How to raise sliding gates higher. How to raise a garage door and what to do

There is a proverb "I passed the sopromat, I passed everything." And yet, some garage "experts" like to assure that they made "hard gates". Competent engineers are aware of a simple truth - "hard metal structures No", and a shipbuilding engineer, having heard about the strength of materials, will smile and say that "Strength of materials is a special case of Structural Mechanics, in which movement is not taken into account." This is us to the question of why it is sometimes necessary to raise the garage door. Now a little more detail on how to do this.

The main reasons for changing the geometry of the gate, or opening

General fatigue of the metal, settlement of hinges, natural deformations at the end of installation, settlement of the opening (the frame in which the gate is mounted) for various reasons, some other factors (for example, in hot, cloudless weather a couple of years ago there were problems of thermal deformations of metal structures).

External causes that do not depend on the material part. We bought a car taller - it doesn’t fit in dimensions, they made a mistake in the lower gap - in winter the gate is extremely difficult to open, one of the walls of the garage sank more, which caused the opening to skew, and others that are sometimes difficult to foresee.

In each of these cases, the decision is made individually, but we will consider several simple methods that are available with a simple tool with an assistant.

Ways to raise (correct the geometry) of the gate

Sagging hinges, (the gate is deformed, or something else). To raise (for example, one sash) you can use a spacer washer. We remove the sash from the hinges, put a washer of the required thickness on the axis of the lower hinge, return the sash to its place. Sometimes it is difficult to pick up the puck, then we put a ball of a suitable diameter into the loop where the hole is. This method allows you to correct small distortions of the leaves, slightly raise the gate, and facilitate movement on the loop. Very important! The material of the washer and ball must be of a harder alloy than the loop itself!
The need to change the distance from ground level to the bottom of the wings. The easiest way is to cut off the lower part with a grinder, then fix the rubber strip to close the gap. Applicable if the sheathing sheet protrudes beyond the lower frame beams. If the gate is mounted so that the lower beam is at ground level, you will first need to cut the beam, then the metal, weld the beam in place. By the way, in our practice there are structures where the lower part (about 10 cm) is mounted on hinges, and when the gate is opened, it can be folded back.
The skew of the valves, due to the deformation of the opening. If you do not touch the opening, then the easiest way to determine the skew zone (as a rule, the sashes do not close in the upper or lower part), on the sash that does not give a bow, cut the horizontal beam, cut down a few mm. With effort (you may need a jack), we press the vertical beam of the frame - we weld it. Up to gaps of 7-12 mm deformation sheet metal will be invisible. We must weld the place of welding with an additional metal strip, since residual deformations will occur here! If you do not strengthen this place, the welding seam will simply break over time.
The need to increase the height of the opening. The most difficult case, which will take time, the ability to lay bricks, additional equipment. How to do this can be found on construction sites. We will consider a situation where the problem was solved more simply.

An example of a simple solution in a difficult situation

So, new car did not pass through the dimensions of the upper part of the garage opening. 6-7 cm across the width of the car itself, 14 cm on the right - on the left, at the installation sites of the roof rails (by the way, one of the most common causes when you need to raise the gate in height!).

Some garage craftsmen immediately advised dismantling the upper part of the opening (reducing the number of rows of bricks is a common approach), re-scalding the frame, thus increasing the height of the opening. In fact, it is very difficult to raise the entire upper part by 14 cm (2.5 rows of bricks), but this was not required. How the problem was solved.

In the floor of the garage (concrete, as well as a race with a slope of about 2 meters long), grooves were hollowed out with a width of 2 - 2.5 tires each, a depth of 10 cm. . The bottom of the track was covered with corrugated metal fixed to the floor.
On the example of another car (garage cooperatives are good because there will always be almost the same car - in this case without roof rails). Take into account the difference in tire height. We determined the gap between the roof of the car and the upper frame in the most unloaded state - 7 cm.
On the left and right, in the upper part of the opening, 60 cm of the channel were cut out (the middle part was supported with beams just in case). They knocked out several bricks, and scalded the resulting U-shaped slots with a channel, which was fixed into a brick.
We checked the smooth check-in and check-out on the right car, made sure that everything was done correctly.
After that, I had to lift the necessary sheets a little, since the gates stopped closing these holes, which was done on the spot, after the sashes had already been put in place.

