I am getting a new garage door. Sounds great! -- were it only that easy...

The new door is far thicker than the old. There is a 1" drop off that the old door slips in front of (it lands an inch lower than the garage floor). The new door won't fit, and would only 1/2 land on the garage floor.

I need to build up the area in front of the yellow line I've annotated here to be level with the garage floor (approx. 1" thick at the garage floor side, and about 1/2 way out I'd taper down and slope away. I'm thinking I'll cut out a few inches of blacktop and key-slot it in there for strength as well. Maybe hammer drill a few holes along the length of that plate to give it grip and purchase.

Think it'll work? What product/products should I use? Thanks guys!

A lot of generic thoughts on first glance in no particular order…

- Did your old door rest completely on the garage floor? If so, why is the new one so much wider?

- Trying to pour a 1” x 1” concrete filler will be almost impossible to accomplish. There are some super high strength products but with the tires constantly going over the edge I’m not sure how long it will last.

- Have you considered filling the area with something other than concrete? Maybe a 1” x 1” piece of bar stock?

- Another option is to have your garage door tech angle the tracks slightly inward along the vertical slope so that the entire door base rests on the garage floor and then readjust (or replace) the side skirt with a wider piece. Most do this anyway as part of a new install.

So when we poured concrete we would make a lip like that. We would stick a 2x4 in the door rails so that wouldn't have happened.
This is a good way to stop wind and water from going in your garage if its done right.

Me being me I would cut the floor back, chip the concrete out, and grind it smooth so the door sits correctly. The extra one inch height might affect how the door sits the jam at the top.

quote:

Originally posted by Captain Morgan:
So when we poured concrete we would make a lip like that. We would stick a 2x4 in the door rails so that wouldn't have happened.
This is a good way to stop wind and water from going in your garage if its done right.

Me being me I would cut the floor back, chip the concrete out, and grind it smooth so the door sits correctly. The extra one inch height might affect how the door sits the jam at the top.

That was the other more extreme idea. Which would be to cut just at the edge of the existing lip and blow out that whole lower panel. And then create a new lower panel at the new height of the garage floor and sloping downward.

What about a seal at the front and have the door stop on the higher slab?
That way any heavy rain wouldn't be likely to get inside.

quote:

Originally posted by Captain Morgan:

Me being me I would cut the floor back, chip the concrete out, and grind it smooth so the door sits correctly. The extra one inch height might affect how the door sits the jam at the top.

That was going to be my suggestion, then the door acts as designed with that rise in the floor height.

quote:

Me being me I would cut the floor back, chip the concrete out, and grind it smooth so the door sits correctly.

Massive PITA to do, but this would result in the best outcome.

Might be easier to chip out than add such a small amount. A small amount of concrete like that and it'll surely crack.

Steel could be an option but I think I recall you're in PA, maybe? Water and salt could lead to corrosion.

You may ask the garage door tech if having only half of the bearing capacity is fine. It might be that the cables are holding the door in tension anyways and it doesn't actually need much bearing. If that is the case, just let it sit half on-half off and put a slightly longer vinyl skirt/sweep on the outside to cover the lip.

quote:

Originally posted by xantom:

quote:

Me being me I would cut the floor back, chip the concrete out, and grind it smooth so the door sits correctly.

Massive PITA to do, but this would result in the best outcome.

^^^ This would be my first choice too.
I see a lot of problems with building up the area with such a small amount and it staying in tact.

I'd set a circular saw with a diamond blade to the right depth and make a long cut. I'd use the saw's rip fence along the existing edge to get the right width.

Then I'd use an angle grinder with a diamond blade to make another cut from the front of the concrete to the cut made with the circular saw.

Whack each end with a hammer and pull out one long strip of concrete.

Use an SDS rotary hammer to square up the corners.

I am not a concrete guy, but these are the tools I have. Looks like an hour of work. Eye protection and probably a mask because there'll be quite a bit of dust.

This would take a concrete cutting guy a couple of hours and turn out swell.

A possible alternative is to find a piece of 1" thick deck board (The new plastic stuff). Bevel one edge of it and just screw it onto the existing slab. It will provide a little ramp transition and give you a full flat spot for the door to seat. Replace it if it gets worn out.

Is there a filler strip they can add to half the width of the door at the bottom. I can't see any way the concrete can't handle the load of the door even if it is in contact with only 1/2 of the door. Can you filler the bottom of the new door?

I would paint the existing door.

quote:

Originally posted by Timdogg6:
Is there a filler strip they can add to half the width of the door at the bottom. I can't see any way the concrete can't handle the load of the door even if it is in contact with only 1/2 of the door. Can you filler the bottom of the new door?

Ask tbe garage door company before you contract them to do the installation. If they're good they've seen this situation a thousand times, and there's prob more than one good solution, that don't involve chipping and removing concrete. It's so common I can't believe there's not an out of the box product to handle it, that might be just banged into the cement using concrete nails with a 22 rimfire concrete nail gun. I saw them using one at work in my building, what a nice tool. An aluminum etc. filler, baanged into the lower side, to bring it up to level. Or an adjustable alum threshhold plate, something along those lines.

Is be "calling the man"

Since you are doing a new garage floor, just tear out that narrow slab in front of your garage door too. Doing anything other than grinding to get the desired height such as filler of any sort is just going to deteriorate. If your going to the expense of a new garage floor, this transition piece is peanuts in comparison and it will be done correctly. Just my $0.02. Probably not the cheapest option, but probably better than most.

How wide is the door?

quote:

Originally posted by Captain Morgan:
How wide is the door?

It's a fairly wide two stall garage door.

I think we're gonna have the concrete guy in to cut that plate out and mate up a properly thick plate of concrete.

That lower plate should be four inches. So its thick enough.
Also remember that if the floor height and the lower part of the slab meet at the same height, the garage door at the top may have a gap. You might have to cut the door at the bottom so the top sits flush against the door opening.

A mason would need to cut through 5-6 inches of concrete as opposed to 1 inch and chip and grind.
He would also need to form and pour new concrete.