Do-it-yourself installation of sectional doors: measurements, preparation of the opening, installation

Sectional lifting gates are installed in garages, utility blocks, and other technical premises. They are convenient in that they simply rise up when opened, without requiring free space in front of the canvas. Another plus is that there are insulated models that have the same thermal insulation characteristics as a brick wall of one and a half bricks. And another important note – the installation of sectional doors can be done independently, with your own hands. Preferably with an assistant. “In one hand” it will be harder to cope, but this is also possible. Just keep in mind: with self-assembly, it will take not 4 hours that professional installers spend, but much more … but you can do it in a day for sure. 

Measurements and dimensions

Sectional doors are also called overhead sectional doors. This name is due to the structure and principle of operation. The door leaf consists of separate sections, movably connected to each other. Hence the word “sectional” in the name. When opening, the sections move up along the guides, smoothly moving to the ceiling. When open, they are held on the ceiling. And this is the reason why they add the word “elevating” – they rise up.

Sectional doors consist of two parts – a leaf and guides along which the leaf moves when opening / closing. In order for the installation of sectional doors with your own hands to go without problems, it is necessary to carefully measure the opening. There is nothing particularly difficult in this part. All you need is a tape measure, a plumb line, if there is a laser level.

With the terminology, everything is clear, the design is clear in general terms, now in more detail about the measurements and preparation of the opening, without which the installation of sectional doors simply cannot do.

What and why to measure

To order overhead sectional doors, measure the following distances (shown in the figure):

• Height (H) and width (B) of the opening. Here, it seems, everything is clear, the measurements are simple. But, for normal operation of the gate, the opening planes must be parallel. The side walls must be strictly vertical, the floor and the lintel must be strictly horizontal, without deviations and sagging. Verticality and horizontality can be verified using a level, plumb line. You can also control the parameters of the opening by making changes at several points. If the data matches to the millimeter, all is well. If not, you will have to prepare the opening – level it and only after that measure and order sectional doors.
  

• The height of the lintel (lintel). The lintel is the distance from the top of the opening to the ceiling (h). The optimal height of the lintel is 400-600 mm. In this case, you can install the cheapest and, at the same time, the most reliable standard lifting system – the standard one.
• Distances from the edge of the opening to the side walls (right (b2) and left (b1). Also called “shoulders”. Guides are mounted on the sides of the opening and the distance from the opening to the side walls affects the choice of their design and installation method.
• Depth of entry (GW or L) into the room. This parameter is important, although it is often omitted. This is a calculated value, which depends on the height of the opening and the type of lifting system to be installed. It is calculated according to the following rules: a certain number is added to the height of the gate opening:
  • door area up to 8 m2, add 400 mm.
  • the gate area is more than 8 m2, – increase by 450 mm.
  • low rise (depth of entry) – you need to add 550 mm;
  • high rise – you need to add 65 mm and 850 mm.
    

Once again, we would like to draw your attention to the fact that it is worth paying attention to the last parameter – the depth of the room in which the sectional doors are installed cannot be less than this value.

When installing the drive

If automatic opening is planned and the drive is normal, you will also need space for it (in the figure below it is indicated by the letter W).

For guidance, for mounting the drive on the ceiling, the minimum room depth must be between 3290 mm and 4400 mm (for different lifting systems). For less deep rooms, there is another way out – installing an axial drive. It is more expensive, but more powerful and requires installation space only on the side of the opening.

Read about the choice of lifting height in this article. 

These are all necessary measurements. As you can see, everything is easy. But at the same time it is very important that the gate opening is even, without significant deviations. The condition of the floor and ceiling (in the area where the gate is installed) is also important. For the ceiling, it is important to align the part on which the ceiling rails will be mounted. The floor must also be level so that the frame does not warp. If there are irregularities, you will have to prepare the gate opening, only then take repeated measurements and order the gate.

Requirements for the opening and its preparation

Installation of sectional doors requires preliminary preparation of the opening. The opening, firstly, must have sufficient bearing capacity, secondly, there must be enough space on the sides and at the top to install guides, and thirdly, it must be even. Let’s sort it out in order.

Bearing capacity and ways to correct it

If the walls to which the sectional doors will be attached are made of solid brick, concrete, cinder block, even shell rock, mounting of the guides is possible. For these materials, an anchor or dowel is usually used. Worse, if the walls are made of hollow slotted bricks, foam blocks. You can’t put a heavy structure in them without refinement. We’ll have to reinforce the opening. There are two ways:

• Make reinforcement of the opening from metal corners and attach the system to them. Everything will hold, but the costs are high.
• Plaster the walls and try to gain a foothold in the plaster seam. If something goes wrong, you can still use chemical anchors. This option is cheaper, but not the most reliable, so it is better not to use it.

It is better to approach the strengthening of the bearing capacity of the wall seriously and make a frame from the corners. Yes, it is not cheap, but the gates are not installed for one day, and not for one year, so the costs are justified.

If the garage is planned to be heated, when reinforced with corners, do not forget to put thermal insulation under the metal. In this case, fiberglass cardboard is best suited. With a small thickness, it has a good prevention of heat leakage.

