As a commercial pilot, it makes sense that Alex Eskin loves airplanes and being in the clouds. But Eskin is a car lover too, which was behind his decision to build a garage at his Honolulu home. One of the garage's key features, functionally and aesthetically, is a new bifold door from Schweiss Doors.
Built in the 1970s, the home Eskin shares with his wife and twin sons didn’t have an enclosed garage space. Instead, there was a carport, just big enough for two vehicles. For many Hawaiian homes, especially older homes, it isn’t uncommon
to not have a garage, but that didn’t work for Eskin.
“I saved up money, hired a contractor and a draftsman and I designed a garage with an apartment above it,” he says.
As space was at a premium, Eskin wanted to make sure he preserved every usable inch of room he had in his garage, including ceiling height and the clear opening for the door. This is the main reason he decided to install a Schweiss Doors liftstrap bifold
door. The door measures a very precise 22-feet, 5-3/4-inches wide by 8-feet, 9-3/4-inches high.
“The footprint of the garage was my utmost concern,” Eskin says.
He says he originally figured he would purchase a conventional residential garage door for the new structure. However, he soon noticed such a door wouldn’t work.
“I realized that was going to take away a foot of my ceiling height, which I really wanted,” Eskin says. “And then I found out they don’t even sell garage doors that are that wide, I would have needed to put in two doors and that wasn’t what I wanted either.”
Another option Eskin contemplated was a roll-up garage door, one that rolls up into a cylinder at the top. However, Eskin’s wife felt it would give the garage a commercial look, one that didn’t fit with their residential neighborhood. So,
Eskin started researching other types of doors. As a pilot, Eskin was familiar with bifold hangar doors and started to consider whether such a door was the answer he was looking for.
“I had seen the Schweiss Doors products in the past and then I started researching the liftstraps versus cables,” Eskin says. “The straps seemed more appealing to me.”
Once Eskin made the decision to order the custom Schweiss bifold door, construction had already begun on the new garage. By the time the door arrived in Hawaii, work on the garage was nearing completion. Eskin says while it took some asking around to
find a contractor to mount the door, he ultimately hired Nate’s Welding Works of Waianae, Hawaii.
The two-man crew, along with Eskin, were able to successfully install the door, even though the building had not been designed for a bifold door. The installation did require some customized work so it could be mounted against the garage face just the
way Eskin wanted. The door frame was also painted white to protect it from the tropical climate. Once hung, it was clad in a plastic siding with the look of tropical wood, a perfect complement to the Hawaiian home.
With its Schweiss door in place, the new garage and apartment have become a superb addition to Eskin’s home. The apartment, which Eskin is renting, provides him with a steady stream of revenue, while the garage gives him the space for his vehicles.
Inside the garage he has a lift, which allows him to more easily work on a car and allows him to store an additional vehicle.
“I am a bit of a hobbyist and that is what I wanted and I wanted to build the garage as big as I could,” Eskin says. “We’ve got lots of toys and I teach my boys how to rotate tires, change oil and spark plugs.”
Eskin is a big fan of his bifold door and would recommend Schweiss Doors to others who are interested in such an innovation for their building.
“I was very happy with the Schweiss Doors website while I was learning about the door,” Eskin says. “Talking to the sales representatives, they were always super friendly. Schweiss Doors was always very helpful.”