When a building plan includes the installation of a hangar door nearly 100 feet wide, communication becomes essential to make sure all the pieces fit together. Despite several design changes leading up to construction, an 11,000-square-foot hangar at Drake Field in Fayetteville, Ark., was successfully assembled through continuous communication between the client, general contractor First Star Construction, architect Burris Architecture, building manufacturer Wilshar Steel and last but not least, Schweiss Doors, the hangar door manufacturer.

“It was a very collaborative process,” says Eric Pedmomre, Director of Construction at First Star Construction.

From the start, Schweiss Doors was the recommended hangar door manufacturer for the project, though what type of door would be used changed as the design moved forward. The preliminary plan called for a liftstrap bifold hangar door. However, after additional conversations between the architect and client, the decision was made to go with a hydraulic door from Schweiss.

“They wanted to have a nice clean look on the interior of the door,” Predmore says. “They also liked the big built-in awning you get with a one-piece hydraulic door.”

The hydraulic door agreed upon for the hangar measures 96 feet wide and 28 feet, 2 inches high. The change to a hydraulic door did require some modifications to the building specifications. By working with the details during the pre-construction process, all the changes to the plan occurred before the building or door were manufactured. While a challenge, it didn’t turn into a problem.

“Working back and forth with engineers from Wilshar Steel and Schweiss Doors, we were able to make the structure capable of handling the hydraulic door,” Predmore says.

The 96-foot hydraulic door was the largest door Predmore had ever worked with. First Star hired a qualified door contractor to install the door. Schweiss Doors helped with that process as well, recommended contractors who have installed and worked on Schweiss doors in the past.

“The installation was good, it was smooth,” Predmore says. “We worked with Schweiss Doors to get some recommendations on installers, so that collaboration was helpful.”

From start to finish, Predmore says his first job with Schweiss Doors went well. He was impressed by the quality of the door and by how available the Schweiss crew was whenever someone on the job had a question.

“The most important thing of all was Schweiss Doors’ collaboration,” Predmore says. “They were not just selling a door kit. The installer and site superintendent were able to call up a couple of times and talk to the Schweiss Doors engineering and tech support teams and get answers to questions. That was invaluable.”

The finished hangar, with its Schweiss hydraulic door, has impressed many who have seen it. Not only does it have a wide-open space for aircraft, it has a second-story mezzanine with a lounge and balcony. The lounge includes a kitchen, bathroom and space for pilots to relax between flights. The hangar is so popular that Predmore says First Star Construction was approached by others interested in building similar structures, with doors from Schweiss.

“Schweiss Doors will be our preferred vendor partner on future projects requiring doors of this type,” Predmore says.