Damaged Garage Door- Now What!

[midwest farms]

Hey all:

Open to suggestions on replacing the bottom panel of my garage door:

Not a good night last night... I tweeked the bottom panel of my shop door with the mast of my forklift (doh!). I still functions but it's definitely damaged. It's a 14' x 14' CHI insulated door with metal skins are both sides.

I installed the door by myself so I'm planning to replace the section myself but really don't want to take down the entire door just to replace the bottom panel. Does anyone know how this is traditionally done? This door is HEAVY around 650#'s if I remember correctly so I was considering:
1. Raising the door almost all the way to the top taking a lot of tension off the torsion springs (they are big!).
2. I would then lock the torsion rod in place with vicegrips or similar (remember much but not all of the energy would already be dissipated from the torsion springs)
3. Raise the door another inch or two, taking the tension of the cables and lock the door in place on the tracks-the door would be horizontal on the tracks in the fully raised position at this point.
4. Unbolt the bottom panel and replace.

Am I missing anything? Is there a better way? I've installed several larger overhead garage doors so I am not afraid of the torsion springs but am definitely respectful of them.

Thanks!

 

[steve911]

Here is what I have done.

I raised the door just enough to make the bottom panel at a comfortable working height. I then used a couple of "C" clamps and vice grips to hold the door in position.
I then unbolted the bottom section tipped it backwords and removed it.

 

[Gary S]

Do it Steve's way. It sounds like the easiest way.

 

[Steevo]

I think the OP's concern is about the tension on the lift cables, which would be attached to that bottom panel. Just clamping the door in position is half the answer. Clamping the torsion rod to hold the cables loose is the other half.

 

[imnutz]

Steevo is correct - clamp the door in position a few inches off the ground, overpower the springs with winding bars. (if you raise the door too high, you can't get at the springs - raise it just high enough to get the section out)

 

[kbs2244]

Use the old panel as a pattern to make sure all the holes line up on the new one.
Hinges, roller, horizonal brace, etc.

 

[rlitman]

If the door is balanced by the springs when you lift it a little, then when you remove one panel, the rest of the door will be pulled up by the springs, by the weight of that one panel. So long as your clamps can hold it DOWN with that much force, you'll be fine.

 

[imnutz]

Somebody is gonna get killed

 

[midwest farms]

Hey all-Thanks for the reply's! As noted above, clamping the door while vertical won't work. While this may work on a standard garage door, this is a commercial overhead door! These doors are too heavy and only the bottom panel is designed to hold the vertical weight or the door at one contact point (i.e. the bottom bracket on each side). The other panels would buckle and the track would fail if you attempted to hang the door off the vertical track. As an example of the weight of the door, when I installed the door the door threshold was *ever so slightly* out of level I used shims under one corner of the bottom section to level it before putting up the rest of the vertical stack of sections. After finishing the stack that corner had a slight bulge where the weight of the door was pushing against the shims.

Bottom line, I know my method will work but was open to other ideas on how a door installer would do it. If nothing else, I'll ask my overhead door company.

Thanks again for the reply's and look forward to others chiming in!
Thanks!

Midwest Farms

 

[Criss]

Sadly I think the only safe way would be to relieve the torsion spring tension (unwind with 1/2 steel rods) and remove all the panels. I can't think of any other way mainly because the torsion spring is only using the r/l brackets and attached cables on the bottom panel to support the whole door. Clamping the upper panels with the door partially up, loosening the lower track and allowing the bottom panel to rest on the floor may allow you enough room to remove and reinstal. Either way those springs are a death wish if they let go and you' be better off unwinding the spring.

 

[NewLogik]

Sadly I think the only safe way would be to relieve the torsion spring tension (unwind with 1/2 steel rods) and remove all the panels. I can't think of any other way mainly because the torsion spring is only using the r/l brackets and attached cables on the bottom panel to support the whole door. Clamping the upper panels with the door partially up, loosening the lower track and allowing the bottom panel to rest on the floor may allow you enough room to remove and reinstal. Either way those springs are a death wish if they let go and you' be better off unwinding the spring.

That's what should be done I think, otherwise you're taking risks !