One of the first significant tasks you will have to complete when turning your garage into a living space is removing the garage door. A patio door or a new wall with a window added might be used to close off the open area. The door and spring assemblies must be removed if you want to replace an old garage door. You can then choose whether to preserve the old tracks and supports or to get new ones.
The four or five parts of a typical sectional garage door are connected by hinges that swivel as the door is raised and lowered. The doors slide along rollers inside of tracks that extend overhead and up the side of the door. The door can be removed without much difficulty, but more than two hands are needed. For some of the steps, you will need one or two strong helpers.
Steps to Remove a Garage Door
1. Unplug the garage door opener.
Close the garage door all the way before unplugging the motor unit from the electrical outlet in order to remove an electric garage door opener. To detach the opener’s trolley, pull the release cord that hangs from the opener track. By removing the cotter pin and connecting the bolt at the arm’s door end, you can detach the trolley support arm from the door. Now that the door and opener are separated, you can, if you’d like, remove the complete opener assembly by following the manufacturer’s directions.
2. Take out the springs on the garage door
Many of the door’s weight when lifting and lowering is supported by springs in garage doors. Two different kinds of spring mechanics exist. On both sides of the door, extension springs are situated above the top tracks. Over the closed door, immediately above the header, are tension springs. Working with torsion springs can be quite risky if you don’t know what you’re doing because they are constantly under tension. Call a garage door expert if you have torsion springs so they may be safely unwound.
To take out extension springs, fully open the garage door and secure C-clamps or locking pliers to the tracks on either side to stop the door from closing once the springs have been taken out. This is crucial: Even thin metal garage doors can come crashing down with a lot of power due to how hefty they are and how little weight is supported by the springs.
Attach each spring to a door track using temporary tape or ties. The lift cable can be taken out of the bottom brackets on each side of the door using pliers. Take apart the pulley and spring assembly.
3. Shut the Door
Where the door meets the floor, place slabs of wood there. When you lower the door, the blocks will stop you from pinning your fingers. Remove the clamps from the door tracks with the assistance of one or two people to support the weight of the door in the open position. Lower the door slowly until it touches the wood blocks.
WARNING
The door could be several hundred pounds in weight. Before lowering the door, make sure you and your assistants can do it securely.
4. Get rid of the door panels.
Working from top to bottom, you’ll take out the door panels one at a time. Using a socket wrench, start by removing the bolts holding the hinges to the top door panel. Two roller hinges (one at either end of the panel) and three normal hinges are present on a typical 16-foot door. Only the top half of each hinge should have its bolts removed; the bottom halves should still be attached to the lower door panel.
Remove the roller bracket from each end of the top panel with the assistance of one or two people. Lift the panel away from the tracks and the rest of the door by gently tilting it back. Set aside the panel.
To remove the remaining door panels, use the same procedure again. If desired, you can take the door tracks out by unbolting each segment separately. Lag bolts to be used to secure the vertical track pieces to the wall can be taken out with a socket wrench.
If You can’t do it by yourself. ZAAAP Garage Door Repair is here to help you, we are experienced in any kind of service in Menifee, CA, and surrounding areas.
Disclaimer: This articles is for information only. Please do not try to repair or replace your garage door without the help of a licensed professional.
