Replies

1. 
   RANGERP75R | Jun 20, 2003 05:48am | #1

   david

     
   Contact a commercial sliding door company. And get out your wallet. Have you ever tried to lift a 12' sliding door manually? Hope you've been working out a lot lately. ha..ha..

   sarge..jt

2. 
   DougF | Jun 20, 2003 04:30pm | #2

   David,

   A rollup door is not that much more expensive than your current door.

   Doug

1. 
   Lazarus | Jun 20, 2003 06:35pm | #3

   If a roll-up door is not an option, they now have an opener that mounts directly above the opening and uses a cable to open the door instead of a chain/belt attached to an arm. These can be found at the big box stores. Of course you would still have to leave a little clearencebetween the open door and the ceiling, but I think you can leave it at only about 12 inches.

   Check it out yourself, it is the Wayne Dalton i-Drive on this link:

   http://www.lowes.com/lkn?action=productList&function=search&categoryId=GARAGE_DOOR_OPENERS_%26_ACCESSORIES.CATEGORY&topic=goShopping

   LazarusRemeber, "Wisdom is the toughest of teachers! She gives the test first and the lesson after."

3. 
   mallard10 | Jun 21, 2003 08:18am | #4

   David you can use a residential operator, all you do is put a gear on the end of the torsion shaft then take the operator head only ( no track ) mount it on the wall maybe 2 ft. below the torsion shaft put the chain around both gears. You'll have to cut the chain and reconnect it with a master link. You won't be able to disconnect the door from the opener if the power goes out, if that's a problem they make commercial operators that hook up like this and can be disconnected but they are more money.  Hope this helps Jerry

1. 
   Manchild | Jun 21, 2003 08:09pm | #5

   Jerry, I'm not sure of the names for the different parts of the door. The garage door is made of fiberglass light panels (2'?) that track up and over. I plan to change the panels to insulated ones in the future. It's not a roll up door.The counterweight is by linear springs not a torsion spring. Changing the track to turn up higher at the ceiling doesn't look too hard but the motor presents a few problems. The design is for the motor to pull the doors up a little and then horizontal. If I turn it higher this system won't work I think because it will push/ pull in two different directions. It's hard to explain but maybe some one has done it and worked it through. Maybe if I mounted the motor up high it could handle the direction change. I'm going to change the track and go from there.

4. 
   djhawk | Jun 22, 2003 07:38am | #6

   Should you decide to extend the tracks closer to the ceiling,which would require the door to be lifted higher,

   you'd have to buy stronger springs, special track extenders, longer cables and etc.,etc.

   As suggested a new curtain door would be a better solution at about the same price. Curtain doors roll up

   like an old roll up curtain shade and would be stored

   above the door opening. This would eliminate the need

   for horizontal overhead tracks that are distracting to you.