Soooo disappointed. DW and I have decided to move out of the home we have lived in for almost 36 years. We found a house in a rural area on 1 acre of land. A BEAUTIFUL home only 8 years old with a 24'X40' steel building for the 5er. We were ready to make an offer and I decided to go up there for one more look and "make sure" we were doing the right thing. I measured the doors (the building has rollup doors on both ends) and they are only 12' high! Our 5er measures 12'9" at the top of the AC. So now what. Well I'm going ahead with an offer on the house to reflect the current market and a contingency that an overhead door company can bring the opening up to at least 13'. It isn't doable with the current rollup but I'm hoping that perhaps a panel style door on tracks may be the solution. Going to meet a rollup door guy up there next Tuesday for his opinion and to get an estimate of the cost involved. I think it was kind of short sighted of the original owner to put up a 12' door but what are ya gonna do. Properties like this don't come on the market very often in the area we would like to live in.Has anyone here had any experience with a situation like this? If so how did you solve it? Here is a picture of the building.Steve

I am sure the 12' door covered anything/everything he ever anticipated using it for. I have a 30'x40' building with 10' doors at each end that I built well before I ever considered buying an RV of any kind. And still have no plans to put one there. Handles my tractor, implements, and utility trailer fine.As far as modifications, it will depend entirely on the internal wall framing and the overhead clearance between the top of the door framing and the roof framing. From the pictures I am guessing there is not room to raise the door opening a foot and have room for a roll door above it.If possible I would go with a garage type panel door any way. The roll doors can't be insulated and, if like mine, do not seal well at all around the sides and bottom letting wind blow dirt/dust/leaves in. The rest of my building is fully insulated but door radiates heat internally when the sun shines on it. That was my oversight.

Assuming that the walk-thru door is a standard 80 inch door, then it looks like the larger door opening is about 13 ft tall. So does that mean the clearance is less than the door opening due to the roll-up door hanging too low? If so, I agree that a sectional door can fix the clearance issue by allowing full use of the frame opening. How wide is the door, maybe 14ft? My sectional door is 13-1/2 ft tall and 14 ft wide and I wouldn't want anything less. It is a commercial insulated steel door and weighs about 400 lbs. I also recommend the Chamberlin Liftmaster door opener, it mounts on the torsion bar shaft, self programs stop points and works great. Much better than the usual chain drive system with a very long chain.

BB_TX wrote:I am sure the 12' door covered anything/everything he ever anticipated using it for. I have a 30'x40' building with 10' doors at each end that I built well before I ever considered buying an RV of any kind. And still have no plans to put one there. Handles my tractor, implements, and utility trailer fine.As far as modifications, it will depend entirely on the internal wall framing and the overhead clearance between the top of the door framing and the roof framing. From the pictures I am guessing there is not room to raise the door opening a foot and have room for a roll door above it.If possible I would go with a garage type panel door any way. The roll doors can't be insulated and, if like mine, do not seal well at all around the sides and bottom letting wind blow dirt/dust/leaves in. The rest of my building is fully insulated but door radiates heat internally when the sun shines on it. That was my oversight.You are correct in that the rollup wont work, no room to raise the roll when the door is up. The rest of the building is not insulated and I'm not sure if that is a problem or not in that area. It is an arid climate and gets pretty warm in the summer, some days over 100* but mostly high 80s to low 90s. All around the area where the siding and roof meet the frame at the ends in the high parts of the siding there is daylight, I think this is done to allow the building to breathe.Steve

We went through the same problem three years ago. Called around and found a company that installed roll up doors. He removed the header in the front of our pole barn to maximize the door opening to 13 feet so that our a/c would clear. Now the door is the same height as the rafters in the pole barn. We did have a sectional type panel door but the tracks would not allow a new door to give the maximum 13 foot opening as the tracks and the panel door hang under the rafters in the barn. Maybe the roll up door does not seal as well as the panel door but you get the maximum opening when it is rolled up.I know it is expensive to alter the door opening and install a new door but it is cheaper than building a new storage building.

Two possibilities. Low profile a/c unit. Might not get you all that you need. Concrete saw. Cut out the paths of the tires down to the stone base. Maybe lower. Install some drains then repour concrete at a lower level. Sloping them out the door so water does not run in. Just some thoughts.

