Garage door torsion spring relocation project (Status = Not going well)

My garage door torsion spring relocation is NOT going well.

First, I tried to relocate the spring anchor plate 18" to the left where I 'thought' there was wood - but that turned out to be a solid steel beam!

Then, I moved it 12" to the right, where I 'thought' there was a cripple stud - but - it was just a flimsy piece of wood:

Here is a picture of the relocation:

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Here is a closeup of that relocation:
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Then, I started work on the right end bearing plate.

Amazingly, there isn't any wood ANYWHERE near it.

What I need is a thick (3 or 4 inch wide) steel plate in the shape of a big "T" - but I could find nothing like it at Home Depot.

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QUESTION: Q: Where can I find sheet metal in the shape of a big "T"?

Note: I need a "T" roughly about a foot long by a foot tall by about 2 inches wide.

Reply to
Danny D.
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With a good quality drill bit=20 that is slightly smaller in diameter=20 than the bolts that you want to use,=20 drill into the steel beam. =20 Don=92t let the drill bit get hot,=20 dip it in water frequently.=20 Use a tap and plenty of WD40 to tap threads into the steel.=20 Be patient and back out the tap frequently to clean it.

Reply to
recyclebinned

Here is the left side of that same garage door.

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Notice a large garage door to the left and the smaller one with the replaced torsion spring to the right.

Both have air under the top foot of the track! :(

Do you think it's better to tie the two garage door tracks together with a strip of metal?

Or should I tie each track separately to the wood 2x4 above it (which is the support for the overhead storage area)?

Reply to
Danny D.

Your photos don't make much sense without seeing the larger picture of what it is you are showing the close-ups.

Reply to
hrhofmann

OK. I'm always glad to provide detail.

Here's the larger picture:

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A summary of the problem is that the original builders put the garage up with NOTHING underneath the top foot of the vertical tracks. The result is that the end bearing plates sway when the garage door is opened.

There is also nothing under the spring anchor plate. The result is that it too sways when the garage door is open.

All I'm trying to do is prevent the end bearing plates and the spring anchor plate from moving when the door opens.

My plan was to: a) Move the spring anchor plate over to a cripple stud b) Add a bearing to the spring anchor plate c) Secure both the end bearing plates to 'something'

The picture above is the big picture, while the pictures I posted prior are the closeup pictures of the situation.

Reply to
Danny D.

If what you think is there is really there, it would seem some mighty interesting construction. You say there is a steel beam near the center of the door. If that's true, what is it doing? The only logical thing would be that it runs across the door opening. Yet you say to the right of it, there is no steel, just air.....

Also don't know what kind of sheet metal is a foot by a foot by 2". Sounds like what you want is some plate steel that is 3/16" or so thick to me. Have you used a stud locater to mark out what is solid in the wall? the middle of the door. That would seem to

Reply to
trader4

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As has been said I don't know how many times---open up the damn cavity, see what is there and add blocking or other solid structure where you need it and be done w/ it.

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Reply to
dpb

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Because he doesn't know what he's doing and is impervious to advice apparently. :(

Pretty typical novice diy'er or homeowner symptom ime--for some reason there's an unreasonable fear of opening a wall.

To OP...there's nothing to fear; just open it up so you can get where you need to be and do what needs to be done. Putting up some sheetrock or other wall surface later is trivial. If you do it cleanly, you can probably even salvage the existing but it's cheap; I'd just take it out and go on.

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Reply to
dpb

On 11/27/2012 12:19 PM, Oren wrote: ...

...

One cut is pretty much the same as another... :)

What he's got to do is to get enough of an access where he needs the support to find out what's behind there he can attach to (and then do it).

So far he's just made a mess and a bunch of little and not so little holes and has nothing to show for it. My best estimation is he'll continue that way until he does something different.

I don't give a rat's patootie how big a hole it is or isn't, just that he do something besides whine here about how his efforts to avoid doing what is really a trivial job when he's been given the direction he needs aren't working... :)

I'd just as soon patch the whole piece as several smaller, but that's immaterial to actually accomplishing the end objective.

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Reply to
dpb

Isn't this the same "Danny D" that came on here telling us not to tell him to hire a professional to deal with his broken torsion garage door springs? He knew it all, and what he didn't, he could figure out for himself?

Reply to
dennisgauge

I've never done structural work in my life. I've never ripped off wallboard - nor have I ever repaired the results.

Yet, I have made a project worse (and worse and worse) in my life by taking apart too much - and never putting it back together.

