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Alberta Canada | Have a hayshed I am sheeting in for equipment storage. Want to put a 25ft wide x16ft tall door on the front. Have a 18ft side wall. Looking at building a bifold door. Overhead doors are too pricey for an old shed and only opening a handful of time a yr. No room for sliders either the way the shed sits. Looking for ideas and pictures on how to build a door. Havnt seen any up close, is there a track it runs on the sides? Is it realistic to build one for under $2000? Whats needed for end wall support?
Edited by 9520Deere 11/13/2011 15:52
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| Have you considered a verticle panel door on a cannon ball track that rolls around the corner inside. Probably not ideal but safer and eazier to build than a bifold. |
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southern Illinois | I don't see how you could build a bi fold door for 2000. I'm building a hydraulic 16x24 one piece door right now and it is around 3000 for everything. I already have sheet metal to sheet it with so you'd have to add that also if you didn't have that metal. Anything to do with metal is really high right now.
End support usually is tying the bottom of the first rafter to the top of the second rafter to stiffen everything up good. |
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Sibley county Minesota | Have you priced a Highfold bifold door neighbor bought one very reasonably priced I think his was about $6500 for a 18'x42' door. |
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Lantry, SD | We built a 40x12 Bifold a couple of years ago for a T-hanger, I think we probably had less than 1500 in it then. Are you wanting to put an electric motor on it or just use a counterweight? |
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NW Wyoming | We built one for our shop several years ago only ours is 18 wide 13.5 feet tall on the header. I would have to go and measure but I think the actual door is 16 feet tall. We used 4x4 square tubing to make a freestanding frame and header for support and then welded it to the endwall door opening that was on the shop. We used a worm gear drive to lift it with with three cable spools that lifts the door. The spools are mounted close to the bottom of the door and the motor is on the door. If we were to do it over, we would probably mount the motor in the header somehow so it is not on the door (mostly for ease of wiring). The other thing I would probably do differently is use straps like you use on semis for the lift instead of cable. For limit switches we used a a piece of allthread with a couple of nuts with washers welded to them to adjust the limits of the door. The we ground slots in the washers and there is a piece of strap that bolts in the box to keep the nuts from turning on the threaded shaft. The limit shaft is driven of the opposite side of the lift gearbox. I will try to post pictures. I think that the door is made of 1x3 rectangular tubing and sheeted with tin. On a door as wide as you are talking, I would probably ad a truss support on the inside of the door at the bottom to prevent sagging. Ours sags probably about an inch at the ends then fully open but springs back when closed. We used rollers on the bottom corners of the door that ride up the header frame we built. We used the heaviest piano hinge we could find and welded it in the center and the top of the door. It is sprayed inside with urathane insulation because it is on our shop. You will need kickers on the cable to get the door to fold out before it starts to lift or else it will bind and then pop out kind of violently. Don't ask how I know this. For the latches we used some latches from a set of snap on duals we had on a tractor It is not as convenient as a commercial bifold but it has been great for at least ten years now and was probably half what a commercial door would have cost. I think at that time it was a little over $2500 for the door without the insulation
Edited by sbfarms 11/13/2011 17:20
 (Door.jpg)
 (Drive.jpg)
 (Kickers.jpg)
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 Door.jpg (51KB - 827 downloads)
Drive.jpg (48KB - 776 downloads)
Kickers.jpg (36KB - 785 downloads)
Latches.jpg (47KB - 885 downloads)
Limit switches.jpg (49KB - 839 downloads)
Motor.jpg (44KB - 715 downloads)
Roller.JPG (76KB - 845 downloads)
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| Most bifolds want more than 2 feet top hinge to door bottom when open to keep from loosing too much bending strength when open. Can't go flat have to keep a considerable triangle for strength.
Gerald J. |
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Flandreau, SD | I see you don't have a brake on the motor? I just did it cause the factory doors have a brake. I might steal the limit switch box idea from you.
 (door 004.jpg)
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door 004.jpg (53KB - 858 downloads)
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NW Wyoming | The ones we looked at didn't have a brake and we haven't had a problem. I think with a wider door, I would add a brake. If you want the wiring diagram I can email it to you if I can copy it from the door of the control box it is glued to. |
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Grandview Mo. | Reminds me of my RAF Alconbury (England). We had the use of a hangar for our flight line snow removal equipment. This hangar had a hydraulic bi-fold door on it. I suppose it was 150' across and 40' tall. Took a while to operate fully, but it was pretty cool. |
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Alberta Canada | Havnt decided yet on a motor or counter weight. Can pull power in easy. The shed is sheeted with plywood and have some tin left over from another shed I was thinking of using on the door. Have a tarp hanging in it right now but the wind likes to rip and tear it up over the winter. |
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Sac & Story county IA | The bigger the "V" when the door is open, the better. 3 feet is better than 2. With new 4x2x 11 ga and 3x2x11ga skeleton and heavy steel rails and header, maybe 14 inch I beam, you won't come in under $2000. Unless your scrounging skill is good. Figure 2 hp motor and 60:1 worm gear box. Some doors need a brake and some don't. The 4 inch wide straps are way more docile when they are loose than wire rope. |
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America | Converted a new bifold from cable to strap. Have a bunch of new parts that I am soon going to list if you are interested email me. [email protected] |
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| I built 3 for my warehouse 16' side walls, doors are 16x16 , actual 14' ht opening , don't know actual cost but I'd say around 1500.00
Edited by tooth and nail 11/13/2011 19:17
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Kingston, Iowa | If your willing I'd like a copy of the wiring diagram. That looks slick. Does your door have to cycle clear thru open or close? Or do you use a drum switch or the like to reverse it as well? |
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NW Wyoming | Door can be stopped and reversed in any position except within 2 inches of closed and 2 inches of open as the limit switches have already closed. Has a three position toggle switch with two motor contactors and runs on 230 volt single phase. Needs the contactors to reverse. I will post pictures of the main control box and wiring diagram tomorrow. |
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NW Wyoming | Here is the picture of the bifold door wiring.
The contactors, transformer and toggle switch are all in the control box, the limit switches are on the door driven by the motor as pictured above.
 (Door Wiring.jpg)
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Door Wiring.jpg (24KB - 855 downloads)
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Kingston, Iowa | Thank You |
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Farm Built Bi Fold Doors
