Should A Garage Door Opener Rail Be Level

Most garage door openers include rail segments that fit to doors with heights of seven feet.

Should a garage door opener rail be level.

Rail segments generally last for a number of years as long as corrosion or mishandling doesn t occur. The top of the door should be level with the top of the motor unit. The opener should head should angle down for 2 reasons. Please see page 11.

The first is that it puts the opener lights below the top of the door for maximum light coverage. This is a safety feature installers are taught when installing doors for use without openers. Some modern chain drive garage door openers such as liftmaster s premium series 8360 model have dc motors that make their noise levels much quieter. Adjusting garage door tracks with one track on either side of the garage door they must be in alignment for your garage door to operate properly guiding your door as it is raised and lowered with an extension or torsion spring.

The parts of a garage door that comprise its driving functions are attached at a 90 degree angle between the door and the garage ceiling. A 2x4 laid flat is convenient for setting an ideal door to rail distance. The instructions show the header bracket located above the door opening mounted with a 2 inch clearance from the highest point of a sectional door. When installing an opener not many things are put in plumb or level and this is on purpose.

The instructions then state to open the door. If the door works fine you likely have a problem with the garage door opener mechanism. A 2x4 laid flat is convenient for setting an ideal door to rail distance. The back hang side rails should be lower 2 3 than the elevation at front header to keep the door from closing when not hooked to an opener springs torsion bar alone.

Do not position the opener more than 4 10 cm above this point. A chain much like a bicycle chain is attached to a trolley that runs along a rail. The top of the door should be level with the top of the motor unit. The liftmaster model 3280.

This page has a link to the complete door opener manual. The trolley is attached to the motor that opens and closes the garage door.