What do you think of this modern glass garage door? It’s a nice door, where you can watch the kids or the animals in the back. Open up the garage door to allow in some fresh air. It can be a great place to spend some time relaxing. Wood plants are used to hide the garage door tracks. This is a California full-view garage door, 18' x 8', black aluminum frame, with clear glass.
Have you been considering renovating the garage? When you are putting up a new garage, you have quite a few things you’ll need to consider.
You will find quite a few terms you might not know about or understand when it comes to getting a new garage door and opener. Garage door professionals will make it easier to get a better understanding of various options and how to choose the right garage door.
It can be difficult to know the right garage dimensions and garage door clearances when first making your choices. You might have trouble understanding headroom and the types of lifts or garage door openers that will be right for you. Fortunately, we can get you on the right track.
Below, you’re going to find some of the most frequent questions regarding garage doors. We’ll be covering elements like:
- Garage height
- Headroom
- Wall-mounted garage door openers
- Garage door installation and more
We want to make sure you have the answers, so you can make the right decision.
We want to help you understand the ins and outs of garage door headroom and the garage door opener options available based on the amount of headroom you have. The more you know the better.
Q1: Garage Door Headroom: What Is It and Why Do You Need to Know?
The drawing above features the various measurements you will need when you are purchasing a new garage door. When you factor in all of the measurements—and measure twice—you can be sure you are getting a garage door that will fit properly in your space.
The clearance is how much space you have between the top of the garage door opening and the ceiling. You need to have an understanding of the door movement to ensure safety and to make sure nothing would be in the way when the garage door opens.
Q2: What’s a Low Headroom Garage Door? Can Low Clearance Overhead Doors Be Used?
If you don’t have enough space for a standard lift, you have a low headroom situation.
For extension springs this would be 8 ½ inches or less. For a torsion spring it would be anything less than 10 inches over the garage door header.
When and where does low headroom occur?
- You may find that a lot of older homes have low ceilings in the garage.
- It can happen in new construction garages, too. You will want to let the designer know that you need enough space above the garage door.
- Sometimes, ceilings might have impediments, such as a fire suppression system, ventilation, etc.
- Concrete-based construction sites, such as underground parking, may not have enough headroom either.
Check out the illustration above. This gives you a good example of what having low headroom would look like. You can see that there isn’t space between the garage door tracks and the ceiling.
Front and rear low headroom: Differences
You could end up with one of two types of low headroom—rear and front. The only difference between the two is the location. If the spring and drums are front-mounted, you would have low front headroom, for example.
The above drawing can help you get a closer look at the difference between front and rear low headroom. It will depend on where the drum and other hardware are located.
Low-headroom garage doors can be installed. However, they require certain hardware.
With low headroom hardware, it’s possible to utilize a dual-track system. This ensures the garage door will still have enough room to move freely and quickly. It just doesn’t leave any space. There will be two tracks, often one on top of the other.
The top section of the garage door uses the upper track. The other three garage door sections use the lower track. The operation is the same whether it’s torsion or extension spring garage door springs.
Q3: How Can You Install a Low Clearance Garage Door?
Fortunately, you’ll find that the low-headroom garage doors work much the same as other overhead garage doors. There are a few differences, of course. The garage door opener and the springs are installed in different places. The hardware components are different. There will be horizontal tracks, bottom brackets, and top roller brackets.
Check out these concrete walls. With this type of material, people often attempt to save money during construction by lowering the height of the garage. Naturally, this will affect the headroom. You need a door that will fit your space. This is the Village Collection A Design. Here, you see a plank base, 9' x 7', cherry, and windows with Cascade Inserts. It has a lovely, classic appearance.
Q4: What Are Wall-Mounted Garage Door Openers, and When Do You NEED One?
The word jackshaft is another term for a wall-mounted opener for the garage door. They are installed on the wall to either side of the garage door. These are often used with high lift clearance ceilings, as well as sloped or cathedral ceilings.
The connection to the torsion bar allows the door to operate rather than using the track.
People like these lifts because of their flexibility. The wall-mounted garage door openers can work with all types of lift: standard lift, high lift, low front headroom, and inclined track.
Most of the time, these garage door openers are used in commercial facilities. However, they have started to become more popular over the years with residential properties.
