Rolling Security Grille and Counter Shutter Repair

What is a rolling security grille?

A rolling grille door is a coiling door made of open links or rods instead of solid slats. It rolls up into a coil above the opening, the same way a rolling steel door does, but you can see and talk through it when it is closed. That is why stores in malls, parking garages, pharmacies and storefronts use grilles: the space stays secure after hours and still looks open, and air and light pass through. A grille blocks people, not weather. It does not seal out wind, water or cold, so most grilles sit inside a building or behind a glass storefront.

Security grille or rolling shutter: what is the difference?

A security grille is open. A rolling shutter is solid, made of interlocking slats that close the opening completely. Choose a grille when people should see in, such as a store front in a mall. Choose a shutter when the opening needs to be closed to view, weather or a break-in attempt, such as an outside service window. Both coil the same way, on the same kind of barrel, springs and guides, and we repair and install both.

Counter shutters

A counter shutter is a small rolling shutter that closes a service counter or window, such as a ticket booth, a concession stand, a cafeteria line, a pharmacy pickup window or a reception desk. Most are pushed up and pulled down by hand and lock at the sill. Common faults are a weak spring that lets the shutter slide down, bent slats from a cart or a hand truck, a lock that no longer catches, and guides knocked out of line. We repair the shutter you have, or install a new one sized to the counter.

Manual and motorized grilles

Smaller grilles and counter shutters are usually pushed up by hand, with springs in the barrel doing most of the lifting. Larger grilles use a crank, a chain hoist or a motor operator. A manual grille that has become hard to lift almost always needs spring tension, not more muscle. On a motorized grille we check the operator, its limits and the controls along with the curtain, and we work on every brand.

Links, rods and slats replaced, not the whole curtain

When a cart, a car or a forced entry bends part of a grille, the damage is usually a few rows. We take out the damaged links, rods or slats and replace them in place, so the rest of the curtain stays. If the curtain is bent across most of its height, or the barrel and guides are worn out too, we will tell you on the visit whether a repair or a new grille is the better value.

Why a grille or shutter sticks

Most stuck grilles come down to one of four things. The guides are bent or packed with dirt, so the curtain binds on one side. The spring has lost tension, so the curtain feels too heavy to lift or will not stay up. A bent row of links or slats catches in the coil or the guide. Or the bottom bar is twisted, so the curtain sits crooked and the lock will not line up. Forcing it usually makes the damage worse, so stop and call.

New grilles and counter shutters

When a grille is past repair, or a space needs one for the first time, we install new rolling grilles and counter shutters sized to the opening, with the hardware and operator that suit how often it runs. Rolling grilles are covered by their own industry standard, ANSI/DASMA 208, which sets how they are rated and tested.

Quick response time when a grille will not close

A grille stuck open leaves a store, a counter or a garage unsecured until it is fixed, often at closing time. Our average response time is about an hour and a half, during business hours and for emergency calls at night, and common springs and parts are on the truck. If the grille cannot be repaired on the first visit, the technician works to get the opening closed and locked before leaving.

Before the technician arrives

If a grille is stuck partway, leave it where it is. Do not stand under a raised curtain that will not stay up, and do not pry a bent row through the guides. If the space has to stay secure overnight, tell us when you call. When you call, tell us whether it is a grille or a shutter, about how wide the opening is, whether it is manual or motorized, and what it is doing.

How it works

Why facility managers call G Brothers