Flipping a Garage Door Opener?

[Vegaman_Dan]

My two car garage is vertically challenged. It's not short, but I don't want to make it any shorter than need be. It has no garage door opener because I don't want that mass hanging below between the tracks where it will be in the way. The front of the garage has an 8 foot extension with hip roof where it would meet the side of the house. What that means is that I have a small amount of space in those rafters.

I'm curious... can I take a standard garage door opener that uses a chain or cable attachment between the carriage / trolley and the door itself and then mount the opener inside the rafter space facing 180 opposite and use a pair of pulleys to route the cable to the space above?

I don't think I'm really saving much space since the track would still be centered in that space unless I could move that above the rafter space as well. If I could just use cables, I could probably make it work.

Ideas?

 

[djjsr]

Looking at your drawing, what is holding the pulley that's located just above the door? You can't mount it to the wall or ceiling.

As the opener activates, where is the chain/cable going? There is nothing in a standard opener that can 'accumulate' chain.

What will hold the door closed? Someone could lift the door.

Have you thought about a torsion shaft opener?

 

[ihateimacs]

Have you though about using an opener that mounts on the wall next to the garage door? not sure what they are called or where to get them... or how much but it would save you space.

I found a pic, I guess this ones made by liftmaster

 

[srmofo]

Lift master 3800

 

[upndown]

Hope you don't take this wrong, but that makes no sense at all! By the time you fabricate hangs etc. for the pulleys, what have you gained? If you have enough side room up front, go with the Liftmaster.

 

[Zeke]

The drawing version won't work. You can however use an extension from the lift arm connection to the door. This places the GDO further back in the garage and therefor not under the door when it's open.

Ideally, you would have room for the side gizmo.

 

[Vegaman_Dan]

The goal is to get the opener above the ceiling.

 

[Zeke]

The goal is to get the opener above the ceiling.

And I'm saying you can do that by moving it back. But I can't see the way the joists are running. No one can.

 

[ez-duzit]

...Ideas?

If the intermediate pulley, shown, is large enough, you don't need the top pulley.

Also, some units might be OK to mount vertically.

 

[bigenos]

Don't openers generally push as well as pull? The pulley system you show doesn't look like it could push the door at all.

I have seen openers mounted on the side of the door instead of the middle, but I think you need a very structurally strong door.

 

[ChevyEFI]

I have read half a dozen threads in the past few weeks re: liftmaster and high-lift and liftmaster 8500. Seems like a side-mounted unit might work for you if it's used to chain-drive the torsion rod.

 

[Joe B.]

Too much effort trying to explain why things don't work and not enough on finding solutions.

How about a screw drive opener but you use a timing chain to relocate the motor unit above the ceiling.

 

[upndown]

..

 

[kbs2244]

He is trying to push on a rope.
He needs a liftmaster type unit.

 

[Matt M PA]

I have one of my Sommer door openers mounted all the way to the edge of the door. So, it's located next to one of the tracks....and I can use my midrise without the opener being in th way.

 

[4AudiQ]

I believe it is called a Jackshaft, see here:
http://www.allcitygaragedoor.net/parts-premium3900LightDutyCommercialJackshaftOperator.php

 

[AndyL]

Not quite the way you're asking... But there are ways to vertically flip the head unit to bury it in the ceiling, does require some dealer parts (and a rather expensive dealer carriage door rail), I did one recently where we installed it upside down and backwards - due to a beam in the way at the back. But generally your best to go with a liftmaster 8500 jackshaft unless you have a really odd scenario...