Solution to fixing door clearance problem?

[sting8]

My 1950s garage has a 16x7 foot door frame opening. Currently installed is a 1-piece door that tilts open and then hangs a bit below the top of the opening, which means the clearance is much less than 7 feet.

The problem is my new van is under 7 feet but can't get in because the door hangs below the frame.
I've thought of 2 solutions:

1] can the tracks on these old tilt doors be raised so that the door goes higher and leaves all 7 feet of the opening cleared?

2] Install a new sectional door because I think they are designed clear the top of the frame to leave the entire 7 feet of frame clearance open (I theoretically have enough headroom above I think at 15 inches?) . New door specs also say that 3.75 inches of side room are required. Problem is that there are 7 inches of side room on the left and only 1.5 inches on the right. I was thinking I could nail a 4x4 on the right to give the required side room - BUT this reduces the actual opening to 15'8 inches. I'd like to buy a used door and they are all 16 feet wide and I'm wondering if that will still work with a smaller 15'8" opening? The door I think would normally overlap the opening and lay against the side room and in this case, it would simply overlap a little more and should work, or am I missing something?

 

[The Cobbler]

7" on one side, 1.5" on the other = 9.5 overall. specs call for 3.75 .
can't you balance it out side to side? also you can go less clearance in most cases , just means the weatherstrip will overlap the door more

 

[sting8]

7" on one side, 1.5" on the other = 9.5 overall. specs call for 3.75 . can't you balance it out side to side?

I only have 1.5" on the one side because the wall is there - they built the opening only 1.5" from the wall!

 

[nadogail]

A garage door dealer can order a custom door to fit the width of the opening.
You could put smaller wheels on your vehicle.
This should be ample justification for a new garage to accommodate your future needs.

 

[The Cobbler]

I guess I'm not following you. got some pictures?

 

[wssix99]

^ Yes, you can get a custom-sized door for your opening. Custom garage doors are inexpensive relative to other types of doors.

You would need to check the spec, but I expect that you will need a "low headroom" track for your door. (I recall most doors need more than 15" of headroom for the standard tracks.) You would also need a torsion spring system with a jackshaft opener. If your van won't clear the current door, it won't clear a standard center-mount garage door opener, either.

 

[firebirdparts]

You don’t need a custom door; you need the door to move out of the way. That’s the way I read it. I may be wrong.

if you are saying you have a kick out door then the answer is no, the kickout door cannot really move differently and it can't get out of the way. Sectional doors can fully clear the opening.

P.S. The reduced opening is no problem for a sectional door. They don't ever get into the opening. They just close behind it. A custom width door would be fine but I don't know that you really need it.

 

[CraigStu]

"
BUT this reduces the actual opening to 15'8 inches. I'd like to buy a used door and they are all 16 feet wide and I'm wondering if that will still work with a smaller 15'8" opening? The door I think would normally overlap the opening and lay against the side room and in this case, it would simply overlap a little more and should work, or am I missing something?"

Yes you can have the door larger than the opening. That is how most common doors are. This is the most common type of seal for sides and top.

http://mdbuildingproducts.com/weatherization/uploads/2016/03/043374084726_MAIN.jpg

Installed like this.

https://www.garagehowto.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/garage-door-weather-stripping.jpg

On this door the opening could be maybe 3 inches smaller one each side. As long as the seal is contacting the door on the flat surface (as far as to the point of the red arrow) it will work fine.
garage-door-stop-molding-weather-seal-weatherstripping-door-kit-360 by craig stuard, on Flickr

 

[bigdav160]

I think you could modify the track intended for a sectional door to attach to the wall. They are calling for 3.75" of clearance because of the mounting flange shape of the track.

 

[sting8]

I guess I'm not following you. got some pictures?

Hopefully you can make out that in the first photo the side room is only 1.5" - the frame of the door opening is only separated from the wall studs by a single 2x4. That's why I was going to add a 4x4 onto that side to give the minimum 3.75 inches of side room required. In the second photo you can see that there is 7" of room on the other side so no problem there.

So after adding the 4x4, my opening is not 16 feet anymore, it's 15'8". I know I can get a custom door to fit, but I'd like to buy a used 16 foot door if I can and am wondering if it will still work out?

it seems to be putting a bit wider door on just mean that it will be overlapping the frame by 2 inches on each side. I can't imagine that's a problem?

 

[The Cobbler]

I see now. is the 3.75 over all or each side? each side makes sense I guess , as allowance for the track & brackets . if the door you get is a flat panel or doesn't have any profiles where the weatherstrip would run I think you'd be fine , other than panels or profiles may look unbalanced or uncentered

 

[CraigStu]

"So after adding the 4x4, my opening is not 16 feet anymore, it's 15'8". I know I can get a custom door to fit, but I'd like to buy a used 16 foot door if I can and am wondering if it will still work out?

it seems to be putting a bit wider door on just mean that it will be overlapping the frame by 2 inches on each side. I can't imagine that's a problem?"
It is not a problem. It might narrow your choices of door a little but you will find something. One house we owned the basement had a standard 6ft wide sliding door out to the back yard. But it was unfinished and the car I wanted to work on would just fit through the opening after the tracks were removed. I got a standard 7ft wide door and tracks etc and installed it so one side of the door was a foot or so beyond the opening. It was a typical raised panel style and the seals were inside one of those fake panels. So at each recess that formed the fake panels the seal didn't seal completely. Fortunately the door was on the side of the house least hit by wind and rain and that door was there for 6 years until we moved away. The little bit of rain that got past that seal was easy to mop up w/ an old bath towel. Yeah, it didn't look the best but there was no garage and no place to build one. So to get 6 years of a car work space made it real easy for me to overlook the easthetics.

 

[AndyL]

Overlap on the jambs isn't generally an issue. But you'll have to find an installer who's willing to work with what you've got - left side yeah could be a bit challenging depending on the specific door system. Right side may just be installing another 2x4 to give a mounting surface to shift the door over and still have material to mount on in the correct position.

 

[rburke65]

I’d call a local garage door company and get an estimate on giving you more headroom

 

[jstroede]

There are your side room requirements. You can absolutely lap over the jam if you need to though. Some doors in commercial applications are setup to overlap the jams by an inch on each side. As noted though, if you are going for a standard raised panel door, then most likely you will partially hide the end stamp.

Are you on the west coast? 15'8" wide doors are actually somewhat common out there.

John