Question re: garage door track positioning

[Gendaito]

Quick question for you guys about garage doors. Is it possible to move the garage door tracks up? My tracks are almost 2 feet below the garage ceiling. I'd like to reclaim that space by moving the tracks up closer to the ceiling, which would then move up the t-rail on the garage door opener.

Here's some pics for reference:

 

[jdaallen]

Yes you can but I wouldn't recomend you do it yourself. Any Door installation company can add the necessary track. If you are going to that much work to gain space, I would recomend going to a Liftmaster 3800 opener also. That way you get rid of the center ovehead opener and rail assembly. Here is a pic of the setup:

 

[ron in sc]

See photo in post #4 in link. It may be helpful.

http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16970&highlight=door

 

[upndown]

It can be done, you'll need to extend vertical tracks, new cables, springs,opener, or have a long arm to connect to door. I'd get a couple door companys out to give you a price..( should be free estimates) FYI i'm 99% sure those door sections are no longer available!! If you go thru that expense now and something happens to your door, opens a new can of worms. just sayn ! I don't like to see people spend good money after bad.

 

[Gendaito]

Great, thanks for the replies! We've been talking about replacing the garage doors with something more attractive, and now I can also plan to include this alteration as well.

I like that LiftMaster 3800 opener but I'm not sure I have enough space on either wall. The manual says you need at least 8" of clear space at either end of the torsion bar, and I don't have it.

 

[ron in sc]

The manual says you need at least 8" of clear space at either end of the torsion bar, and I don't have it

I have almost no clearance on mine and it works just fine.

 

[camarotoolman]

Keep us posted on that one, I want to change mine because the door hits the car when its up on the lift, a real pain.

 

[calven]

In order to reclaim this space properly you need what is called "high lift" track. It basically extends the vertical track higher up the wall before it curves back.

To calculate the maximum amount of highlift you can use take your ceiling height and subtract one foot. The subtract your garage door opening height.

For Example:
Ceiling height 14 ft
Garage door height 10 ft

14 ft - 10 ft - 1 ft = 3ft or 36'' of highlift.

You always leave one foot for the drums etc to work properly. Plus it is much easier to do repairs down the line with 12 inches of space.

As others have said, you will need a jackshaft opener (3800) for this to work as trolley openers will NOT work for your situation.

JdaAllen has highlift with "follow the roof pitch" - his horizontals slope with the pitch of the roof line. You have a flat ceiling so that won't be necessary. You will only need highlift with 15'' radius track.

Although the manual says 8inches of sideroom I have seen 7 fit tight. You will also need 3 inches above the torsion bar for the 3800 to fit.