Look at the beautiful modern glass garage door! You can see everything going on in the backyard through the glass. Your unused garage is now a gorgeous living space, and, as a bonus, the beautiful ceiling hides the functional garage door tracks. The garage door opener is tucked away to the side, where it is all but forgotten. Here is the California full-view garage door, 18' x 8', Black aluminum frame, Clear glass.
Whether you are building a brand-new garage or renovating an existing space, get ready for all the choices you’re going to make before the garage project is complete.
Garage door professionals can help you navigate the unfamiliar world of garage doors and garage door openers. They can even explain what headroom is!
Are you confused about how to measure your garage or calculate clearances? Why exactly do you have to worry about headroom? Can’t you simply choose a garage door and a garage door opener that you like and be finished? Let’s take some of the confusion out of choosing the right garage door to fit your garage.
We have attempted to answer 5 of the most asked questions about everything garage door. We want you to be equipped to make an informed decision when making your garage door purchase because, likely, you’ll only make it once.
We want to take the mystery out of garage door installation by clarifying things like garage height and headroom. You won’t know if a wall-mounted garage door opener is appropriate if you don’t know what that is.
Q1: Should I consider garage door headroom when I purchase an overhead door? Why or why not?
Confused about how to measure to find the appropriate size garage door? Let this image be your guide.
Do you know the area that is above the garage door opening but below the ceiling? That is your garage headroom clearance. Knowing the size of your garage door and understanding door movement will allow you to have a freely opening garage door.
Q2: Are low headroom garage doors available? Can I install an overhead door even if I have low clearance?
Suppose a standard lift garage door is too large for your space. That means you have low headroom. In case you were wondering, a standard lift garage door is the size you’ll see on most home garages.
A standard lift garage door requires 8 ½ inches of space for the extension springs and 10 inches of space for the torsion spring over the garage door header. If you have less than that, you have low headroom or low clearance.
Where do you typically find low headroom?
- Older houses that have low garage ceilings
- Some new builds have low headroom in the garage.
- Homes where the ventilation system or fire system is in the ceiling.
- Buildings built of concrete-like underground parking structures.
Do you need to visualize a low front headroom situation? Let this image be your reference.
Front and rear low headroom: which is less challenging?
Front and rear low headroom really aren’t that different. The drums and spring are in different places. Front low headroom indicates front mount springs.
If you look at these diagrams, you will get a better picture of what we mean by front low headroom and rear low headroom. The drums that wrap the cable are in different places. Also, two tracks resting on top of each other indicates that low headroom hardware was installed.
Special hardware is required to install a low clearance garage door successfully.
A double-track system, also known as low headroom hardware, is needed for low headroom overhead garage doors. Notice the tracks in the above image? That’s a good example of a dual-track system.
The upper section of the door uses the top track. The rest of the garage door uses the lower track. Using two tracks allows the upper section to use less space. The upper section will move faster in this track.
Q3: Is installing a garage door with low clearance hard to do?
You install low headroom garage doors like any other garage door. The only difference is in the hardware components: horizontal tracks, bottom brackets, and top roller brackets. The springs and garage door opener are also placed differently.
Are you stuck with a concrete basement? When people use concrete, they sometimes reduce the height to save some cash. Doing that automatically impacts the headroom inside the garage. Look at the beautiful wood and the embossed pattern on these garage doors! Here is the Village Collection A Design, Plank base, 9' x 7', Cherry, windows with Cascade Inserts.
Q4: How do you know if you should buy a wall-mount garage door opener?
A wall-mounted opener is exactly what you might think. It’s a garage door opener that is mounted to the side of the garage door on the wall. These are best when your garage has high lift clearance and cathedral or sloped ceilings. You might hear a wall-mounted opener called a jackshaft.
You don’t need a rail track with these garage door openers because they’re attached to the torsion bar instead.
Versatility sounds great! A wall-mounted opener works with standard lift, high lift, low front headroom, and inclined track.
Most of the time, the wall-mounted garage door opener is used in commercial applications. If you choose to use a wall-mounted opener, remember that the low headroom version isn’t a good choice.
The LiftMaster 8500W model has a built-in myQ technology which means you can open it with your smartphone from anywhere! This LiftMaster garage door opener is an easy to maintain choice when you also need to conserve space.
Speaking of space, make the most of your garage storage space by looking up.
One of the best benefits of a jackshaft is that it helps maximize the amount of storage you have in your garage because there is no garage door opener mounted to the ceiling.
Family Handyman gives the following ideas for using various products to hang your items from the ceiling:
- For items that aren’t heavy, use cargo nets.
- Patio furniture works well in garage ceiling storage lifts. So do boxes.
- Suspend bikes or tools from coated garage hooks.
- Attach racks to the ceiling to house heavy-duty latching totes.
Are you creating a new living space in the garage? A wall-mounted garage door opener is perfect!
Are you trying to find more space for your friends and family to spend time when they visit? What if you converted your existing garage into a beautiful family or guest room?
Options are virtually limitless when you convert the garage into a brand new space.
Who says everything must have symmetry? You can convert even the most awkward garage space into a beautiful, fun space. HGTV’s website offers other garage makeover or conversion options!
Who knew a company like Budget Dumpster that rents dumpsters to homeowners would have great garage conversion ideas? Check out the suggestions:
- A room for kids to play
- Living space for the in-laws—think studio apartment
- A guest room or other bedroom
- Somewhere to create your masterpieces
- Home office
- A den or family room
Suppose you turn your garage into the best pub in your neighborhood? Imagine nights of celebrating whatever tickles your fancy with your friends and family in your very own pub!
Without the equipment on the ceiling, a wall-mounted garage door opener just looks better.
Q5: How much ceiling space or headroom is needed when you use a wall-mounted garage door opener?
Alternative mounting kits mean that you can install a wall-mounted garage door opener without using valuable headroom!
With most garage door installs, you need approximately 2 inches of headroom to install the garage door opener. However, if you don’t have 2 inches, don’t worry about it!
An alternate mounting kit allows you to install a wall-mounted garage door opener regardless of your headroom. The garage door opener can be mounted below the torsion bar.
Look at this alternate mounting kit. Take note of the two gear systems. This system is ideal for a wall-mounted opener that can’t be installed on the torsion bar. The shaft is installed on the top, and the opener installs on the bottom.
The opener’s casing and shaft collar rest on one side of the door, meaning you need at least 8 ½ inches of space on that side.
Look at the garage door options you have
It’s time for the interesting part of choosing a garage door and opener—choosing the color and style. If you want your house to stand out above the crowd, a garage door is a great way to make your house more attractive.
Here at Mar-Lin Dock & Door, we offer three garage door styles: Traditional, Carriage House, and Contemporary. We have a wide range of garage doors that fit into a rustic, traditional, or modern style.
You don’t have to settle for just a plain white garage door. They are available in various colors, and you can coordinate them with your existing architecture.
Look at these white garage doors in a Traditional style. The windows add a nice touch to a custom-made garage door. Here is the Princeton P-11 design, 9’ x 8', Ice White doors and overlays, 8 lite Panoramic windows.
Become your own designer!
Have you seen the Design Centre on our website? Custom windows and decorative hardware added to the design and color of your choice give your garage door additional curb appeal.
You don’t have to imagine what your garage door will look like. You can see it! Use this tool to become your own designer for your garage door.
Is it time to install the garage door?
Contact us at 519-326-5888 to schedule an overhead door and garage door opener installation!
Use one of our garage door installation professionals for all of your installations, service, or repairs.
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