This work was completed. They took three days, it took the help of a neighbor in the garages, it was not necessary to suffer with the task of how to raise the entire upper part of the frame (at the same time increasing the gate).

We hope that when you face a similar problem, this article will help you be smart, use simple solutions, and not try to solve the problem head-on, as experts from the Internet advise.

How to raise the gate in the garage - a lot of owners think about it. After all, in the process of time, the structure itself shrinks, and the curtains wear out.

Basically, for these reasons, the gate is shifted. In this article, we will decide how to raise the garage door. You will also have the opportunity to watch a video on this topic, and from the photo you can see individual moments of the work.

Why do changes occur in the geometry of the gate

Until recently, high-quality and competently installed gates (see) looked incomparable and pleasing to the eye. But over time, you begin to notice that the metal does not look the same as before, the loops fit, etc. Of course, it is necessary to take appropriate measures in order to solve such problems.

Gate lifting methods

It is worth saying that in most cases you will not need to invite specialists, because everything can be done by hand. Therefore, the cost of work will be minimal.

So:

If your gate is deformed, then to lift the sash from the hinges, you can use a special spacer washer, which easily solves such problems. It is necessary to remove the sash from the hinges, putting a washer of the thickness that you need on the axis of the lower hinge, and return the sash to its place.
Often there are difficulties with the selection of the puck, sometimes it is really difficult to do it. This means that a ball of the desired diameter must be inserted into the loop. In this way, you can get rid of a slight skew of the leaves, in addition, you can raise the gate, thereby facilitating movement on the hinges.

Attention: Do not forget that the material of the washer and ball must be made of a harder alloy than the loop itself, because this is important.

You need to carefully do the work: you must change the distance from ground level to the bottom of the wings. A simple way to solve this issue: you need to cut off the lower part with a grinder, then a rubber strip is attached. Thus, the gap can be eliminated.
The skew of the sashes often occurs due to the deformation of the opening. In case you do not touch the opening, then with the help of easy way it will be possible to determine the skew zone on the sash. Often this happens when the frame beam is incorrectly welded. By tapping on the beam, you will be able to see the vibrations of the metal and determine the point where the stress is being created. Here an incision is made and the tire is welded on.
If the garage door has sagged and you need to increase the height of the opening, then know that you need to be able to lay bricks here. You can find out how to do this work correctly on our other resources.

Important information

There are some points that require the gate to be raised or expanded, not due to wear and tear of the materials:

If you have noticed that the new car does not fit into the opening, then you need to solve this problem. Of course, you can disassemble the upper part of the opening, thereby solving this problem instantly. After all, raising the upper part of the opening is a rather complicated undertaking, and not every owner will be able to complete it.

Grooves need to be hollowed out in the garage floor, the width of which will be 2-2.5 tires each, the depth of such grooves will be - 10 cm. In this way, you can lower the entry level, which means that the roof of your car will no longer be able to touch the garage opening, which is what you were looking for.
Speaking of the other car, you should not forget about the height of the tires, so you must determine the gap between the roof of the car and the upper frame. If you perform such simple manipulations, then know that now you will easily drive in and out of the garage, knowing for sure that neither the car nor the opening will be damaged.
But if you notice that the sheets have ceased to cover the holes that are made in place, then you must definitely lift the necessary sheets, then everything will fall into place.

Conclusion

Now you understand that, indeed, even the highest quality and sometimes fail. This means that if you ever encounter a similar situation and wish to solve it yourself, know that it is necessary to carry out those important stages of work that we have been told about.

Attention: Of course, you can conduct them yourself, but without experience and skills in this area, you can not achieve the result you dream of. Therefore, you should not take risks, because turning to professionals, you will instantly solve your problems.

If you need to raise the gate, then know that there are several ways. They were described in our article, so as soon as you pick up necessary materials and tools, then you can safely begin to engage in the implementation of your plan. Only use high-quality metal for work. Otherwise, the effect will not last long.
As a rule, there is nothing complicated here, it is only important to follow the technology for performing such work and everything will definitely work out. But if you are faced with more serious problems that are also associated with the garage door, and do not know how to solve them, then it is best to contact the experts.

