and fabricated by Schweiss Bifold Doors of Fairfax, MN. It employs ground-breaking hydraulic technology to offer the theater's guests a breathtaking view of the adjacent Mississippi River.

Red Bull HQ - Schweiss Designer Doors Partake in a smooth entrance at Red Bull HQ

HlW International of Santa Monica, CA, was charged with turning a 1950s-era brick building into the new home of the Red Bull Energy Drink. As a part of that process, the firm ordered the demolition of a section of the building's original roof to create an interior courtyard, and then constructed within the courtyard a 40'-wide by 250'-long, non-functioning skateboard ramp, which has offices and conference spaces beneath.

With the ramp being the focal point of the 105,000 sq. ft. building, the architect looked for a way to create a seemingly seamless connection between the interior of the building and the courtyard space. That was accomplished with a designer glass-bifold door.

Schweiss Bi-Fold Doors of Fairfax, MN, manufactured the door, which weighs approximately 10 tons. To operate the door, two electric motors and eight lift straps are used.

Schmidt Construction of Williams, CA, handled the delivery and installation of the door. Inner Space Constructors of Rancho Dominguez, CA was the project's general contractor and was responsible for demolition and renovation.

Cycle City

Schweiss Designer Doors Partake in a open up Harley Davidson Dealership at Cycle City

Nine designer-style glass bi-fold doors from Schweiss Bifold Doors of Fairfax, MN, are featured around the perimeter of the Harley-Davidson Cycle Project Showroom in Maui, HI.

The doors range in size from 18' to 45' wide and when closed, function from much the same as ordinary window walls. The advantage of having doors instead of windows is that any or all of them can be opened, which facilitates the showroom and allows natural ventilation to play a much bigger role in interior comfort. Arita/Pouslen General Contracting of Puunene, Maui, HI, installed the doors.