How to align adjust garage door

[leenowell]

Hi All,

I have a double up and over garage door (Wessex I think) which has 2 springs 1 each side of the door and rollers at the top of the door which run in channels as the door opens.

The door seems ok except it seems to have dropped a few mm such that is just catches the floor when it closes.

Does anyone know how to adjust these? There are nuts on the spring hooks which allow the tension to be adjusted but I can't see anything else that would enable the door to be lifted.

Anyone any ideas?

thanks

Lee.

[Iggy]

replying to leenowell, Iggy wrote: If the out-of-level condition is new, then it's likely a symptom of the spring wearing out and both springs should be replaced...they don't wear out equally. Otherwise yes, IF you have something like 25mm of thread on that rearmost hook, then you can definitely pull the spring tighter after loosening the front nut a lot and tightening the rear nut until the door closes evenly. Let me/us know if that works or not, that's the easiest and safest option of a few other options.

[charles]

Loking at my door which sounds very similar, the only height adjustment is where the mechanism is fixed to the frame. Are there slots for the fixing bolts? If so, has everything slipped?

[Dan S. MacAbre]

Maybe a worn bush where a linkage is mounted?

[Rob Morley]

Are there packing pieces where the rails attach to the roof at the front?

[leenowell]

rings 1 each side of the door and rollers at the top of the door which run in channels as the door opens.

just catches the floor when it closes.

ks which allow the tension to be adjusted but I can't see anything else tha t would enable the door to be lifted.

Just checked and no slots on my bracket unfortunately. A worn joint may be a possibility (it is circa 20 years old) but mine is essentially an angle bracket bolted to the frame and then the arm connected to the door is bolte d to that with a spacer washer between the 2 to stop them rubbing together I guess. Seems fairly basic but the bracket and arm are pretty thick and s olid

[leenowell]

Unfortunately no adjustment there either. The top rails are attached to the top of the frame rather than to the roof and no adjustment on the brackets either. This door must have been a bit tricky to fit in the first place!!

[leenowell]

Hi Iggy

Not sure what you mean by the "rear most nut". The springs are connected t o a bracket at the bottom via a hook with a thread. The nut on the thread is below the bracket and can be tightened/ loosened to change the tension o f the springs. I had assumed this would only increase/ decrease the tensi on to balance the door and make it easier to lift as opposed to change the height/ level. Does it do this too?

Also, by level do your mean the horizontal level of the door when it is par tly open?

thanks again

Lee.

[Iggy]

replying to leenowell, Iggy wrote: Yes, it will essentially increase the tension (pull the spring back) on that side and thereby shorten the currently long side and equalize it to the other side, so the door can close evenly again. Also meaning, if you don't have the or enough threads on the low side, you can loosen or let-out the high side to equalize it down to the low side.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

My brother has a similar problem with his double door. Probably 40 years old. He's repaired it a couple of times - new cables etc - but this time it has defeated him. Two firms have been to look at it and give a price to fix - then don't turn up.

[Iggy]

replying to Dave Plowman (News), Iggy wrote: Yeah, he probably screwed it up. Likely, the cables just slipped from loose tying at the Lacing Brackets/Adjustment Clips. If you don't pull those tight, then the door will and you can end up with too much travel or an un-level close. Except for springs, maybe, he shouldn't have to mess with anything for 50-years and just lube the wheels every 10-years.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I've not looked at it myself as it's some 500 miles from here. But given he's overhauled it before, I'm not sure why it isn't possible this time. And why those firms have looked at it, quoted a (highish) price, but failed to do the work as agreed.

[Iggy]

replying to Dave Plowman (News), Iggy wrote: Introduce him to YouTube to save himself time, money and annoyance to return the door to operation. Maybe he's gone senile and tried with the door down rather than up.

[leenowell]

Thanks....

So to lift the door when it is in the closed position I increase the tension of the spring or decrease it? Mine seems to need lifting both sides.

I saw some discussion around doors with cables but just in case it alters the answer, mine doesn't have any cables. Just arms bolted to the frame and the spring as a counter balance on the arms.

[Iggy]

replying to leenowell, Iggy wrote: It does alter the answer, so completely ignore everything everyone's said. Sorry, I didn't realize it was a 1-panel door. I haven't seen nor touched one of those in decades. But, I recall from that era that the door would just be slid slightly up or down after the side brackets were loosened. I don't know if that's the case for your door and I can't imagine why it wouldn't be, but that's all I have on those types of doors for this kind of adjustment. If you can provide pictures of the door's hardware or attachments, that may be more useful. Sorry again.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Thanks for your pearl of wisdom.

Now explain why it has apparently defeated two companies also. Or would they be going senile too?

[Iggy]

replying to Dave Plowman (News), Iggy wrote: Just trying to be constructive, my brother's an Ivy League idiot. He throws the instructions away and then wonders why whatever doesn't work. A garage door is not a difficult task and not even expensive to start over with new track, if that were ever needed. Only going from equal height panels to today's (the last

30-years) asymmetry would cause such an abject failure and that's old hat easy...low-clearance add-on.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

[Iggy]

replying to Dave Plowman (News), Iggy wrote: Nope, I'm the opposite of my brother. I continue to learn and invent, he stopped and rested on a pointless and has nothing to do with the real world nonsense degree to turn into an idiot. You may be in the same situation. Your brother may have, apparently, just barely made it through his last garage door repair or replacement and went on to further himself away from home repair and is now unredeemable, by choice.

That's what happened to my brother, getting older just meant getting more daft. He's got all of the tools needed to do most anything around the house, but now won't/can't replace the handle on the fireplace damper that broke off and won't/can't slap some sticks to some boards to make himself a set of very much needed shelves. He asked me for shelf plans and then threw my plans away because

4-steps was too much...Step-1 was, go to store and place Lumber Order for delivery.

[leenowell]

Unfortunately the brackets don't seem to have any adjustments. Just bolted through the frame.