Having completed the work with high quality, later you will appreciate the fact that the garage doors will serve for many more years, because all problems have been solved. So all that remains to be done is to make the right decision.

If you want to do this work yourself, then you can ask a neighbor for help, because together, you can do it faster by lifting the upper part of the frame and increasing the gate, if, of course, there is a need for these actions. You have instructions and you just have to follow them.

It should be noted that the need to raise garage doors may have several reasons. For example, the need to raise the garage door may be required in a situation where the garage door structure is not easy to open not only in winter, but even in summer. What to say about winter period when a layer of snow and ice prevents the gate from opening? If necessary, you can trim the structure itself. At the same time, the entrance is concreted. This ensures a natural slope. But at the same time, the above described method of raising the entrance gate reduces the dimensions of the structure.

Below we will consider the situation when it is required to maintain the existing level of the garage and slightly raise the gate. In this case, everything is carried out in stages. To begin with, experts advise dismantling the gate and freeing the frame. Then you need to remove several rows of bricks above the garage opening. At the same time, the backfill in the lower section can also be raised. Next, the design of the garage door must be returned to its original position.

Before removing the garage door from the hinges, experts recommend washing the mortar between the bricks of the same row to which the gate will rise. A channel should be installed in place of this row. Alternative option is the installation of a reliable and high-strength corner. This operation is carried out immediately before the garage door is raised. In addition, this approach will save the structure from possible destruction. The installation of a channel or angle must be carried out by using reliable anchor bolts.

At the same time, do not forget that raising the garage door even by a couple of bricks can significantly increase the available clearance between the gate, as well as the garage floor. In this case, you can use one of several methods to resolve this issue. The most optimal is concreting. In addition, if necessary, you can install a special threshold. Whichever option is chosen, it is worth making sure that the slope is directed from the garage to the street, and not vice versa. Otherwise, do not be surprised that water flows into the garage during rain, causing dampness. And dampness, as any motorist is well aware, causes corrosion of the car body. And dampness is also very harmful to the garage itself. Given all of the above, we can conclude that it is not so difficult to lift the garage door on your own, as it seems at first glance. All steps can be carried out independently, that is, with your own hands.

When building a garage, many nuances are taken into account. One of them is the height of the gate, and we are talking not only about the height of the opening, but also about the height of the leaves above ground level. The article will discuss the reasons why it is important to correctly calculate this height. In some cases, you have to raise the garage door in a brick garage higher due to certain circumstances. The article will also describe several ways in which this can be done.

Why raise the gate

When it comes to the need to raise the gate, the case concerns swing structures. There is no such problem for folding structures, since they are able to automatically change their level. There are several reasons why you have to resort to raising the gate:

hinge wear;
frame deformation;
incorrect design;
violation of the integrity of the foundation;
vehicle replacement.

Old gate designs are made of sheet metal, which has a thickness of 3 or more millimeters. By itself, such a gate design is quite heavy, so it is normal that over time they begin to sag. The reason for this may be poor-quality metal loops. The rods lose their strength and the sashes partially lean forward. This complicates or makes it impossible for the gate to close normally.

Another reason to raise the gate is wear and tear. metal corner. In most cases, beams with a width of 20 cm are used, but small corners are used to save money, which begin to deform from constant loads. In this case, the geometry of the frame is violated, which leads to problems with the gate. With the right design swing gates never level with the ground. Even with correct installation this approach can become a problem in winter. The metal can be deformed under the influence of low temperature and the doors will not open, because they will cling to the asphalt.

Another problem that manifests itself when the gate is low is precipitation. If a significant amount of snow falls in winter, then you have to work hard to clear the space near the gate before entering or leaving the garage. In heavy rains, water will simply seep into the garage, which can create serious problems, especially if the garage has a viewing hole or basement. In some cases, due to ground movements, there may be a problem with the deformation of the lower part of the frame. This also leads to the need to raise the gate. Walls can also be deformed, which lead to the drawdown of the gate and the impossibility of opening it.

In-line gate repair

In repair, two operations should be distinguished, completely different in terms of labor intensity and complexity of execution:

Raise one or both leaves, without dismantling the frame, racks or body, on which the garage door is fixed;
Overhaul or replacement of the frame, in this case, it is necessary to disassemble the masonry and raise or remove the welded frame structure on which the sashes are hung.

