Garage door "tracks"

[dak911]

New house, has a 4 post lift...BUT the previous owner never addressed the problem of the door hitting the top of the rear posts, the inside (part of the track that the door goes up on) needs about 3" clearance.
What I am wondering is, can I just raise the back of the track to be closer to the ceiling...ie: the track will not be level, it will slope up toward the inside of the garage.
I have estimates of $2000 to raise the tracks, adding 4" at the bottom and a new side mounted motor....seems overkill for 3 ".....

 

[Wrench97]

They can be sloped that won't matter the issue would be the gap you create at the vertical to horizontal transition.

 

[The Cobbler]

sloping the track will likely change the geometry of the springs and tension and cause the door to roll down some

 

[Hot Rod Grampa]

Go ahead and raise it up. 3” at the end of 8’ is a degree or two of rotation. Gap at the joint should be inconsequential. The door brand will dictate the intersection between the vertical and horizontal angle that the track attaches to. They are usually slotted but you may have to relieve the hole a bit for the bolt to go in. If there is an opener you may have to raise it also so it follows the same angle.

 

[dak911]

Thanks guys, i'm going to try and see what happens....These doors in south FL have 4 horizontal 3" x 3" steel strengthening bars across the back of the door, (Hurricane code), if I removed the top one that would also help.....

 

[pmiranda]

I think raising or sloping the back of the track that does nothing when the door is closed is wiser than modifying the hurricane reinforcement during, um, hurricane season

 

[ripnesscobra]

For whatever it is worth, I had the door tracks raised 2 feet on my 2 garage doors for $1200. This included labor, track parts, 2 LiftMaster 8500 wall mount openers, 2 battery backups and converting both doors from extension to torsion spring. This was 3 years ago. Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[nadogail]

Your Garage Door Mechanic can make an educated guess.