In short ... I don't really want to rip off all the wallboard because I'm afraid I'll never put it back and there will be an unsightly hole in my garage for years.

Of course, I had never replaced a torsion spring before either ... :)

Reply to
Danny D.

Exactly!

Exactly!

Reply to
Danny D.

If you're not going to go at it and fix it, then just hire somebody who will.

There ain't nothing to hurt; you've made more mess to clean up already than a few joints will be, and it's just a garage unfinished wall, anyway.

Reply to
dpb

I saw that one before and admired it because it's external to the sheetrock - and - it's clear what it is.

Reply to
Danny D.

Good point.

I actually do not want to cut the sheetrock. In fact, that's the last thing I want to do. If I did need to cut the sheetrock, then I 'would' look it up. (I'm pretty sure how to do it actually - the problem is ugly is ugly.) Of course, this 'is' a garage - but ugly is still ugly. Especially if a nail can tell me the same information.

Given that I've put in dozens of nails ... I think I know what is behind the sheetrock by now.

There's mostly air. And a few steel beams. This is earthquake country big time - so it shouldn't be surprising. Plus, the garage has three doors and no external columns - so something needs to be supporting it all.

Of course, I may be wrong - but what I will do today is look for what I said I'm looking for.

I'll stop by Praxair welding supplies to see if they have a steel plate I can drill and then bolt to the wall.

Also, I'll pick up some angle iron and flat steel bands as thick as I can find them (3 inches wide would be nice but Home Depot had none).

On the right side, I'm pretty sure a steel "T" tied to the beam bolts with two huge nuts will be sturdy - and I'm pretty sure I can tie the left side to the overhanging storage area wood - so I'm going in that direction rather than adding additional cripple studs.

If that fails - I'll add the cripple studs ... on the outside if I can (as detailed in Oren's pictures).

If all else fails, I 'will' remove the sheetrock and install cripple studs - but if that was the 'right' way, why didn't the original installers do the same when they had the chance?

Reply to
Danny D.

How did you know?

Reply to
Danny D.

Anyone who doesn't think they are competent enough to remove and replace a piece of drywall in a garage should not be working on an overhead door tension spring. It's nuts to be buying steel plate, angle iron, bolts, etc when you DON"T KNOW WHAT'S BEHIND THE DRYWALL. I fully encourage people to do their own repairs, given that they possess a reasonable skill set. However given what's been demonstrated here and the real potential for something bad to happen, I suggest calling a pro.

Reply to
trader4

On 11/27/2012 4:26 PM, Danny D. wrote: ...

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Well, if you knew where everything was in there you could have done it all by now... :(

Just quit dithering around and do it, for heaven's sake. It ain't rocket science to cut and patch a little sheetrock.

What you need to do is to find out what, specifically the metal is, what direction the flanges are and to do that you're going to have to be able to see it.

In all likelihood if you do that you'll find there is a flange at the top and bottom you can attach to similarly as what Oren showed, but you'll never get it accomplished w/o seeing what you've got to work with and what you need to use.

If there is a flange somewhere in the vicinity, then you can either drill and or simply drill and use a bolt and nut (the which of to either insert from the rear or place the nut/washer on if insert from outside you'll have to have a hole to get access for, anyway.

You're trying to make up something far more complex than you need but you don't know what is the simplest way to go at it because you don't have a clue as to how it actually was built...

And, the reason they didn't do it before was more than likely laziness and getting done for the contracted price if it was sublet or have it work long enough to sell the house if it was a spec house...

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Reply to
dpb

A nail hitting a sideways 1x2 and one hitting a 2x6 gives you the same information. But they aren't the same. As far as ugly - you're not thinking right for what you have to do. That splotched up dry wall in your pics looks real ugly to me. Because it's in the way of what you have to do - find or put in place strong mounting points. You really have to get past your perception of "ugly."

Shoddy work is common. I still remember a real estate salesman tell me and my wife how a finished basement showed "pride of ownership." All I saw was bad joinery of good material, and was thinking I would have to tear it all out. I will say I don't like much finishing in a basement anyway, because it usually contains the heart of a home's mechanical systems, and I don't want it all covered up. And is subject to flooding too. And I look at a garage as a "rough" workplace too. Some people prettify their garage with finished drywall, built in cabinetry, glossy painted floor, etc. That's fine. I can see that. But your garage doesn't seem to qualify, and splotchy drywall never looks pretty.

Reply to
Vic Smith

Wow.

I try to change my nym once every few weeks ... for anonymity ... but I guess it isn't working.

What gives me away?

Reply to
Danny D.

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