Installing Garage Door before cutting wall? Yes/No?

[swamplife]

Some back story / info. I want to add a back door to my garage on the gable end. I do worry about causing it to lean a bit. I'm running out of parking space and due to the narrowness of my lot, making the swing into the back yard between the house and garage isn't really possible with anything longer than a small TJ or YJ style Jeep.

The garage is a 18x35 garage. The walls have their own foundation with the 1'' slab inside. 24''OC studs. I believe it was gravel floor and someone poured a small amount of concrete inside.

At one point ( found satellite images going back to the 1950s) , it had a 15' front door and a 8' back door leading to a parking pad. It already has a 2x8 header and the wall has triple studs where the door opening used to be. The sheathing is different where the door used to be. The front door was haphazardly replaced with a 8' door.

I don't see why it isn't possible to install the door then just pull siding and the opening to size. The main reason is I don't want to get sidetracked on another emergency with the house and have a giant hole in the wall for a month as I try to fix whatever room decided it wanted to end up in the crawl space. Seems like it would also make it easier to take my time.

Any ideas on this?

 

[nadogail]

The hole is made before the door is installed.

 

[kaymccampbell]

Since the hole is already there. You can hang your new garage door, then pull the siding and frame, trim the hole, add your seals, and, voila, new garage door.

 

[matt_i]

Risk of cutting the new door as the siding is cut and making a 4 figure mistake is too great in my opinion.

I would block out vacation time from work, make a drawing, gather all materials, eliminate other distractions, and go to work.

A mentor of mine was involved with running big electrical construction jobs. His admonition to me was: finalize drawings and based on those purchase a pile of materials to work with, the very last thing you need is the person to do the work.

I think its also important to consider how to trim out the opening as you go....trim coil, siding, Azek, etc.

 

[CraigStu]

You could put the door up on it's tracks while doing the siding cut. That would protect from the side cuts. Depending on the opener and the track length it might go back from the wall on the horizontal part of the track further than normal if you disconnect the opener from the door. You could do your install w/ this in mind. Since most garage doors are inside the 2x8 or trim boards of the opening I don't see a problem doing the door first. Generally the outermost surface of the door is 3/8-1/2 inch inside the edge of the 2x8s. The trim pieces w/ the rubber edge fill in that gap.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Royal-M...1a&gclid=CN_cpPXo1OsCFf6OxQIddTMHFg&gclsrc=ds

 

[swamplife]

This will probably be a spring project. It's spider season now and I'm not brave enough to pull siding off. Heck, I'm afraid to go in that corner of the garage right now!

Since the hole is already there. You can hang your new garage door, then pull the siding and frame, trim the hole, add your seals, and, voila, new garage door.

If I could get the tracks set up and test to make sure I have the door set right, then I could cut the hole open again and put the door on.

Risk of cutting the new door as the siding is cut and making a 4 figure mistake is too great in my opinion.

I would block out vacation time from work, make a drawing, gather all materials, eliminate other distractions, and go to work.

A mentor of mine was involved with running big electrical construction jobs. His admonition to me was: finalize drawings and based on those purchase a pile of materials to work with, the very last thing you need is the person to do the work.

I think its also important to consider how to trim out the opening as you go....trim coil, siding, Azek, etc.

I'm 9 months into a bathroom remodel. I know how a week off would go for a garage door install Granted, the bathroom did involve hidden fire damage, a ton of water damage but still ...

You could put the door up on it's tracks while doing the siding cut. That would protect from the side cuts. Depending on the opener and the track length it might go back from the wall on the horizontal part of the track further than normal if you disconnect the opener from the door. You could do your install w/ this in mind. Since most garage doors are inside the 2x8 or trim boards of the opening I don't see a problem doing the door first. Generally the outermost surface of the door is 3/8-1/2 inch inside the edge of the 2x8s. The trim pieces w/ the rubber edge fill in that gap.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Royal-M...1a&gclid=CN_cpPXo1OsCFf6OxQIddTMHFg&gclsrc=ds

I like this idea!

 

[ford33]

Please post satellite images of your garage from the 1950's.

Russians launched Sputnik in 1957 so you have once highly classified pictures. I want to see the new 57 Chevy in the driveway.

Putting the door and hardware in then cutting the opening may cause problems with door alignment. The old framing may shift slightly and the door will bind. Better to plan the job and allow time to complete it.

 

[Bolson32]

Please post satellite images of your garage from the 1950's.

Russians launched Sputnik in 1957 so you have once highly classified pictures. I want to see the new 57 Chevy in the driveway.

Putting the door and hardware in then cutting the opening may cause problems with door alignment. The old framing may shift slightly and the door will bind. Better to plan the job and allow time to complete it.

Could just be aerial, but yes I'm also interested.

Sent from my SM-N981U using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[Glemon]

I like your idea of installing the tracks, cut the hole, then put the panels on. It doesn't take long to hang the panels. I would just cut the hole and hang the door after, but if you are worried about the time to get the door up, having the tracks up will cut the final install way down.

 

[firebirdparts]

It'll work, but I wouldn't do it.

 

[CraigStu]

I just think this is a lot simpler than it may seem. I am not sure if you have one of the two original doors still there or not but, if so, you can use it as example of how it is done. May be better though to go look at a friends house that has been built in the last 20 years and use it as an example. I am not sure if the inside of your wall has been drywalled or not. But, if it has, it's easy to pull that so you can see exactly how the framing is laid out. Once you can measure the framing, take several pictures, then you can go to a garage door place, or HD, or Lowes, show them what you have and get their help ordering something to fit. 15 yrs ago I had HD replace my old rotting wood 16x7 door. I kept trying to help but the guy did this every day. He was nice enough not to be nasty, but he really didn't want my help. I think he finally let me help lift the top most panel into place. BTW I bet you can find many dozen videos on youtube on how to do a garage door. I am noticing that more and more companies use youtube to host their official diy install videos.