Advice! If you do not have the skill of welding, it is better to entrust any replacement of the frame or sashes to specialists.

How to raise the gate in the garage with your own hands

The simplest and most affordable procedure, if you have the skill, you can try to lift even a very heavy sash alone. For example, if the wear of the friction surface of the hinges has reached its limit, and the garage door began to cling to the upper edge of the blind area, repair washers must be inserted. At the same time, pay attention to the installation of two thin steel washers made of hardened polished steel. The total thickness of the washers should be such as to increase the height of the garage door leaf above the threshold beam. Each washer has a cutout for the width of the pivot axis of the hinge and is lubricated on one side only.

In this case, there is no need to even lift and remove the garage door, it is enough just to lift them to a height of a few millimeters in order to insert a pair of steel washers into the gap formed in the hinges. To raise the gate leaves, it is necessary to turn them at an angle of more than 90 about , then under the lower cut of the sash, as close as possible to the axis of rotation, install a wooden or steel wedge. A few blows on the wedge will help raise the gate by 2-3 mm. Then you can insert a rolling jack, raise the sash to any height and even remove it if necessary. If the hinges are completely out of order, you have to lift and digest.

In the same way, repairs are carried out if, due to deformation of the hinges or the frame of the garage door, the wings sag. In this case, a jack is installed under the edge of the sash, as far as possible from the axis of rotation, and they begin to slowly lift it, upsetting the place of deformation of the hinge or frame with a sledgehammer. If there is a gate in the design of the sash, it must be fixed with bolts or a coupler, but not removed. Most often, in 5-6 transitions, it is possible to straighten the gate, if not, you need to raise it to the maximum height, install the jack in a horizontal position with an emphasis on the opposite frame post and “squeeze out the geometry” of the frame until the beams and hinges are completely aligned.

Raising the garage door frame

The most difficult and time-consuming repair of the garage door is the lifting of the frame. The heavy steel structure is concreted into brick sidewalls, therefore, before lifting the structure, it is necessary to free up space for lifting and remove the gate leaves.

If the frame, along with the doors, is planned to be raised above ground level due to subsidence of the garage foundation, before raising the gate, you will need to knock out the top of the masonry by a brick or two, depending on the height of the lift. With a perforator or a construction hammer and a chisel, cement is knocked out from under the side racks of the frame and the threshold beam.

With an ordinary crowbar, they pry off the lower part of the frame and lift it to a small height, first in the center, and after installing the first wedge, they similarly try to lift it from the left and right edges. If it is possible to raise the frame, then the side wedges are clogged. They are placed, as a rule, on the opposite side of the threshold beam. After increasing the gap to 5-6 cm, it is necessary to install a rolling jack up to 5 tons, and then raise the structure using a hydraulic mechanism.

Raise the upper beam of the frame in the same way. Most often, you have to raise it if you need to increase the height of the garage door without dismantling it. After knocking out the upper rows of bricks with a grinder, a piece of vertical racks is cut off on both sides along with the upper horizontal part of the frame. The cut is made above the welding points of the loops.

The weight of the cut off part of the frame is no more than 70 kg, so it is easy to lift it with a conventional jack installed on the threshold. A log or beam is inserted between the top bar and the jack and carefully lifted to the desired height. After that, cut pieces of a similar material are welded into the gap in the frame.

Conclusion

It is necessary to lift a heavy frame in compliance with safety regulations. Often, when trying to raise the frame, the heavy structure heeled and overturned on the workers, so experts recommend installing spacers and blocking cable extensions.

It is rare when a purchased capital garage completely suits the new owner. In addition to cosmetic repairs and insulation, many motorists start a complex and time-consuming procedure for replacing the gate, while trying to increase the opening of the garage door. Cutting and removing old garage doors is not a problem, it is more difficult to replace them without causing the beams or floor slabs to sag or collapse.

