Garage Door Direct

Automatic and Manual Roller Doors DIY Guide

 

Do-it-Yourself Roller Garage Door Fitting Guide

 

Fitting your roller garage door couldn't be easier with our in depth DIY guide instructions.

 

1. Preparation

Remove all parts. THE WRAPPING HOLDING THE DOOR MUST NOT BE CUT AT THIS STAGE.
The garage doors are positioned inside the opening and therefore overlap the opening on each side by 25mm for series A and 50mm for Series AA garage doors. A minimum of 75mm is required between the opening and the side wall for Series A garage doors, 100mm for Series AA.

 

Before commencing, measure both the opening and the door curtain and mark the overlap on the wall to facilitate the fixing of brackets and guides.

 

2. Affixing Mounting Brackets

The headroom required between the underside of the rafters and the top of the opening is 420mm for Series A garage doors and 450mm for Series AA garage doors minimum.

 

Firmly secure one of the mounting brackets with 75mm coach screws. It is important that the outside face (smooth side) of the angle brackets faces the side wall of the garage.

The clearance on either side between the door curtain and mounting brackets is 10mm minimum, 100mm maximum.

 

The top of the bearing surface of the mounting brackets should be 170mm from the top of the opening, and 250mm minimum from the underside of the rafters. In the event of a shallower headroom, the 250mm dimension must be maintained. Shallower headrooms down to 300mm can be maintained but will result in the underside of the rolled up door showing when the door is in the open position.

 

The second mounting bracket should then be positioned. The use of a line level or spirit level and straight edge is recommended as IT IS VITAL THAT THE BRACKETS ARE EXACTLY LEVEL WITH EACH OTHER, otherwise the door will not sit square. The minimum 250mm dimension must be maintained.

 

3. Positioning the Garage Door

Place the rolled up garage door on the mounting brackets and centre the axle approximately 250mm from the front wall, ensuring that the garage door is centralised with the opening. N.B. If the side clearance for the axle is insufficient, cut EACH END of the axle. IT IS IMPORTANT THAT THE AXLE IS NOT CUT TOO SHORT. Ensure that the garage door is placed the correct way round on the brackets. The sketch illustrates the relative position of the bottom rail.

 

Secure the axle to the mounting brackets with the U bolts. LOCK TIGHTLY using washers under the nuts. Spring tension will be lost if the axle is not firmly clamped.

 

Tension should now be applied to the spring by rotating the garage door about 1½ times in a forward direction, as shown. The amount of tension required to give the best operation may vary with individual garage doors. Final adjustment should be made on completion of the job.

 

4. Unrolling the Garage Door

Hold the garage door in its tensioned position and remove the wrapping which holds the door in a roll. It is important that the door is held firmly at this stage to prevent loss of tension. Pull the garage door partly down. N.B THE DOOR MAY HAVE A STRONG TENDANCY TO RISE WHICH, IF UNCONTROLLED, CAN CAUSE DAMAGE.

 

Affix the lifting handle in the centre of the aluminium bottom rail and allow the garage door to rise slowly, the handle acting as a stop against the lintel.

 

If the lifting handle will not engage the lintel for any reason, use a piece of soft timber as a choc, approximately 450mm long, and place it between the bottom rail and the drum, as shown, taking care not to damage the garage door.

 

On Series AA garage doors only, fit the left and right handed nylon guide stop blocks to the aluminium bottom rail by sliding them beneath the Polyglide wearing strips and securing the gutter bolts, ensuring the head of the gutter bolt is on the outside of the door. N.B. When lifting the Polyglide ensure that the PVC finned weatherseal remains in position.

 

5. Fixing the Side Tracks

Carefully remove the wood choc, if used. Ensure that the garage door curtain is rolled up evenly and centred on the opening.

 

Clean the side tracks with a spirit cleaner.

 

The bottom of the side tracks must be at finished floor line. If the floor is slightly out of level, always work from the higher side first. The top of the tracks (splayed end) should be level with the top of the bearing surface of the mounting brackets.

 

If necessary cut one of the side tracks to the correct length at the bottom. Slide fixing lungs on.

 

Slide the track onto the door allowing 4mm clearance. Hold the guide in position against the wall and mark the location of the top lug holding screw. USING A SPIRIT LEVEL TO ENSURE THAT THE SIDE TRACK IS ABSOLUTELY VERTICAL, fix the track in position by means of the adjustable lugs and 70mm coach screws ensuring that they are evenly spaced, with the bottom lug approximately 200mm from the floor.

 

Similarly, cut the second track to the correct length - if necessary. Locate the garage door curtain in the track, allowing 4mm clearance, and with the track in position, pull the door curtain down. Mark the location of the fixed lug holding screw and fix the track in position as before, again ensuring that the side track is ABSOLUTELY VERTICAL.

 

PLEASE NOTE:
All dimensions given are for guideline purposes only and final adjustments may have to be made depending on the garage specifications.

 

6. Final Adjustments

Adjust tracks for clearance if necessary.

 

Adjust garage door for tension if necessary.

 

If the garage door does not roll up evenly and squarely, move the axle sideways on the mounting brackets until the door rolls up correctly. Hold axle in the same way as described for tensioning, and retighten U bolts.

 

7. Fitting Locking Bar

With the garage door closed, and firmly seated on the floor, mark a point of contact between the locking bar and side tracks. Drill a series of holes and file out the guide slot. A neat fit will minimise vibration and maintain efficiency of weatherseal.

 

Download installation guide PDF »

 

For information on installing the electric operator, download the installation guide »

 

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