Raising tracks for a lift?

[mnm99]

First off I want to say hi.......
So I called 4 Garage door places and all 4 said "There's now way. We don't do that" WOW..I hope someone will chime in here, because It doesn't seem too difficult. Here's my deal. I want to raise the door around 14-18" I read there is a kit that will raise the entire torsion bar up and extend the tracks straight. I'm looking at it another way. Could I cut the 90* bend at 45* and bolt on a say 2 foot straight piece of track then use the existing track and continue? ( Here's a picture what I mean) Keeping the torsion location as is. As of right now I can lift the door 1 foot and it will stay where it is with ease. I'm going to use a Liftmaster 8500 also. I was told the springs would have to be changed and all new tracks to to be able to support the door. Why?, If the door stays put at 1 foot why would I need a stronger spring? Tell me if you think my idea will work.

Thank you...

 

[LX-Markham]

might have to cut and weld some custom tracks to get 2 - 45* bends versus the standard single 90* bend, but the concept sounds doable.

 

[mnm99]

might have to cut and weld some custom tracks to get 2 - 45* bends versus the standard single 90* bend, but the concept sounds doable.

As long as I find the center of the 45 I would be able to connect a straight piece without a change in track size. If you know what I mean.

 

[mnm99]

As long as I find the center of the 45 I would be able to connect a straight piece without a change in track size. If you know what I mean.

Does anyone else know if this will work? Or who have done it?

 

[rsanter]

By my failing memory, I swear I saw a post where someone did exactly that.
They cut the curved track and inserted a straight section in there

Bob

 

[SpiderGearsMan]

buy a new door, then they will do it

 

[Devildogs]

Even if you did it this way, you would still have the additional weight of the door that is sitting on the 45. Now this would be less than if it were vertical but not zero. I belive the spring is somewhat adjustable but i dont know by how much.

 

[mnm99]

buy a new door, then they will do it

Door is 2 years old.

 

[mnm99]

Even if you did it this way, you would still have the additional weight of the door that is sitting on the 45. Now this would be less than if it were vertical but not zero. I belive the spring is somewhat adjustable but i dont know by how much.

I'm sure the torsion could be adjusted a little. Just never tried.

 

[excavator]

I have standard springs but i inserted a 14 inch straight track and raised it all with good results
you can see 2 doors side by side

 

[mnm99]

I have standard springs but i inserted a 14 inch straight track and raised it all with good results
you can see 2 doors side by side

I don't see a torsion spring. Do you have the older style springs on the sides?

 

[Question]

You need to call garage door suppliers and ask for high radius tracks, these will push the rails up closer to the ceiling...You will probably have to add new side rails to meet the high radius tracks..



Because I have torsion bar springs I also moved the garage door opener to the side for more clearance. You cant do this with the two side springs..

 

[Mikeyz]

Mnm99

Garage door tracks are made up of two different parts the horizontal and vertical tracks both tracks come in different sizes. The vertical track can easily be changed to give the additional height you need but the L brackets that connect it to the wall will need to be changed. This is because the door needs to "break away" from the wall at a certain point. Essentially the L brackets would get larger as the get higher on the vertical. This angles the vertical away from the wall before it breaks into the horizontal. The verticals are sold in several different sizes that can be cut to the exact size needed. The second bart of the track, the horizontal is measured by the radius. From your picture it looks like you have 12R track. 12" inch radius which is standard for most residential garage doors. If your were to switch to 15R that would give you a little more height. Horizontals also come in varying lengths but again most are standard because they only have to fit a 7 or 8 ft high door. There are several other variables that effect the door function. Cable length, which most likely need to increase based on the added height. Cable drum size. Most drums have a range of cable lengths they will hold. And most important door weight. This will effect the size spring you need. Although what you are trying to do might work there are several problems you may encounter. Believe or not raising the vertical 12"-18" will effect the spring operation. You maybe able to compensate with a few additional turns on the spring but it can be very dangerous. Many different size springs can lift the same weight door but the number of turns needed is an actual engineering calculation. The spring on you door maybe at its limit already. I sorry this is pretty long winded but there is actually a lot to it. I used to work At an Amarr garage door distributor. We had computer programs that would calculate spring size based on door weights and set of standard size doors. What you are looking to do is actual called hi-lift track. We would forward the dimensions to engineering and they would send us drawings. What you want to do is not hard but you should have the proper dimension for track spring etc. If you can contact a local garage door distributor they can probably help you with what you need. Some only deal with installers but it cant hurt to ask. My guess is at the minimum you will need bigger vertical, longer cables and a spring calculation. As far as cutting your horizontals on a 45 you door will most likely not operate smoothly. Please be careful as i have seen people hospitalized when a cable or spring lets go because it was overtensioned. Hope this helps!

 

[excavator]

Yes older style springs and I raised them also