If there is not enough space for mounting the structure

It also happens that at the top or on the sides there is not enough space to install the structure. If the lintel is too small, there is a regular solution – a false panel. It is made of the same material as the door leaf and is attached to the carrier beam in the opening. Thus, the height of the gate is reduced, but it becomes possible to install a more convenient standard lifting system in installation.

It also happens that there is not enough distance not only at the top, but also on the sides. Usually metal garages suffer from this disease.

The most convenient method for correcting the dimensions of the gate opening in this case is to weld a profiled pipe of the required section around the perimeter. The section is chosen so that there is enough space both at the top and on the sides. Another option – to do as in the photo above – to make the gate not the entire width of the garage.

Alignment of opening and ceiling

In addition to the bearing capacity and parameters of the opening, it is necessary to check that its surface is even and smooth. The walls around the opening and the two stripes on the ceiling must also be aligned. A system of guides will be attached to them, they must all be even and lie in the same plane.

The minimum strip width on which there should be no deviations is 210 mm. This is when mounting the standard configuration and the standard lift. Other systems require a little more. So you can immediately withdraw about 300 mm. You definitely can’t go wrong.

For leveling walls made of concrete, brick, building blocks, plaster is used on lighthouses. The surface is checked in all planes. Installation of sectional doors begins after the plaster mortar has dried.

Installation of sectional doors with tension springs: a sequence of actions with step-by-step photos

The designs of sectional overhead doors from different manufacturers have some differences, but in general, the procedure for their assembly and installation is similar. The method of attachment may differ, other minor details, but the principles are very similar. For example, the installation of sectional doors by the Belarusian company Alutex (Alutech) will be described.

The Belarusian company Alutex (Alutech) has a good reputation. For quite sane money we get good quality sectional doors. All holes are drilled, the kit includes fasteners of the right size, in the required quantity. When assembling, everything matches, the installation of sectional doors from this company usually goes without problems.

First you need to unpack everything, spread out, check the completeness, read the assembly instructions, carefully consider the design, accompanying drawings and explanations. Take the time to study the instructions in detail. It will be easier during the installation process, spend less nerves.

We assemble and fix vertical guides

The installation of sectional doors begins with the installation of a frame along which sections move – guides. The ease and trouble-free movement of the sections, the tightness of their fit to each other depends on how evenly they stand. During installation, it is necessary to constantly control the vertical and horizontal. You can do this with an ordinary building level, but it is much more convenient than a laser one. You can expand two planes, set them at the required level. Glowing bright stripes will serve as a guide. Any deviation is immediately noticeable.

Further work is as follows:

• At a height of 1 m from the floor level, we put marks on the wall near the opening.
• We assemble a frame from carriers that are attached to the doorway.
  • An elastic sealing tape is put on the carriers, which is inserted into the groove with some force.
  • At the junction of the racks and the horizontal jumper, a small piece of sealant must be cut. Where two rubber bands overlap each other. With the help of a pencil, an extra area is indicated, a small square is cut out with a sharp knife.
    

    

  • The vertical guides and the upper jumper are connected with screws. There are already holes for them, they just need to be combined.
  • A mounting jumper is installed at the bottom. It is temporary, but gives the structure rigidity and allows it to withstand the required dimensions.
    

    

• We fasten the guides to the opening.
  • We install the assembled structure close to the wall. Its internal dimensions must match the existing opening. Deviations of a few millimeters are permissible.
  • Checking the vertical and horizontal. At a height of one meter, where there are marks, we fix with clamps.
    

    

  • We install rollers at the top of the racks. We combine their edge with the edge of the racks, drill holes in the wall in those places where there are holes for fasteners in the roller housing. Through the hole in the rack (it is specially made wide) we insert the plastic inserts of the dowels (50 * 10 mm, therefore we take the drill 8 mm), insert and tighten the dowel-screws.
    

    

• Installing rack mounts.
  • Each rack is attached on both sides. From the outside, special L-shaped mounting plates are placed. Under them, holes were made in the side surface of the racks. We combine the holes on the mounting plates with the holes in the racks, install the screws (M6 * 16, 2 pcs for each plate).
  • The plate attached to the rack must be fixed to the wall. There is a hole in the plate for this. Through it we drill the wall, insert the plug of the dowel, put the dowel itself (50 * 10 mm).
    

    

  • We fix the racks from the inside. The profile itself has holes for fasteners. In each, you need to install a dowel, after making a hole for the plastic part and installing it.
  • Similarly, we fix the jumper over the opening – into the holes with dowels.
  • Remove the clamps and lower mounting jumper.

Once again, we draw attention to the fact that the racks must be strictly vertical and must be in the same plane.

Installing ceiling rails

Ceiling rails are attached to the ceiling with special telescopic hangers. It is convenient to set the plane with them – the height of the suspension is regulated by a screw that slides in a long slot. There are several types of hangers for different ceiling heights. For standard/low mounting and headroom up to 300 mm, hangers CS1 are used. There is also CS2 – 500 mm long, CS3 – 800 mm, CS4 – 1000 mm, CS5 – 1500 mm. They are attached to the ceiling, set the required height. If too large a piece of the suspension sticks out, it is cut off, leaving a couple of centimeters below the installed fixing bolt.

