Garage Door Angle...

[JoeKramer]

Just bumbin around the site and thought I would write a post about my center garage door. It goes up at a funny angle. Not a 90 like most peoples, I'm thinking its more like 22.5 or something. The guy before me had a lift in this garage and wanted to be able to open the door with a vehical on the lift!

Its good the way it is now cause I too have a lift in this garage now!

 

[autoist]

What a great idea!

 

[REFLEXX]

That's exactly what I'm getting next week! Angled at 18/5 degrees to match the roof pitch and only 6" away from the ceiling.

I called dozens of places and all they wanted to do was 16x7 standard doors. I had to actually SHOW some of the installers pictures, they kept saying that it's not possible!!! Some said that it's a safety issue, the door is always under load and if something breaks, that becomes a hazard. I'll be careful.

Your shop shows EXACTLY why it's a better way to go. I see in the background that the other bay has the "conventional" mounting.

The downside I came up with is that I wanted to use the track as a place to hand "curtains" to make a "paint booth" when I do any painting.. The angle track will make it a pain.


REFLEXX

 

[byrdman]

I checked into this at one time and kept getting the "it's impossible to do" spiel as well. Is there a safety catch or something that secures it in place when raised, or does it just hang by the springs? I was told that any spring strong enough to hold it in place on an angle like that would make lowering the door difficult.

 

[GearHead_1]

Check the middle of this post out http://www.garagejunkies.net/showthread.php?t=1459. The subject moves away from the I Drive topic slightly and shows a set up for a vaulted ceiling. I have done what is being suggested here and it can be done safely assuming you use a Jack Screw Opener. I personally don't feel like a regular type opener is the answer when doing this project. No offense intended for those who have used this method.

 

[nova65ss]

I was told that any spring strong enough to hold it in place on an angle like that would make lowering the door difficult.

The way to overcome this is by using a different drum. I put up a picture of 2 different kinds, one is a high lift drum that tapers down, the other is a standard. When the door goes up higher than normal or straight up you use a different style drum. The tapers act like gears changing the rate of the spring allowing it to stay balanced throughout the travel of the door.

 

[gb387]

very interesting... great post!

 

[byrdman]

Well, I'll be. That's ingenious.

 

[iiibdsiil]

Maybe the installers are saying it's impossible because they are thinking you want an opener with it or something? I still don't see why it would be a problem, but who knows.

 

[Steve_S]

The photo in the other thread is my door. With the opener disconnected, I can raise and lower the door by hand. It is very slightly bottom heavy in it's lower range of travel and perfectly balanced in the top range of travel. I'm not sure what the installer did exactly to achieve this, but he knew what he was doing.

 

[joecaver]

that is interesting. I've never thought of that.

 

[afwrench]

I did the same thing with one of the doors . Im no door expert but it works fine. First I angle cut the tracks to mimic the roof pitch and the I got stronger springs, I have the type with long springs on either side. I adjusted the tension so when I release the lock the door rises about 3feet,then I just push it up and slip a hitch pin into holes I drilled ito the tracks. The springs pull up enough to make it easy and with the pins in place the door cant fall if one or both springs fail. Ill grant you it is not the most sophisticated setup but it works fine and cost about 20 bucks for the springs.

 

[sirstude]

I have the same setup in my garage, because of the hoist. All the old gas stations (showing my age) used to be set up that way with the door following the ceiling. I have had it that way for about 2 years now, with no issues. I did not change springs or anything. I have an insulated steel door and they don't weigh much.

Doug