This type of door is optimal for DIY manufacturing. It won’t require a lot of time or any specialized skills. Essentially, to make the doors yourself, you will need:
- a welding machine;
- metal profiles;
- rollers;
- the door panel itself.
Basic Steps
First, you should complete any work inside the garage. The design feature implies that dust getting into the guides or onto the rollers can hinder normal operation and cause malfunctions. Also, the floor should be finished after the door installation, as the frame needs to extend at least 2 cm into it. The walls and garage opening must be even so that the guides can be easily installed.
The next step is to measure the opening. This will allow you to determine the required height for the guides and the size of the door panel. Fig. 1 shows an example of the dimensions you will need.
Making the Frame
The next step you should take is to build the frame, which is the base of the door. There are several options available for use:
- you can use a steel structure;
- you can use wooden beams.
The final choice is yours, but metal will be more reliable. Once the frame is welded, it should be test-fitted in the opening to rule out any errors or miscalculations. If the frame is level, and you have checked its position both horizontally and vertically, it should be secured with at least anchors. Your frame should look like this:
If there are gaps between the wall and the frame, these gaps should be filled with construction foam, and then secure the horizontal guides, which should be located under your ceiling.
Roller Installation
After you install the frame, you should weld brackets for the rollers to the guides and install the rollers themselves. The upper brackets with rollers should be installed slightly further forward. This will ensure normal operation – the door won’t snag.
The image below offers a detailed look at what your frame should look like from the side.
Choosing and Creating the Door Panel
Since it will be exposed to the elements, the door panel should be made highly resistant to various climatic conditions. The panel can be made from any readily available materials. These can include:
- wooden beams covered with metal from the outside;
- a solid sheet of metal can be used;
- you can make a frame from several steel profiles, with minimal distances between them, and then clad it with pieces of metal.
Again, no one forbids you from using, say, plastic as the finishing material. In that case, your door will have an aesthetic appearance. Moreover, plastic is offered in a wide range of colors.
In the figure below, you can see finished options. In the first case, a solid metal sheet is used; in the second, a metal-clad panel is presented.
When making the door panel, there are also a few small tricks that will be relevant for any owner.
Firstly, you can cover your door with special materials that will help retain heat inside the garage even in freezing temperatures. Such materials are quite easy to find. And covering the door with them will not be difficult or time-consuming.
Secondly, here’s another useful tip. To avoid engaging the entire door structure and opening it completely unnecessarily, you can build a pedestrian door into the panel through which the owner can enter. An example of such a solution can be seen in the figure below.
Many people install windows in their doors. In this case, you also have two options. You can cut an opening in the panel and seal it with glass or plastic yourself, or you can buy a ready-made door window from a specialized store.
After completing all work, the finished door panel should be placed in the tracks and the functionality of the structure checked. Next, install (weld) the springs. They will ensure smooth opening/closing of the door and also make the process easier.
In the photo below, you can see the finished structure, how it should look from both the outside and inside of the garage.
Installation of Additional Details
These can include:
- handles for opening;
- latches for securing the door;
- locks and hasps.
Handles should be placed on the lower part of the panel, both on the inside and outside. This approach will allow you to easily close and open the door without snagging your fingers on the edges. This would be quite problematic in cold weather.
Latches should be installed on the inside of the door panel. This way, if you’ve made a pedestrian door, the main door can only be opened from the inside. This will fully secure your garage. If the garage is attached to the house and has an entrance from the living area, then purchasing and installing latches and bolts can also be considered an optimal solution.
If the garage is a standalone structure, it should be secured with special locks. Alternatively, you can buy ordinary padlocks, after first creating hasps on the door panel and on the vertical frame (on the side facing the street, outwards).
Essentially, this will be the final stage of DIY installation and creation of your lift-up garage door. All that remains is to paint the frame and door panel in your desired color, or, as mentioned above, to insulate the panel with thermal or sound insulation materials.
However, these are not all the tasks that can be done. There are alternative mechanism options, as well as modifications for existing doors.
Specifically, you can install a counterweight system. For this, you will need a winch and cables. This allows for smoother operation and also opens up greater possibilities for modifications.
Ensuring Safe Operation
During the work on the door, after completing the main steps and checking the functionality of the structure, it is important to consider safety. You need to install stops that will prevent the panel from coming off the guides. This is a very important point that can protect you from injuries.
Automating the Door
In most cases, DIY lift-up doors are opened and closed manually. This is simple and reliable. However, the modern market offers a wide range of various drives that can be installed on your door. In this case, you can open or close the door simply by pressing the corresponding button.
Installing such a system will also be quite simple. The drive, along with the necessary components, is sold in any store specializing in door sales and installation.
Again, you can make your door open remotely. This is very simple. Almost all drives have a control panel, and you will find the pinout in the instructions. Connecting everything correctly will not be a problem – providing an example here would be difficult, as different manufacturers use their own standards. But in any case, such information can be found in the drive’s instructions.
By installing a drive, you will get a door that is in no way inferior to factory-made ones, with remote opening capability, all the advantages and features, but significantly cheaper. The final appearance of a DIY door can be seen below.
By following this guide, you will surely be able to easily and simply create your own door. And to see the results of others who also set out to build lift-up doors themselves, you can watch the video below.