High lift garage door conversion

RM,
Easy to do. You need to have ~ 12 feet in height inside the garage to have sufficient clearance between the top of a car on the lift and the ceiling when the lift is raised. If you have the ceiling height, all you need to do is reposition the door rails and have a longer garage door. Check with the folks who installed your current doors. Should be a sticker on the door with phone no. etc

 

The easiest way is to raise the lateral brackets/tracks and add the need lengths to the bottom that run vertical to the frame. ( called a high lift track)

The best choice is a wall mounted motor with tortion springs. This eliminates the motor and drive track in the center for clearence.

Here is an example.:
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Do 2 thigs:
1. Side track extensions - w/std door height this will also limit the amount of door over car at top lift height
2 - Jackshaft (I bought Liftmaster model) opener - Mounts on the jackshaft (the bar across the top with the springs) and allows for full clearance over lift based upon #1 above.. Mine is installed thusly at 12' ceiling height.

I also have 2 ceiling fans over lift and generally keep a Mustang GT w/big wing on top lift height. Lift is Superlifts SR-7H. I could get photos this weekend if it helps.

 

Ok, let me give you some personal experience from someone who just built a house and went through this exact same situation....

GARAGE DOOR OPENER:

You WILL have to replace it. Get a wall mounted unit. I went with the Wayne Dalton iDrive. It isn't that much ($250?) and works great. This is assuming you have a torsion spring garage door opener, which if you don't, you might as well get one....


GARAGE DOOR TRACKS:

Replace your existing tracks with high lift tracks, giving you an extra 8" or so above a standard track. This gives you the little bit extra height you need. You can re-use the existing garage door, no need to replace it.


HEIGHT REQUIREMENTS:

Again, everyone will tell you the more height the better, but I have a garage underneath the house, and it had a gross wall height of 10'. Then you subtract for double 5/8" sheetrock on the ceiling, and losing for the concrete slab (the garage is actually in the "walk out basement" of the house, superior wall foundation walls, so slab is poured after walls are set), I have about a 9' 8" ceiling height. Using a 4 post lift I am able to have a 360 and M3 at the same time. Its tight, but it works. The depth of my garage is more than average (28') so I can successfully put a car on the lift and while the garage door will extend over the car slightly, it stops before it reaches the roof of the car, in which point it would hit. So you need to load the cars on just right, and measure out for proper positioning of the 4 post lift.


INSTALLER:

The guys who were able to get my iDrive's configured just right was actually a larger commercial door company, but they are great. Abstract Overhead Door in Croydon PA. (215) 781-1500. Very reasonable price, and professional fast service. They can handle the tracks, iDrive's, etc.


GOOD LUCK WITH THE PROJECT!!!!

 

Liftmaster, would be my recommendation..we use them in all of our shops. Doors get used about 100 times a day.

the wayne Dalton door and torsion spring setup I have in my home garage but not the "i-drive" motors as noted above. Although I may switch to 1 of them for my door when the lift goes in.

+1..on having a door company do it. less agg and should take no more than a few hours.

 

I had the same problem prior to my 4 post lift going in. I had to buy a new opener that sat flush to the ceiling, and the rails were also raised to the ceiling. Lastly, there were segments that had to be added to the top of the door. It was done in 2/3 of a day by a local overhead door company here, and cost me about $1200.

I have exactly 10'6" vertical clearance...I got a lift with a 74 inch vertical rise, and can put the 360 all the way to the top without a problem.