Garage DOOR WAY OFF DUE TO uneven slope!

mpeak · 11-27-2010, 11:27 PM

I have the same problem. I was told a bottom astragal would only cover two inches. My garage doors are hung right but my concrete slops. I'm even on one side and 3 and 3 quarters off on one corner. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. If I fabricate a piece to go on a door, it will hit my header at the to

jklingel · 11-28-2010, 02:42 AM

Have you checked the floor for level, as a double check? A 3.75" gap is pretty huge; ;hard to believe the concrete pour was that bad. Is there a way to add a wedge to the end of the door w/ some plates on the inside of the door to help hold it on, and/or screws into the bottom edge of the door itself? What about leveling the floor w/ a wooden or concrete wedge, as gross as that may look? Man, this sounds like a tough one. Good luck. j

Just Bill · 11-28-2010, 07:47 AM

If you have extension springs, you can misadjust one side to be stronger than the other. There are limits to how much this will help, and too much will cause opening/closing problems. The actual solution is to fix the floor. A 2x4 cut to level the opening, glued and secured with tapcons, may help

Thurman · 11-28-2010, 12:41 PM

Seen this a couple of times, but not that bad a slope. The solution to resolving your problem will depend on 1) your skills as a DIY + person, and 2) the material(s) your garage door is made of. If there is a weatherstripping on the bottom of the door-remove it properly to re-use it. Unlock the door from the auto open/close mechanism and lower the door-CAREFULLY-onto a 2x4 laid flat at the middle of the door's width. Then measure the actual opening at both the right and left sides from the bottom of the door to the concrete. You will then have to make a "wedge" to match these dimensions on each end minus the thickness of the 2x4 and the width of the door itself. This could be made in multiple pieces if attached properly. Then you would re-attach the weatherstripping, connect the auto opener/closer and have to re-adjust it for the "closed" setting. That's just a short version of how it's done. I've done two (2) of these, only two, and it takes up quite some time to get it right. And YES-when you open the door all the way it will look as if it is crooked, but you can't have everything. Either a door that seals closed and looks crooked open, or a door that looks good open, but does not seal closed.

Ron6519 · 11-28-2010, 02:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mpeak

I have the same problem. I was told a bottom astragal would only cover two inches. My garage doors are hung right but my concrete slops. I'm even on one side and 3 and 3 quarters off on one corner. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. If I fabricate a piece to go on a door, it will hit my header at the to

Post a picture with the door closed and one with it open.
Ron

mpeak · 11-29-2010, 09:30 PM

My door is made out of the foam panels. Im gonna try with a wedge but im afraid it wont work. I think it will hit the header. The reason its off level so bad is i built my garage on my drive way. I put 3 inches of fall in 26 ft. Never thinking about building on it. Thanks for all the suggestions! Ill post pictures when im done.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thurman

Seen this a couple of times, but not that bad a slope. The solution to resolving your problem will depend on 1) your skills as a DIY + person, and 2) the material(s) your garage door is made of. If there is a weatherstripping on the bottom of the door-remove it properly to re-use it. Unlock the door from the auto open/close mechanism and lower the door-CAREFULLY-onto a 2x4 laid flat at the middle of the door's width. Then measure the actual opening at both the right and left sides from the bottom of the door to the concrete. You will then have to make a "wedge" to match these dimensions on each end minus the thickness of the 2x4 and the width of the door itself. This could be made in multiple pieces if attached properly. Then you would re-attach the weatherstripping, connect the auto opener/closer and have to re-adjust it for the "closed" setting. That's just a short version of how it's done. I've done two (2) of these, only two, and it takes up quite some time to get it right. And YES-when you open the door all the way it will look as if it is crooked, but you can't have everything. Either a door that seals closed and looks crooked open, or a door that looks good open, but does not seal closed.

jklingel · 11-30-2010, 12:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mpeak

My door is made out of the foam panels. •• Can't cut the foam to fit?

I put 3 inches of fall in 26 ft. •• 3" in 26' is about 1 3/8" in 12'. How'd you get 3 3/4"? Yah, zap up some pics. This is interesting.

after bullets. j

jlhaslip · 11-30-2010, 12:24 AM

re-pour the floor???

mpeak · 12-08-2010, 10:43 PM

below are attached pictures of the garage project

Thurman · 12-09-2010, 05:51 PM

That is a lot of slope for that small distance. The suggestion I gave would work in this case without hitting the header above. I did fail to mention in my previous post that the thinner end of the "wedge" should be no less than 1/2" to prevent splitting. As I stated, this has worked for me twice.

**kwikfishron** · 12-09-2010, 06:01 PM

I’d be barking at the contractor, that’s unacceptable.

SPS-1 · 12-09-2010, 06:20 PM

I'm with Thurman. Sounds like a great idea.

**kwikfishron** · 12-09-2010, 07:14 PM

mpeak, your last picture is as about as good as you’re doing to get other than re-pouring. This is obviously new construction and there is no legitimate reason why this was poured like that.

jomama45 · 12-09-2010, 07:32 PM

I agree with Ron, this is unacceptable.

There has to be more to this story, like the OH door opening was never intended to go there. That's more than a minor screw up.

As a long term solution, I see some concrete beign torn out & poured back in, being blended into the the existing.

**Gary in WA** · 12-09-2010, 07:36 PM

"The reason its off level so bad is i built my garage on my drive way." ---- that's on the side slope of the driveway............

Gary