# Garage door problem lady needs help!



## BTW (Jun 13, 2011)

I just had my old garage sided and new windows installed. The carpenter said he could install the new overhead door too. Well, I did not notice it at first, but the door is crooked. When you are looking at it straight on, the left side is higher than the right and there is a gap on top on the left. The door does however touch the concrete on both sides. My old door closed fine. His statement was, "well in these old garages, nothing is even!". Well, my old door worked fine, but it was very heavy and starting to rot. Both the new and the old have paneled fronts so the new one installed is very apparent. In addition, I'm afraid when the snow hits, it is going to build up snow and ice in that gap on top and then the door won't open at all. Can anyone tell me what he did wrong and how I can correct it. BTW, he is a licensed contractor so I did not think I would have any issues. SURPRISE!


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## Just Bill (Dec 21, 2008)

Sometimes floor sre so far out of level it is very difficult to get a door to close flat. That said, it is fairly easy to adjust the spings so the closes as flat as possible. Extension springs(run along the track sides) are fairly easy to adjust. Rasie the door and prop it up, loosen or tighten the cable on the spring as needed, lighter on one side VS the other. Torsion springs(coiled springs on a bar over the top of the door), are much more difficult, and dangerous for the average DIY.


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## Maintenance 6 (Feb 26, 2008)

Your old wooden door was probably trimmed at an angle across the bottom to match the out of level condition of the floor. That is what he needs to do to the new door. Close the door. Remove the spring tension. Remove the weatherseal from the bottom of the panel. Shim the door level and scribe the door to the floor. If it is a metal door, he may need to make a tapered strip to screw to the door and then install the weatherseal to that. I've oversimplified this, but basically, you need to make the bottom of the door crooked to match the crooked floor. Adjusting the springs in this case won't allow the door to rest in a square position.


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## Ron6519 (Mar 28, 2007)

If the new door is metal, you will need to level the floor by installing wedge shaped concrete across the front.
Or.
Apply a wedge shaped piece to the garage bottom.
If the old wood door was cut, he should have let you know the new door or floor would need to be modified with a metal door. Or recommended a wood door that was trimable.


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## BTW (Jun 13, 2011)

*Many thanks*

You have all given great suggestions. I will print out all your info and pray that I can get him to come back out. I do have one more questions though. Could it be possible that where the tracks are attached at both sides of the garage aren't even causing it to be cockeyed? Hope that makes sense!


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## Ron6519 (Mar 28, 2007)

Easy to check with a level or a string with a small weight.
Do you think you could clarify the door material, new and old?


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## firehawkmph (Dec 12, 2009)

Post some pics both inside and outside. 
Mike Hawkins


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## Bud Cline (Mar 12, 2006)

> I will print out all your info and pray that I can get him to come back out.


Print this and give it to him also.

* NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED :wallbash:*​


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## BTW (Jun 13, 2011)

*Type of door*

The old door was a paneled wood door probably from the 50's. New door is aluminum or steel, paneled, and real lightweight. Springs are on both sides. If you are standing outside looking at the door, the left side is up about 2" at the top of the door with a slight 1" gap at the bottom. You can tell because the panel is at an angle. There is also a gap where snow and ice could build up in the top left corner where it is crooked. The right hand side hits the concrete and looks level at the top. I'm not good at taking and posting pictures, but I'll try in the morning. No promises! You guys are great! I appreciate all the posts!:thumbsup:


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## firehawkmph (Dec 12, 2009)

BTW,
It's a steel door. Throw a good level on the top section when the door is down and see if it's level. The door needs to be level to operate properly. Don't worry about the vertical sections of track on the inside. They should be a little closer to the door at the bottom then at the top, sort of a funnel effect to guide the door down. If the door is level, then either the floor is off like prev. stated(probably), and/or the jambs could be racked also. If the door is level, leave it alone and correct the other problems. Shim and retrim the jambs to eliminate the gaps. You can also get an over size rubber seal for the bottom. It is just a strip of rubber with a T-shaped edge on each side that slides into the track on the bottom of the door. It ends up making a bigger bulb on the bottom and helps seal up uneven floors to a point. If your floor is really out, you need to correct the floor.
Mike Hawkins


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## jenmarie (Mar 19, 2010)

Wow, this is exactly my problem. The installer actually installed our new door crooked. The vertical tracks slant to the left on the inside, so from the outside, the panels don't align with the opening and gives the whole door a parallelogram effect. He claims that our floor isn't level and the door needed to be aligned with the floor for a tight seal at the bottom. He's completely wrong - the floor IS level, and even if it were not, the door should be level and shims should have been used during installation to ensure that it was. Down at the bottom of the door where the weatherstripping is, there's a gap on the left side where I can easily slip my fingers under, whereas on the bottom right, I can't even get a finger under it.

Here's a YouTube video of our problem:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVEIi78djyY

And the fingers demonstration:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZOSkaCR5ps

You're not in the New Hampshire by any chance, are you? I'm wondering if we have the same installer.


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## firehawkmph (Dec 12, 2009)

Jen,
I took a look at your first video. While sometimes it's a bit tough to see exactly where the bubble is in your level, and the fact that it's a short level, it still looks like you've got a pretty sqare opening and a decent floor. The guy who hung that door is an idiot, and you can tell him I said so. He never put a level on the bottom section when he started the install. You have to start with the bottom section level, and if the floor is off, you temporarily shim the low side under the section. You also want to make sure the bottoms of the side tracks are at the same height. Easy to do if the bottom section is level. If the floor is off more than say 3/4"-1", then you may end up with a gap under the rubber seal at the low spot. Some manufacturers make a bigger rubber seal, other than that, the floor needs to be fixed. I would have no problem hanging that door in your opening and ending up with the door being centered in the opening and level. I could fix your door in about a half hour, if your were close by. So don't let the installer tell you it can't be done. Course, he probably doesn't realize what's wrong. Not a difficult fix.
Mike Hawkins


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## jenmarie (Mar 19, 2010)

Thanks for your response, Mike! I actually called another local garage door installer to come out and fix it this morning. Just as you said, the problem was fixed in about a half hour. I now have a centered, level garage door! It's nice to feel vindicated - the owner from the first installation basically called me an idiot for questioning the installation. 

:thumbsup:

Jennifer


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## firehawkmph (Dec 12, 2009)

Good news Jen,
I would send the second companies bill to the original installer.
Mike Hawkins


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## BTW (Jun 13, 2011)

*Send him the bill Jen!!*

I would let all my friends know what a jerk the first guy was. Referrals are always the best advertising for any business. If he is smart, he will reimburse you for your additional expense. But I'm sure he is the idiot Mike referred to!


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## SPS-1 (Oct 21, 2008)

I have seen this issue many times on this forum ----- concrete is not level, so one side of the door does not seal properly. The answer is you need to make or buy a angled filler for the bottom of the door. But if this is so common, I figure somebody must make and sell these pieces. After a couple of minutes with Google, I found this:
Its a bottom garage door seal. They don't explain intended use, but the high sides must be so that you can angle it to the door/floor. I would think that a garage door professional would have a solution for such a common problem as the concrete floor not being level. If one company makes a bottom door seal with extra adjustment, you can bet a dozen others do also.
http://www.advancedplastic.com/products-bottomseals.php


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## Bud Cline (Mar 12, 2006)

SIDE BAR:

When the above comment first came up on the page and I viewed the drawing I had to then go back to see if we were still talking about a garage door. At first glance I thought the diagram was depicting a toilet.:laughing:


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## oh'mike (Sep 18, 2009)

Cheer up Bud --every time I've read this title is see," Garage door--Problem Lady needs help"


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