Garage door jambs

[Cin]

G'day!

I'm a student living at home and have the task of repairing the garage door. The existing garage door jambs are affected by wood rot and I need to replace them, although I do not know what wood to use, if I should paint them, and if any one can point out how I could do this as a one-man job. Included some photos to show you what I'm referring to...

Top of the door jamb has a lap joint.

Door jamb dimensions:
117mm L x 42mm W x 2441mm H

[Master Splinter]

Treated pine. Easy to work with and it won't rot out.

Available in a range of sizes - work out what the critical dimensions are and if you can fudge them a little so that you don't have to do any fiddly cutting (I'm assuming you may not have a shed full of tools!) - you may be able to use timber that is a bit wider or a bit thicker than the original.

Wear a dust mask when cutting/routing or whatever, its not the sort of stuff you want in your lungs.

Paint it all over to match existing colours before you put it up (paint the bits in contact with the ground especially, as well as the backs of everything).

Use fasteners that are suitable for treated pine.

Measure three times, cut once, then swear and cut just a little more off and then discover you've cut too much off and figure out how to hide the gap!

[pawnhead]

Just be aware that some garage doors have a lot of kinetic energy stored in their springs.
If it's a tilt-a-door then the stays attached to the jamb could do you some injury if you just unscrew them from the jamb without releasing the spring tension first. :wink:

[Cin]

Treated pine. Easy to work with and it won't rot out.

Available in a range of sizes - work out what the critical dimensions are and if you can fudge them a little so that you don't have to do any fiddly cutting (I'm assuming you may not have a shed full of tools!) - you may be able to use timber that is a bit wider or a bit thicker than the original.

Wear a dust mask when cutting/routing or whatever, its not the sort of stuff you want in your lungs.

Paint it all over to match existing colours before you put it up (paint the bits in contact with the ground especially, as well as the backs of everything).

Use fasteners that are suitable for treated pine.

Measure three times, cut once, then swear and cut just a little more off and then discover you've cut too much off and figure out how to hide the gap!

Thank you so much for your advice Master Splinter! :thumbsup: I think I know of a good place to buy treated pine, although I need to figure out what fasteners to use for the job. Any ideas?

Thanks for reminding me to wear a dust mask. I still need to buy a good dust mask, especially if cutting treated pine, which I believe is preserved with arsenic.

[Cin]

Just be aware that some garage doors have a lot of kinetic energy stored in their springs.
If it's a tilt-a-door then the stays attached to the jamb could do you some injury if you just unscrew them from the jamb without releasing the spring tension first. :wink:

You were right on the money! It is an old tilt-door that I am replacing. I found the manual from the BND web site and I need to figure out how to disassemble the fittings without resulting in injury or death. You should see the condition of the fittings though, they are badly rusted...its like playing Russian roulette every time I open the door.

[Barry_White]

You were right on the money! It is an old tilt-door that I am replacing. I found the manual from the BND web site and I need to figure out how to disassemble the fittings without resulting in injury or death. You should see the condition of the fittings though, they are badly rusted...its like playing Russian roulette every time I open the door.

Cin

To take the springs off a Tilt-a-Door you need to put the door up and put a prop under it to hold it up. You will then have all the tension off the springs and with a bit of effort you can remove the springs. You will then need to take the prop from under the door and gently let the door down. It will work better if you have two people. You can then begin to remove the door so you can replace the jambs.

To fix the jambs to the brick work if that is what is there you need to put at least 3 x 10mm Dynabolts in each jamb and recess the heads below the surface of the jambs. If it isn't brick work you need to use 10mm hex head coach screws to fix the to timber.

Just to let you know I spent five years installing and repairing all sorts of garage doors so if I can give any further help let me know.

[Cin]

Cin

To take the springs off a Tilt-a-Door you need to put the door up and put a prop under it to hold it up. You will then have all the tension off the springs and with a bit of effort you can remove the springs. You will then need to take the prop from under the door and gently let the door down. It will work better if you have two people. You can then begin to remove the door so you can replace the jambs.

To fix the jambs to the brick work if that is what is there you need to put at least 3 x 10mm Dynabolts in each jamb and recess the heads below the surface of the jambs. If it isn't brick work you need to use 10mm hex head coach screws to fix the to timber.

Just to let you know I spent five years installing and repairing all sorts of garage doors so if I can give any further help let me know.

G'day Barry,

I'm really happy you responded to my post. I contacted you a while ago asking advice on automatic operators and you were most helpful.

Dismantling the springs seems quite straightforward now after you explained what to do.

Should the holes for the dynabolts be drilled into the mortar or brick?

I also wonder how the existing door jambs are secured to the brick wall. The house was built in the late 1950s, so I'm not sure if dynabolts were used back then.

Would you know what material is good for the garage door face? I thought about using marine ply because of its durability. The existing door is made completely out of wood and it is partially rotted.

Thank you for your advice Bazza! :;

[Barry_White]

Hi Cin

Dynabolts should always be drilled into the solid brick where possible. The problem with going into the mortar joints you don't always get positive fixing which is important with the pressure on a Tiltadoor.

If the bricks are solid bricks Dynabolts will be fine. If the bricks are wire cut with holes in them and you can't get the Dynabolt in between the holes you could use either an Ankascrew http://www.ramset.com.au/public/Article/show.asp?ArticleID=1105&menuItemID=181&toplvlID=3&menuNo=0
or a 12mm Nylon plug with a 10mm Hex Head Coach Screw http://www.hilti.com.au/holau/modules/prcat/prca_product.jsp?OID=9521&CATE_OID=-9128

The existing jambs could be fixed with timber plugs drilled into the brickwork with wood screws or coach screws screwed into the wooden plugs. They could be hidden under some wooden plugs or putty to protect them from the weather. If all else fails a pinch bar should be able to remove them. When I was installing Tiltadoors we used to drill a recess 1" hole and put a piece of 1" dowel to cover the Dynabolt.

Marine ply would be ok to cover the door or you could use something like Lysaghts Multiclad. http://www.bluescopesteel.com.au/go/product/lysaght-multiclad

The only thing you have to remember is you need to keep the door around the same weight because there are three grades of Tiltadoor fittings depending on the weight of the door.

Hope all that helps.

Just one other thing is that I know everyone has suggested treated pine for the jambs but I am not that keen on it. I would tend to go for hardwood like Merbau, prime it well before fixing especially on the ends and when fixing the jambs leave 1/4" gap at the bottom this will stop water from soaking into the end grain during wet weather which is the major cause of door jambs rotting over the years.