How to increase the size of the gate without dismantling the roof

The complexity of the procedure for increasing the opening directly depends on the structure of the roof and the ceiling of the garage. Before you try to increase the garage opening, you should understand the design of the roof and find out how wide the garage door should be. Most often, three main schemes for arranging the supporting frame of the roof are used:

On brick or cinder block walls, transverse floor beams, steel or wooden, are laid. The beams are laid with a crate, insulation and waterproofing. In this case, it is possible to increase the doorway without major alterations to the front wall of the garage;
The case when, instead of beams in the transverse direction, hollow lightweight reinforced concrete floor slabs are laid on the side walls. In this case, the load from the weight of the supporting structure of the roof is taken out on the side walls, so a relatively small part of the load falls on the brickwork;
The most difficult option is the case when concrete slabs are located in the longitudinal direction. In this case, the floor slabs are largely supported by the front wall of the garage, which does not allow simultaneous removal or destruction of several rows of bricks between the door frame and the floor slab.

For your information! The presence of a concrete jumper over the garage door can simplify the situation. Competent builders in this way, when building a garage, transferred part of the load from the floor slabs to the side segments of the wall.

If there is no serious load on the front wall and garage doors, you can expand the size for replacing the frame with a very simple operation. To do this, with a cutting wheel on a stone, it is necessary to make an incision along the measured vertical border of the new opening and chop off part of the brick wall with perforators. Today, instead of the old garage doors of 250 cm, an entrance structure with a width of 270 cm is increasingly being used.

Expanding the garage door

It is much more difficult to increase the opening if the upper rows of bricks above the frame and the loot itself bear a certain load from the weight of the floor slabs. In this case, changing the height or increasing the width of the opening is possible only by installing additional unloading beams:

Option one - increase the size of the entrance to garage room using a steel I-beam shroud as a temporary fixture;
Option two - cut a niche in the brickwork above the frame for the installation of a reinforced concrete lintel and use it as a transverse beam holding the bulk of the slabs;
Use steel corners for assembling a horizontal bar that holds the weight of the boards and brickwork at the time of "redrawing" the opening of the garage door.

For your information! All three methods are of the same type and suggest the possibility of increasing the size of the entrance only after the gate frame is unloaded.

How to expand and enlarge the opening with a steel corner

The above method to increase the size of the garage opening can be called low-impact and the cheapest, due to the fact that a relatively small amount of auxiliary materials are used in the restructuring than in the method with reinforced concrete or I-beams horizontal beams.

To increase the size of the opening, first of all, you will need to install an additional horizontal composite beam of two corners with a shelf width of 75 mm. At the initial stage, you will need to mark up the front wall above the entrance. We mark the horizontal and vertical lines of the dimension of the new gate.

Using a perforator, we cut a groove in the wall with a width of 8 mm and a depth to the width of the corner shelf. First, a groove is cut from the inside of the wall. Three segments of a corner are cut along the dimension line, which are recessed into a cut groove and welded with the letter P.

In a similar way, a groove is cut, then the corners are installed from the outside of the front wall. It turns out a design of two corners, welded and fixed on the wall in the form of two letters P, edging the contour of the future gate. To prevent the assembled frame from falling apart, it will be necessary to increase the strength and rigidity by welding on the transverse jumpers.

Dismantling masonry as a way to increase the opening of the garage door

Before welding the lintels, it is necessary to remove some of the bricks above the horizontal beam of the old gate. To do this, install a support from a thick log or timber in the central part. Only after that, it is possible to cut out part of the masonry bricks with a perforator, and a gap is formed that is sufficient to connect the corners of the new frame with jumpers.

Next, you can increase the size of the garage door opening. To do this, you will need to cut the remaining brick from the masonry, stretch two channels through the knocked out holes above the old beam, under which to install additional supports from wooden beam. The horizontal beam of an old garage door can be cut out and thrown away.

We got a new frame for the garage door. It remains only to strengthen the paired corners with overhead elements, if necessary, replace the channel on the threshold. Since for the most part new gates are sold complete with a frame and dummy elements, it is easiest to insert finished structure into the prepared frame from the corner, align it vertically and horizontally, and then weld it to the base by electric welding.

Conclusion

A similar way to increase the size of the opening can be used if there are no more than 4-5 rows of bricks above the old gate, that is, the ceiling height is not more than 240 cm. For higher gables, the strength of two corners will not be enough, and using an external I-beam will be a safer way to increase the opening as an intermediate support for ceiling slabs.