[JohnB]

Folks,

I am truly blessed. My wife and I are buying a new house and she INSISTS we get a lift so we can park all 3 cars in the garage. Fortunately we've only been married 6 months so the drugs haven't worn off.....

Does anyone have any recommendations or lessons learned they can share? I've Googled for lifts and found several but would like to get the benefit of the local team's experience. Which one to buy or avoid, options preferred, etc.

We move in a month. First lift party to commence after installation at the new house in the Dulles/Ashburn area of NoVa.

[jpinkert]

I'm building a house in Lansdowne right now and planning on doing the same. I've taken a few measurements and figured that if I re-mount the garage door so that it's nearly flush with the ceiling, I can squeeze both 911s into one garage bay. Of course, I'll have to do a little work on the '72 so that it doesn't leak on the turbo...

I'm doing a 4 post lift and may end up buying through this eagle reseller that auctions them off on e-bay. Check out a recent auction at http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=2422667381

[Karl S]

You guys may want to check out this new garage door opener from Wayne-Dalton. Installs without any tracks, so there is plenty of ceiling room for two cars.

http://www.wayne-dalton.com/WhatsNew...iveTorsion.asp

Karl

[JohnB]

Now that is the coolest opener ever! I wonder what they cost?

[jpinkert]

The opener itself doesn't have any tracks, but the garage door requires a track...which is part of the problem. Good idea, though, as far as noise reduction. I'm partial to the Genie screwdrive with the accelerator option...quicker to raise the door.

IMO, one of the noisier parts of the garage door are the door tracks themselves -- metal tracks with metal wheels. It sounds like a roller coaster.

[Karl S]

From other gargages I've seen, they add one or two panels to the door and extend the door tracks up so that they sit very close to the ceiling. This allows the door to clear two cars stacked. Since there is no door opener track or screw drive running down the middle, you can get the door closer to the ceiling.

As for the door noise, there must be someone who makes a door with nylon wheels like the skateboarders use. Those would seem to be less noisey.

Karl

[jpinkert]

Here's what I'm planning...

Extend the tracks upward diagonally so that they're very close to the ceiling (hanging within 3 inches of the ceiling) and maybe add one panel. The conventional opener will add roughly 3-5 inches between the door and the ceiling. Therefore my clearance is reduced by roughly 5-8 inches from the total ceiling height. The lowest point in my garage is 9' 3", which extends from the front of the garage (door side) back roughly 8 feet. That leaves me 8' 7" to raise a car for the first 8 feet. After the garage door opener / garage door assembly, my ceiling bumps up to over 12 feet high for the remaining 12 feet of the length of my garage (its a 20 x 20 garage).

So...picture this. I install the lift at the back of the garage. The 4 post lift is approx 15 feet long. There is 5 feet of space between the end of the lift and the garage door. I back the car onto the lift and raise it with the door and opener sits above the hood and the roof of the car is in the 12 ft high section of my garage. Better yet, I'll attach a quick sketch. I hope this will work. I'll be able to measure it up more accurately once my house is finished...but this is my plan for now.

[Jazzbass]

Originally Posted by Karl S

You guys may want to check out this new garage door opener from Wayne-Dalton. Installs without any tracks, so there is plenty of ceiling room for two cars.

http://www.wayne-dalton.com/WhatsNew...iveTorsion.asp

Karl

That's cool as hell!!! Any idea who sells those and for how much? This could solve my lift constraint issues...

[jpinkert]

I'm seeing the light on the Wayne-Dalton door openers. I'll have to head to Lowes this weekend to see how it might attach to a non Wayne-Dalton garage door. They say its designed for their doors...

[Karl S]

Originally Posted by jazzbass

That's cool as hell!!! Any idea who sells those and for how much? This could solve my lift constraint issues...

Lowe's carries Wayne-Dalton but I don't know how knowledgeable they are. You may want to try:

CRISTAR GARAGE DOOR & CONTROLS, INC
22611 MARKEY COURT, UNIT #112
STERLING, VA 20166

Hours: 8:00 - 5:00 M-F

Phone: (703) 450-2800