Hangar evokes Captain America

With a decorative star and patriotic blue front, you might think this hangar home is owned by Captain America.

But it is actually owned by Jim Weitman of Weitman Excavation in Sherwood, Ore., along with his wife Star, who live on a private grass airstrip just outside of North Plains, Ore. The couple say flying brings balance to their lives.

Star and Jim, who has been flying for 29 years, share the skies with their 1946 Cessna 140. Plans are to add an Vans RV-14 to their hangar.

Their hangar is 40′ by 40′ and attached to their home. Just installed is a Schweiss Doors bifold liftstrap door, which offers a clear opening width of 38′ and a height of 9′, 8-3/4″. It is equipped with automatic latches, electric photo eye sensors and a remote opener.

“With the exterior enhancements, including a new roof, cedar siding, and a colored concrete apron, we really wanted to replace the old-style twin 20′ metal garage hangar doors with something that really stood out and complemented our lifestyle,” Weitman says. “I love the bifold and the appearance of the door. Even on the inside it has clean lines. I love to open up that door on a sunny day. Even on a rainy day, my wife and I sit out in the hangar shielded from the elements and watch the clouds go by.”

“Star and I were looking for an energy-efficient, lightweight product with light transmission qualities to clad the door,” Weitman continues. “We had worked with polycarbonate products in similar arenas in the past and decided on the interlocking 40mm Lexan Polycarbonate system for this application. Besides having high-impact qualities, this product provides a thermal insulation of 4.47 R-value, a UV-protected outer surface and a 10-year limited written warranty against long-term weathering conditions.”

Weitman added that depending on the color of the product, you can expect 20-59% light transmission. With his application, they chose the color blue that allows for 20% light transmission. Finally, the weight of the product made for easy installation and fell well within the design criteria of the door.

Several years ago, Weitman was introduced to Schweiss Doors by a neighbor who was installing a bifold door himself. They became interested and reached out to Schweiss Doors to design his door.

Weitman pointed out that his bifold door, as manufactured, is designed to seal well in all types of weather and mentioned that special attention to accurate dimensioning during the framing process is a must. Installation details enhance the inherent sealing qualities designed in the door itself.

“As contractors ourselves and acting as our own general contractor/installer, we chose to install the Schweiss door ourselves and it went well,” he says. “Separate from the door installation itself, retrofitting an existing opening provided its own unique journey. Working with a local structural engineer, we designed a steel-framed system to fit within an existing wood-framed structure to carry the operational loads of the door. The system complemented the door so well, we look forward to utilizing the same process on future new and retrofit hangar homes.”

Schweiss Doors manufactures hydraulic and bifold liftstrap doors. Doors are custom made to any size for any type of new or existing building for architects and builders determined to do amazing things with their buildings, including the doors. Schweiss also offers a cable to liftstrap conversion package.