If you are looking for a reliable, popular wall-mounted garage door opener, you will want to consider the LiftMaster 8500W model. People love it because it is easy to use and maintain. It can save a substantial amount of garage space overhead. You will also appreciate that it features myQ technology. This lets you control your garage door from your phone or computer no matter where you might be.
Make Better Use of the Overhead Garage Space
If you’ve been trying to get more overhead garage space, opting for a jackshaft opener is a fantastic option. Think about some of the other things you could do with the added room in the garage. You could use various products to hang your items from the ceiling.
Check out a few of the options from Family Handyman:
- Stow some lightweight items using cargo nets.
- Lifts for outdoor furniture, boxes, etc.
- Get some coated hooks where you can hang tools, bikes, athletic gear, etc.
- Put in some ceiling-mounted racks, which can be used with totes, bikes, and more.
You will find quite a few ways to use that extra space.
What if you want to turn the garage into another space for living, such as an office or a playroom? No matter what you want to create, wall-mounted garage doors are a great option.
Consider a few of the ways you might be able to use your garage as an extra room. Maybe you turn it into a new bedroom for one of the kids. Perhaps it becomes a hobby room or an office. The possibilities are endless.
Take some time to think of the ways you could change up your garage.
You could turn your garage into a place where you can relax, play games, or get some work done. The lounge in the picture above is nice and relaxing. The garage door gives it plenty of natural light. Check out some other garage makeovers on HGTV’s website.
Consider some of the following types of garage conversion ideas you could consider. Below are a few from Budget Dumpster.
- Create a playroom for the kids, or even for the adults if you want a place for boardgames.
- Maybe you want to create a place for an aging relative to live, or perhaps a studio apartment to rent out. The garage is a wonderful place for this.
- Of course, having another bedroom is always a good call.
- Perhaps you could put up a hobby or art studio. Put together a room where you can finally write that novel.
- Many people work from home. Why not turn your garage into an office?
- You could also make it a family room for games, TV, reading, telling stories, etc.
Consider trying to turn your garage into the best pub in your neighborhood. Have some friends over to the garage, play some games, watch sports, and have a good time. Check out the video to get inspired.
When you choose a wall-mounted garage door opener, you’ll also find that it simply looks better.
Q5: Do You Need Specific Headroom for Wall-Mounted Garage Door Openers?
Due to the alternative mounting kits, you don’t have to worry about having a specific amount of headroom. You can always install a wall-mounted garage door opener.
However, it’s nice if you have two inches above the garage door (center of the shaft) where you can install the garage door opener. If you don’t have that amount of space, it’s okay.
Remember, wall-mounted garage door openers can be installed with low-headroom or standard headroom. You can have the garage door opener lowered so it’s mounted below the torsion bar. All you will need is an alternate mounting kit and a professional to handle the installation for you.
In this image, you see an alternate mounting kit. This has two gear systems. The shaft can be installed on top and the opener on the bottom. This will work well for jackshaft openers that can’t be installed right on the torsion bar.
There is only a single requirement—you will need to have a minimum of 8.5 inches on one of the sides of the door. This is for the opener’s casing and shaft collar.
Check Out the Garage Door Choices
Now, we’re coming up on the fun part. You get to think about the new garage door you are going to get. Consider the style, the color, etc.
The professionals from Dor-Co Garage Doors have 3 garage door styles: Traditional, Carriage House, and Contemporary. Choose from a wide range of garage doors.
Some of the color options include black, deep brown, different beige shades, white, and more.
Maybe you like a classic look, like this. These traditional garage doors are in white and feature subtle overlays and hinges. We custom make the doors to meet your requirements. This includes the window designs and the door sizes. In this image, you see the Princeton P-11 design, 9’ x 8', with ice white doors and overlays, and 8 lite Panoramic windows.
Check Out the Design Centre Tool
You will want to give the Design Centre a whirl. This tool lets you choose from a range of design and color options for garage doors. You can also add windows and decorative hardware to get the door that’s perfect for you.
You even get to add the garage door to your garage virtually first, so you can see how it looks.
What comes next?
If you need an overhead door and garage door opener installation, call us at 519-737-6915 and 519-352-5200!
You always want to make sure only professional garage door techs take care of installing your garage door. We have specialists with years of experience who can help with all your garage door needs including repairs.
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