Sliding garage doors

[tapkaJohnD]

Not roller shutters, as below!

My garage has two overlapping sliding doors, that move on a track on the lintel above and on rails on the door step below. They may be as old as the house, a hundred years. The doors themselves are in good condition, and I do NOT want to change them!

But the track is worn and rusting, and needs relaying, the wheels set into the thickness of the doors are also worn, or their axles are. They are getting more and more difficult to move. 'Er indoors can't move them at all, and I am getting older. I'd like to find a company that could do some renovation work to track and wheel boxes, and fit an electric motor to move them, for when I get really feeble, but every 'garage door fitter' only fits roller or up-and-over doors.

Any suggestions? Has anyone used a firm that fits sliding security gates, the nearest equivalant that I can find?

John

[jith]

Hi John,

This company is in my home town in Paisley, but should be able to post stuff to you.

http://www.w-oswald.co.uk/wosProducts.asp

I have bought rollers and hangers for suspended roller doors from them in the past. A good, capable joiner or blacksmith should be able to fit them up for you. You could also fit spring assisters as an alternative to an electric motor. Much more reliable and doesn't use electricity!

Regards,

J

[Robin Hood]

I had a similar timber sliding double door set-up on a 5metre wide garage, all the working parts were made by "Henderson" but are now obsolete. I spent months trying to resolve the issue using the existing doors but gave up in the end.

Finished up changing the whole thing for a "Vertico" electric remote control door. Very pleased with it, has the option of partial opening/closing for entry/exit on foot. Fully insulated and has battery back up in the event of power failure too.

Video link:

http://www.alulux.com/cms/103/garagentore.html

Edited by Robin Hood on Monday 7th January 11:56

[bigblock]

I had three large sliding doors covering a 9m span on my previous garage. They were original to the building being approx 90 years old.

I had similar problems as the op in that the doors became very hard to open. This was because they had sagged and the full weight of the door was now being carried by the lower wheels rather than the upper tracking.

On close inspection I found that the upper tracking was in good overall condition but the mounting plates securing the doors to the tracking had loosened off and allowed the doors to slip down. I also found that there was various adjusting bolts that allowed the doors to be set at the correct level from the bottom track to allow them to 'float'.

I would suggest it might be worth your while to check the adjustment on your doors which could solve your opening problems. After mine were re-set and greased I could open them with one finger. I also found that the quality and strength of the original tracking was far superior to anything I could have replaced it with.

[tapkaJohnD]

Thanks for that advice!
I shall certainly check the upper rail and hangers, and your local ironmongers made me think immediately of a local firm who are also agricultural engineers, and blacksmiths. Why didn't I think of them before?

John