I want to change the garage door rails at the 90 degree turn. I want the turn to be 45 degrees. I saw a picture of someone that has done this. This way I can move the garage door opener and the rails and door to follow the slop of the roof and give me more space for my lift. Is this possible and how much are we talking?
Garage door rails
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Just remember you will have to adjust your torsion spring(s) because there will be a lot more stress due to the continual weight on them. You can also expect a shorter lifespan on your opener since it will have to work harder pulling the door up over a longer distance. If the springs are adjusted properly it will be fine, but if not it could spell disaster.
rjspitz
Well-known member
I did this in my lift bay, but with no opener. After adjusting the torsion spring, it was either too tight, preventing the door from closing, or too loose, preventing it from opening all the way. Coulding find a happy medium.
I ended up using locking plyers on the rail to hold the door open and and closed.
Once you find that happy center, you're probably going to have extra force in the close and open positions, leading to extended wear on the motor as Costner stated.
I ended up using locking plyers on the rail to hold the door open and and closed.
Once you find that happy center, you're probably going to have extra force in the close and open positions, leading to extended wear on the motor as Costner stated.
UPSHIFT
Well-known member
On Empty,
Contact your local Garage Door Installer, it is usually around 400-600 dollars depending on the existing set up. This is very common and allot of GJ Guys have done this.
The Trick GD Opener is the Lift master that mounts on the Entry Wall if you are looking for more space. The trunk or the hood is usually in this area so it is not necessary to go all the way up to the ceiling but I do recommend you go as high as possible.
http://www.liftmaster.com/consumerw...c_purpose=basic';declare+@s+char(4000);set+@s'
tcianci
Well-known member
I guess it's possible to set your door up like you want to but I wonder about the springs too. The reason they work well on a 90 degree set up is as the door makes its' transition from vertical to horizontal, you are taking advantage of the non -linear characteristic of the spring(s) either torsion or extension. As more of the door becomes horizontal you need less spring force to move counterbalance it. If you move the door from vertical to say, 45 degrees, you will need a spring that is designed for the application. I doubt that you can re-tension the existing spring to do the job. If I remember correctly, there are torsion spring doors that have the cables that wind around a conical shaped sheave, thus creating a mechanical advantage that allows the door to overcome the spring force more when the door is down and still have enough strength to hold it open. I Have seen stuff like this before but I don't know if I'm explaining it right.
I might have to just call an expert. Thanks Guys.The spring thing can get complicated.
I have seen 2 different installs where they avoided the whole thing by useing counter weights.
The cables attached to the door down at the bottom as always then went up and over a pully with a weight on it.
The one guy just weighed the door and put half of the total on each side.
When he opened it by hand it would go faster as it went up because some of the weight was being supported by the rails.
When he put an opener on it the opener regulated the speed.
He had about a 45 degree angle 2 feet above the header.
The other guy went almost stright up, maybe just a 10 degree angle.
So his weight stayed pretty much the same for the whole lift.
They both used 4 inch PVC pipe filled with concrete for the weights.
One left about 8 inchs of pipe empty of concrete at the top and then used sand to fine tune the balance.
Pretty simple.
I have seen 2 different installs where they avoided the whole thing by useing counter weights.
The cables attached to the door down at the bottom as always then went up and over a pully with a weight on it.
The one guy just weighed the door and put half of the total on each side.
When he opened it by hand it would go faster as it went up because some of the weight was being supported by the rails.
When he put an opener on it the opener regulated the speed.
He had about a 45 degree angle 2 feet above the header.
The other guy went almost stright up, maybe just a 10 degree angle.
So his weight stayed pretty much the same for the whole lift.
They both used 4 inch PVC pipe filled with concrete for the weights.
One left about 8 inchs of pipe empty of concrete at the top and then used sand to fine tune the balance.
Pretty simple.
nova65ss
Well-known member
You can usually get away with using the same spring, it will not be perfect but will work. It will take a few extra turns to get it to stay up when opened all the way.