Garage door unit losing support

[Hklein]

Hello all, long time no talk! Last night, I realized that my fathers garage door unit was coming loose from the ceiling. I did what I could, I pulled the string that detaches the door from being controlled by the motor, unplugged it & threw in a few drywall anchors w/screws; but it literally just a felt like 1/4" sheet rock and anchors don't seem to be cutting it. The holes, as I'm sure you can imagine, are already huge enough that no anchor that would help, would fit through the metal holes I am trying to secure to the ceiling; well, not without removing the whole unit, putting in new anchors, putting metal back up, and then screwing into pop toggle anchors. I may be going about this all wrong; regardless, I desperately need a temporary/permanent solution so if anybody has any ideas that would be great. I've attached a picture of what my side looks like (the proper side,) and a few of the problematic side. Thanks again! And I'm sorry if I posted this in the wrong subform.

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[Cmreschke]

Can you not hit a joust? Looks like your joists run perpendicular to the angle iron based on the receptacle. Maybe get a longer piece of that and screw it into the joist.

 

[matt_i]

The drywall anchors are completely inappropriate for this repair, even toggle bolts.

My free advice: Go to Home DEpot fastener section and get some gold-colored GRK-RSS screws, it will have a large flange head on it, 5/16" x 3-1/8". It will have a T-30 torx driver. Use an impact tool or an 18v cordless drill in low gear to drive the screws. When you hit solid wood behind the drywall, you will know it, drive it fully home, use standard machine-bolt flat washers if necessary. If you hit nothing but air, take it out and try again. Going into the attic above to visualize what's happening would be very useful.

The framing screws I mentioned should be long enough to positively grip in shorter holes which have been oversized and stripped out. They have the advantage of not splitting the wood with the special tip geometry. This assumes that you can hit the center of a 2x framing member. Putting it 1/16" from the edge and expecting it not to split out is not a fault of the screw.

Another tool which could be really useful is a scanning stud finder.

 

[manwithtools]

As buggered up as that ceiling is now, I'd use a poor man's stud finder - chuck a 1/8" bit in a drill and drill multiple holes about 1/2" apart in a straight line perpendicular to where the joist should be. You will know when you hit wood and when you don't. That will make it easy to know where the center of the joist is to drive the above mentioned construction screw.

 

[Cmreschke]

It looks like you can see the joist, based on drywall mudding over screw holes. Looks like there is a joist on the last hole of angle iron. That's my guess.

 

[Cmreschke]

Might have to go at an angle away from the opener in the last hole.

 

[manwithtools]

You know for sure there is a joist running right next to the outlet as well. The outlet box is nailed to the joist I bet. Many times you can pull the cover off the outlet and see the joist next to it. That should allow you to determine where to look next.

 

[Hklein]

The drywall anchors are completely inappropriate for this repair, even toggle bolts.



My free advice: Go to Home DEpot fastener section and get some gold-colored GRK-RSS screws, it will have a large flange head on it, 5/16" x 3-1/8". It will have a T-30 torx driver. Use an impact tool or an 18v cordless drill in low gear to drive the screws. When you hit solid wood behind the drywall, you will know it, drive it fully home, use standard machine-bolt flat washers if necessary. If you hit nothing but air, take it out and try again. Going into the attic above to visualize what's happening would be very useful.



The framing screws I mentioned should be long enough to positively grip in shorter holes which have been oversized and stripped out. They have the advantage of not splitting the wood with the special tip geometry. This assumes that you can hit the center of a 2x framing member. Putting it 1/16" from the edge and expecting it not to split out is not a fault of the screw.



Another tool which could be really useful is a scanning stud finder.

Thank you lol for the advice; you are right about the rafters,band I ended up crawling up into the attic as lovely as it was up there, and attaching a board from behind the drywall. Now it's as sturdy as can be. Thanks again!

 

[upndown]

Those pics belong in the WTF thread! DIY at its finest.