Rollup door to dang short by 8" | Good Sam Community

BB_TX
Nomad
Aug 21, 2013
I am sure the 12' door covered anything/everything he ever anticipated using it for. I have a 30'x40' building with 10' doors at each end that I built well before I ever considered buying an RV of any kind. And still have no plans to put one there. Handles my tractor, implements, and utility trailer fine.
As far as modifications, it will depend entirely on the internal wall framing and the overhead clearance between the top of the door framing and the roof framing. From the pictures I am guessing there is not room to raise the door opening a foot and have room for a roll door above it.
If possible I would go with a garage type panel door any way. The roll doors can't be insulated and, if like mine, do not seal well at all around the sides and bottom letting wind blow dirt/dust/leaves in. The rest of my building is fully insulated but door radiates heat internally when the sun shines on it. That was my oversight.
Dayle1
Explorer II
Aug 21, 2013
Assuming that the walk-thru door is a standard 80 inch door, then it looks like the larger door opening is about 13 ft tall. So does that mean the clearance is less than the door opening due to the roll-up door hanging too low? If so, I agree that a sectional door can fix the clearance issue by allowing full use of the frame opening. How wide is the door, maybe 14ft? My sectional door is 13-1/2 ft tall and 14 ft wide and I wouldn't want anything less. It is a commercial insulated steel door and weighs about 400 lbs. I also recommend the Chamberlin Liftmaster door opener, it mounts on the torsion bar shaft, self programs stop points and works great. Much better than the usual chain drive system with a very long chain.
57_Panhead
Explorer
Aug 21, 2013
BB_TX wrote:
I am sure the 12' door covered anything/everything he ever anticipated using it for. I have a 30'x40' building with 10' doors at each end that I built well before I ever considered buying an RV of any kind. And still have no plans to put one there. Handles my tractor, implements, and utility trailer fine.
As far as modifications, it will depend entirely on the internal wall framing and the overhead clearance between the top of the door framing and the roof framing. From the pictures I am guessing there is not room to raise the door opening a foot and have room for a roll door above it.
If possible I would go with a garage type panel door any way. The roll doors can't be insulated and, if like mine, do not seal well at all around the sides and bottom letting wind blow dirt/dust/leaves in. The rest of my building is fully insulated but door radiates heat internally when the sun shines on it. That was my oversight.

You are correct in that the rollup wont work, no room to raise the roll when the door is up. The rest of the building is not insulated and I'm not sure if that is a problem or not in that area. It is an arid climate and gets pretty warm in the summer, some days over 100* but mostly high 80s to low 90s. All around the area where the siding and roof meet the frame at the ends in the high parts of the siding there is daylight, I think this is done to allow the building to breathe.

Steve
michael8rc
Explorer
Aug 21, 2013
We went through the same problem three years ago. Called around and found a company that installed roll up doors. He removed the header in the front of our pole barn to maximize the door opening to 13 feet so that our a/c would clear. Now the door is the same height as the rafters in the pole barn. We did have a sectional type panel door but the tracks would not allow a new door to give the maximum 13 foot opening as the tracks and the panel door hang under the rafters in the barn. Maybe the roll up door does not seal as well as the panel door but you get the maximum opening when it is rolled up.

I know it is expensive to alter the door opening and install a new door but it is cheaper than building a new storage building.
schlep1967
Nomad
Aug 21, 2013
Two possibilities. Low profile a/c unit. Might not get you all that you need. Concrete saw. Cut out the paths of the tires down to the stone base. Maybe lower. Install some drains then repour concrete at a lower level. Sloping them out the door so water does not run in. Just some thoughts.
Sledge_Hammer
Explorer
Aug 21, 2013
I have a friend that lifted his entire building to get clearance for his Allegro Bus.
57_Panhead
Explorer
Aug 22, 2013
Dayle1 wrote:
Assuming that the walk-thru door is a standard 80 inch door, then it looks like the larger door opening is about 13 ft tall. So does that mean the clearance is less than the door opening due to the roll-up door hanging too low? If so, I agree that a sectional door can fix the clearance issue by allowing full use of the frame opening. How wide is the door, maybe 14ft? My sectional door is 13-1/2 ft tall and 14 ft wide and I wouldn't want anything less. It is a commercial insulated steel door and weighs about 400 lbs. I also recommend the Chamberlin Liftmaster door opener, it mounts on the torsion bar shaft, self programs stop points and works great. Much better than the usual chain drive system with a very long chain.

Sadly that is not the case. The door is just over 6' and the siding is not 10" per panel but 9". I just ran up there to re-measure and it is 146" from the concrete to the header. Wish it wasn't so but it is what it is.

Steve
michael8rc
Explorer
Aug 22, 2013
What is the height of the rafters to the floor? Can the door header be moved up to the level of the rafters?
57_Panhead
Explorer
Aug 22, 2013
michael8rc wrote:
What is the height of the rafters to the floor? Can the door header be moved up to the level of the rafters?

There are no real rafters as in a wood construction building. Picture if you can a steel RV Port like a carport, they have a steel frame with sheet metal skin on it. This building is like that with the skin all the way to the ground and ends with doors.

Something along these lines but completely covered with doors on both ends:
RV Storage cover

Steve
Peg_Leg
Explorer
Aug 22, 2013
I have a 10' foot high door with 10' side walls. It doesn't look to me like you'll have enough clearance for the drum.

Something to consider is a hangar style door. Hinged across the middle horizontally so the middle moves out from the building when opening. The same opener could probably be used. I saw a farmer with this style on several of his barns. Most of the time he has them open providing a little extra shaded work area. It would probably take a 14' opening to clear your 12' 9", which is going to put you very near the top. Don't know if it would work but food for thought.

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Rollup door to dang short by 8"

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