Ceiling guides have a characteristic shape – rounding on one side.

• On both ceiling rails we attach an additional half-arc. The rollers will slide along it, therefore we carefully combine the edges so that there are no gaps. We combine the holes, install and tighten the bolts.
  

  

• We attach the assembled horizontal guides for sectional doors to the uprights. In the plates with rollers there are special protrusions for their fixation. We combine the holes, insert and tighten the fasteners.
• We connect the free edges of the ceiling guides with a jumper.
  

  

• Align the guides horizontally. To do this, we support the installed jumper, adjusting the height with the help of a level. For support, you can use any bar suitable for stop, and you can use a clamp as a latch.

Mounting the ceiling rails to the ceiling is described at the beginning of the paragraph. It is important to set them straight. They are attached in pairs. The first – at a distance of 900 mm from the opening, the second – at a distance of 300 mm from the opposite edge.

Before attaching, and after, we check the diagonals (should match up to a millimeter) and the horizontal position of each of the parts.

Installation of sections (we assemble the canvas)

After assembling the frame, we assemble the door leaf. You will need the sections themselves, hinges / rollers and fasteners (6,3 * 16 mm). A distinctive feature of Alutech sectional doors is just these very hinges combined with rollers. Installation with them is easier, the sliding of the canvas is smoother.

• The first section is installed on the floor (by the way, it must be even, the permissible deviation is 5 mm for the entire opening, without sharp drops). Having installed, we check the horizontalness of its upper edge. We also make sure that the edges are at an equal distance from the edge of the guides so that the fasteners do not interfere.
  

  

• We attach a loop with a roller to the exposed section. We fill the roller into the guide, combine the holes that are on the reinforcing strip fixed on the edge of the sandwich panel, and fix it with the existing fasteners.
• Getting ready to install the bottom roller. It has a special shape – with a pin at the bottom. We put loops on the pin at the end of two cables, install a washer, fix it with a hairpin (having unbent the protruding ends in different directions).
  

  

• We put the prepared videos at the bottom of the first section. As usual, there are holes, combine, tighten the screws.
• We put the second section. We put it on the first, aligning the edges, we fix the free end of the loop. In the upper part we install the same loop.
• We put two (or more if the canvas is wide) additional loops.
  

  

• Installing the next section. And so to the top of the canvas.
• On the last section we put rollers without loops. First, we fill the roller into the guide, align the holes and fix it.

Everything, installation of sectional doors is almost finished. It remains to assemble the lifting mechanism and controls.

Installing controls

This loud phrase “controls” in the model with manual opening denotes a handle, a spring lock and cables, by pulling which the gate leaf is lowered down.

• We put a pen. Under it, again, there are holes on the lower section. We remove the decorative panel on the handle, combine the holes, tighten the bolts, put the cover in place.
  

  

• On the second or third section we put a lock – a spring valve. Under it, it will be necessary to make a hole in the guide with a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the valve pin.
• We attach one edge of the cable to the lower loop with a roller (two cables are already fixed on the pin there). We pass it through the hole in the loop, tie a knot.
  

  

• We fix the second end of the cable at the top. In the place where the arc of the ceiling guide was attached, on the outside there is a protrusion for the cable. We pass the free end into it, tie a knot.

The last step remains – installing the spring and assembling the mechanism for raising / lowering the sectional doors.

Assembly and installation of the lifting mechanism

Carefully lift the door leaf and fix it with something in the open position. In this case, the lower edge of the blade should open the roller located at the very top of the guide.

• We take the edge of the cable attached to the lower roller, lift it up, pass it along the upper roller (not the one attached to the canvas, but which is installed on the rack.
• We stretch down to the second roller, which is installed at the factory inside the guide, we go around it.
• We pull the cable up, almost to the place where the jumper is installed. Here, a mounting plate is mounted inside the guide. We slightly release the lower fixing bolt, we wind the cable into it, its top lies in a special recess, the bolt is tightened.
  

  

• We stretch and adjust the spring, which is attached to the rack and fasten it with four bolts. To begin with, select an intermediate position somewhere in the middle, secure.
• Let’s start adjusting the spring tension. We raise the gate to a height of 1 meter (where the marks were made), release the canvas. If it has risen a little on its own, you need to reduce the tension of the spring by attaching it a little higher. If at the same distance, releasing the canvas, it moved down, the spring is too weak, it must be pulled harder.
  

  

• The last thing to do is install the canvas retainer. We raise the gate so that the lower edge is 100 mm from the upper edge of the opening. We take a pencil, mark on the ceiling guide the place where the canvas ends. We take a stopper / latch / stop, apply it to the mark, put marks under the fasteners with a pencil (there are holes in the latch). We drill holes, install a latch. Now the open sectional doors come into the stopper about halfway and do not go further.

Now that’s all for sure. Installation of sectional doors is completed, they are ready for operation.

Video assembly instructions for other models

DoorHan and Hörmann have different installations. Watch the videos for the differences.

Sectional doors with a torsion spring are installed a little differently. You can see the difference in the demo video.