How do I get my garage door to raise closer to the ceiling?

The Alchemist · Jul 14, 2007

Well, finally convinced the wife that a lift is a better investment for gaining additional storage space vs. a shed. We are planning a 24x26 additional attatched garage in 2-3 years, but in the short term, I'm planning on putting in a four post life, most likely a Bend-pak model.

My issue is that I have a 10ft ceiling in the garage, which is enough considering the Trans/Am is only 49" high at the highest point. The problem is the current garage door and opener and door is 30" lower than the ceiling when open. I remember reading somewhere a long time ago about how to raise the door closer to the ceiling but I haven't been able to locate anything online.

Any help, hints, links would be great.

Junkman · Jul 14, 2007

Here is an old post of mine........where I describe what I did to get the additional hight that I needed. If you do a search for "high lift garage door", I am certain that you will find enough reading material to take you into the middle of next month. If you decide to tackle the job yourself, I suggest that you read as many of the posts by people that have done this themselves first, and then make your final decision. I chose to have it done professionally. I value my fingers, limbs, and life. When I was younger and less wise, I would have done it myself. Now I value what ever time I have left and want to go to my grave in one piece...... Junk.....

CobraKramer · Jul 17, 2007

For what is worth, I just had this done from a garage dealer..cost $325...my door now travels up to 2 inches from the ceiling (i am putting in a lift next week)...check around the prices really are all over the place...(note: I did not put in a garage door opener)

Kramer

dawg · Jul 18, 2007

home depot sells the tracks.
just do like a friend of mine did and add section of track at the top .
door goes all the way up to 3 inches of the ceiling.
also make sure your concrete is thick enough for a lift.
2 post 4 inches of reinforced concrete minimum.
4 post I think is 3 inches minimum.
BTW 4 post lifts tend to take up alot of space.
heres my lift in action:

ultgar · Jul 18, 2007

The Alchemist said:
Well, finally convinced the wife that a lift is a better investment for gaining additional storage space vs. a shed. We are planning a 24x26 additional attatched garage in 2-3 years, but in the short term, I'm planning on putting in a four post life, most likely a Bend-pak model.

My issue is that I have a 10ft ceiling in the garage, which is enough considering the Trans/Am is only 49" high at the highest point. The problem is the current garage door and opener and door is 30" lower than the ceiling when open. I remember reading somewhere a long time ago about how to raise the door closer to the ceiling but I haven't been able to locate anything online.

Any help, hints, links would be great.

A high lift track kit with torsion springs and a jackshaft style opener. SD

The Alchemist · Jul 23, 2007

Thanks guys. I checked out Home Depot for the rails and all the guys there just staired at me and pointed to the garage door openers.

JMURiz · Jul 23, 2007

I'd contact a real garage door company, people at HD have no idea what they are doing.

dawg · Jul 23, 2007

some home depots **** for sure.
I just went there today and seen the rails for the doors and brackets etc. at my home depot?

Falcon05Dad · Jul 23, 2007

My garage door installer charged me a total of $150 extra to add the high lift kit to my 18x9 and 10x10 doors. As CobraKramer said, prices do vary so get multiple bids.

Crow44 · Jul 24, 2007

Found a great pic of a high door. I don't know the particulars, but it gives an idea of how high you can go.
Plus it's an 'after' to my 'before' pic.
http://picasaweb.google.com/crow44/Garage

Junkman · Jul 24, 2007

Your door consists of 3 - 18" panels, and 2 - 21" panels for 96 inches or 8 feet. The garage certainly is a great tranformation. Kind of reminds me of what mine might look like one day if I ever get all the junk out of it. :lol_hitti

Door Doctor · Jul 25, 2007

First things first, let a reputable garage door company do the high lift for you, this is not an easy task even for the experienced garage door technician.

I am doing almost the exact same thing for a customer of mine and the planning as well as knowing what parts to buy is critical in getting the door to function properly.

If you have any questions about this contact me at [email protected]

Dean

JohnZ · Jul 29, 2007

Crow44 said:
Found a great pic of a high door. I don't know the particulars, but it gives an idea of how high you can go.
Plus it's an 'after' to my 'before' pic.
http://picasaweb.google.com/crow44/Garage

Yup, that "after" photo is my garage - the garage door outfit that installed my 18' x 8' doors originally did the "high-lift" conversion later for less than $400 (including the extra "dummy" panel at the top); horizontal tracks are about 8" from the 12' ceiling, operator track is about 1" from the ceiling at the header and about 5" from the ceiling at the operator. Lets me have the door all the way open with a car at full working height on the lift.

thefairlaneman · Jul 29, 2007

There has to be a device that stops the door when it goes up. Adjust it back.Easy as eatin home made ice cream on a hot summer day!

How do I get my garage door to raise closer to the ceiling?

The Alchemist

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Junkman

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CobraKramer

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dawg

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ultgar

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The Alchemist

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JMURiz

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dawg

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Falcon05Dad

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Crow44

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Junkman

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Door Doctor

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JohnZ

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thefairlaneman

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