New garage doors
One-piece garage door conversion for the low garages of older houses.
An old one-piece door tilts out and up as a single slab, on heavy springs at the sides. We build the opening down to a modern door size so a sectional door and an opener fit under a ceiling that was never meant for one.
Quickest is a call: (615) 810-6415
What is a one-piece garage door?
It’s the door a lot of older garages were built with: one big panel, often wood, that pivots on hardware at each side and swings out toward the driveway as it rises. Long extension springs on either side do the lifting. You’ve probably ducked under one, or stepped back quickly as it swung out at you.
Vintage is usually a good thing. With these doors, there comes a point where it isn’t.
Why replace one that still works?
Because “still works” covers a lot of risk. The side springs are under heavy tension and wear out like any spring, the pivot hardware loosens with age, and the whole slab swings out into whoever is standing in the drive, you or your guests. Fitting a modern opener to one is awkward at best.
A sectional door rolls straight up on its tracks and stays inside the opening. Nothing swings out at a visitor or a parked car, and an opener can finally do its job.
How does a modern door fit an old opening?
We change the opening. Older garages often have openings in sizes nobody makes anymore, and ceilings too low for a standard sectional door, its track and an opener all at once. So we build the opening down, framing it to a modern garage door size, and leave enough headroom for the track and opener to fit under the ceiling.
It’s carpentry first and door work second, and we’ve done it enough times to have the process down.
What goes in afterward is a full modern setup: a sectional door sized to the new opening, its track, springs and cables matched to the door’s weight, and usually an opener for the first time in that garage’s life: a sectional door from Amarr or a wood one from Carriage House, and, where the ceiling is still tight, a LiftMaster jackshaft opener that mounts on the wall beside the door instead of overhead. From there it’s the same work as any garage door installation.
Where do these doors still hang?
Wherever the houses are old enough. In Madison’s 37115 ZIP code, about 39% of homes were built in the 1960s or earlier, the oldest housing of the 20 towns we serve. Columbia isn’t far behind, at about 35%. Garages from those decades are where we expect to find low ceilings and one-piece doors.
Can we see your garage without a visit?
Yes. A first consult works on FaceTime or Zoom. Walk us around the garage with your phone, point the camera at the header, the ceiling and the walls on each side of the opening, and we can tell you whether a conversion will work and roughly what it involves.
Answers
One-piece garage door conversion: questions people ask
Can a one-piece garage door be replaced with a sectional door?
Yes. We take out the one-piece door and its side hardware, frame the opening down to a standard size where it’s needed, and install a sectional door whose track fits under the existing ceiling. Then an opener can go in, with a door it was designed to lift.
Why are one-piece garage doors dangerous?
The big extension springs at each side are under heavy tension, the pivot hardware wears loose with age, and the whole door swings out past the opening as it rises. A failing spring or bracket can let a heavy slab drop or twist, and anyone standing in front of it can get hit.
Can you put an automatic opener on a one-piece garage door?
It’s possible with the right opener and arm, but the door swings out in an arc and many older garages lack the headroom, so it’s rarely a good fit. Converting to a sectional door gives the opener room to work and a door that rolls straight up.
Does converting a one-piece door mean reframing the opening?
Usually. Older openings often don’t match today’s door sizes, and the ceiling may be too low for a sectional door plus an opener. We build the opening down with new framing to a modern size, and that carpentry is what makes everything else fit.
Can I get a garage door consultation over video?
Yes, for a one-piece conversion. Call us on FaceTime or Zoom and show us the opening, the ceiling, the header and the space at each side. From that we can say whether a conversion works in your garage and what it involves, before anyone drives out.