Some of the challenges installers run into are end walls not being secure,such as the above picture shows. The problem with this is that there is no support under the wall and when adding the weight of the garage door to this is can actually pull the wall away from the other wall. Some contractors will insist that it's ok to install in this situation however on this particular job there was two doors to be installed and none of the front walls were bearing on a solid foundation. And under no circumstances is it ok or even safe to install a garage door on an unsupported wall,no matter what the contractor tells you or the installer. Just think of 300- 500 lbs of steel and material crashing down and you'll get the idea of what can happen. The center wall is right below and the far end wall looked the same as this one.
Another issue installers run into far to frequently is a mess such as the one below. Right now is the busy season for overhead door companies and installers. When we run into jobs like this it makes it all that much more challenging to do a safe and effective install. It also serves to make for a rough start to any installers day this time of year because he generally has 4-6 other installs to do that day. I will say that the framing was very good and it shows an excellent example of how the backing should be done for a proper installation. The only issue I had with this job was that between the two doors the framer used a 2x6 and a 2x4 instead of two 2x4's leaving no room to run the photo cell wires for the operators into the wall for a nice clean finish when the dry walling is done.
This is the Calgary Health Trust lottery home. This is an excellent example of how nice and clean the job should be for the installer to come in and install the door. The supervisor was readily available for any issues or questions, he even when so far as to locate backing inside the finished ceiling for the back hang of the door for me when I was installing the door. I've run into absolute nightmare job sites where I have installed a door and it turned out nice and clean however,it does not make for a good start,middle or end to any installers day. The easier it is for him to get the job done the better the job is going to turn out. A messy job site and work area makes it very challenging to so do a job safely and properly.
All in all,the the cleaner the job is when the installer comes to install the door the easier it is for him or her to do a neat and tidy job. Consider for a minute how heavy the sections are on some of the custom doors and you'll appreciate what we have to do to get the job done so that you as a homeowner can have a safe and dependable garage door.
