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  #1  
Old 05-26-2009, 07:07 PM
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Default New Lift for B-day need some advice

Hey gang,

Wife surprised me with a 4 post lift from Greg Smith coming this Fri. Now I need to raise my garage door. Anyone here able to coach me or point me to someone that does it?

I "think" that I need to buy 2 additional sections of clopay door and the corresponding straight track sections to raise my door and opener from the current height.

My ceiling height is 11'3"
my garage door opener and door tracks are at 7'3"

Anyone able to validate my approach?

Thanks!
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Old 05-26-2009, 08:13 PM
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If you aren't raising the door jamheight why new panels? The track souns right, but can't you take it from the horizontal?? Door still only has to clear same opening. County would prolly object. But extra springs would help since weight of door would still be plling down.
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Old 05-26-2009, 08:23 PM
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In order to open the door with a car on the lift the garage door needs to be changed. I used pieces of plywood cut to the size of the panels. Much cheaper. Next you need some hinges to connect the new panels. You need some extra sections of straight track to extend the vertical portion of the track. You also need to switch to a torsion type spring system if you don't have that already. That is how I did it so I still had use of a garage door opener.

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Old 05-26-2009, 09:18 PM
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Ops missed the "opener" part
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Old 05-26-2009, 09:59 PM
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My ceiling height is 10'2" You are welcome to come by and look and measure. I am in Chantilly.


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  #6  
Old 05-26-2009, 10:14 PM
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Pete,

Thanks for the confirmation. I thought about the plain wood approach w/ hinges too as a much cheaper backup to additional door sections. I was worried that the wood would add too much weight.

Quote:
Originally Posted by 911pete View Post
In order to open the door with a car on the lift the garage door needs to be changed. I used pieces of plywood cut to the size of the panels. Much cheaper. Next you need some hinges to connect the new panels. You need some extra sections of straight track to extend the vertical portion of the track. You also need to switch to a torsion type spring system if you don't have that already. That is how I did it so I still had use of a garage door opener.

Pete
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Old 05-26-2009, 10:14 PM
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Let us know how that works out, and take a few photos when it is done.

My garage ceiling is 12' 8" and screaming for a lift - what a waste of space!

(Can I mount the opener vertically?!?!)

BC
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Old 05-26-2009, 10:15 PM
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Mike,

Great picture. Did you need to add any extra material to the top of your door to route it higher or is your garage door opening really high already?

I would be very interested in taking a look at your convenience. I'll PM U.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike87911 View Post
My ceiling height is 10'2" You are welcome to come by and look and measure. I am in Chantilly.


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  #9  
Old 05-26-2009, 10:28 PM
Mike87911 Mike87911 is offline
 
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I didn't do any modifications. It's as the builder installed. My door is 8' tall, a lot are only 7'. The top rail is 19" from the ceiling. Its a tight fit and the top car has to be on rear first and all the way to the back of the ramps to clear the door but it all works.
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  #10  
Old 05-27-2009, 07:04 AM
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I installed a four post lift in my garage last year. So that I could have the garage door open with a car up on the lift, I had a company come out and reconfigure the rails so that the door would "hug" the wall and ceiling as it went up. No need for a new door.

I also had a Liftmaster side mount garage door opener installed.



The door conversion, garage door opener, battery backup, two remotes cost me $1100 for everything.

The opener is whisper quiet and also had a door locking mechanism

Hope this helps.
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