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SCMN | We put up a new cold storage shed last year that has sliding doors on each end. Due to the timing and the dirt not being settled we didn't pour any concrete under the doors. We are planning to do something this summer. The doors are 36' wide 18' tall and right now with no track to follow once you pull them off the center post if there is any wind it has some force behind it. I want to form some kind of track to keep them from whipping around. Here are a couple ideas:
A- Just a lip inside the door with angle iron held in with rebar and a regualr center post
B- Set a channel on its side half way in the concrete- will it be ok to drive over?
C- I-beam set half way in concrete- Ok to drive over?
D- Channel set flush down in the concrete- water/ice problems in the winter- install drain path?
E- Combination of A and B
F- Channel bolted on top of concrete- drive over concern?
If the concrete ever heaves I'm in trouble with some of these. Probably just go with A and a regular center post.
Thoughts?
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Ns/Tr co. Ks | My favorite types have with angle iron or pipe embedded in the cement. Then have wheels that are adjustable on the bottom of doors. Then your door won't all hang from the top.
Edited by 4x2188 5/13/2014 14:24
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Crawfordsville, Arkansas | Do whichever is easier to get rocks and dirt dug out of. We have one and it's a once a week job to dig rocks out of it so the door will close. I hate those doors. |
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Macon, IL | I did A and have had no problems in 10 years. Doors are Moroton Alumasteel from 2003 Era if that matters. |
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Brookston, IN | I would recommend "A" but add to additional center post toppers about middle of each door section. That will keep wind from blowing them out, but will still be easy to keep rocks out of. There are several in our area done that way. |
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West Texas | I've got D on mine and I used 2" angle iron, wish now I had used 3" angle. Had it to blow out of the track twice and it is a job to get it back in and tied down while the wind is blowing. Now keep it locked unless I'm using it. |
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w/c Illinois | I like A. Make sure you go deep with your concrete and heaving of the threshold won't be a problem. I'm assuming your building won't be heaving or sinking either, but your header will likely sag some over time. Having a C or a T inside the bottom of the door means your vertical clearance adjustment is more critical. Only downside to option A is there is no protection from the door blowing out once you leave the center post. What about a flat on edge (say 3/8 by 6") with about 1 1/2'' exposed to go up into the bottom of the door? Similar to option E without the horizontal top. Less likely to hook an implement on it and less dependent on perfect door adjustment. I might even leave a few spaces along the run to allow trapped water to drain out. |
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Leesburg, Ohio | I highly recommend "A", with one addition, and here is why:
We have experience with two different buildings over the last 30+ years that have something like your "D" diagram...a channel in the concrete for the bottom of the door to slide in. Ours are not channel iron, but just formed into the concrete itself. They are always filling up with leaves, grass, crop residue from machinery, dirt and gravel, making the doors drag. Cleaning them regularly helps, but it is a constant chore. That's in warm weather. In the winter, no matter if you clean them every day, the next morning they will be blown full of snow and ice, and the doors will not move. So you get out the spud bars and ice scrapers, beat, pry, tear up the door eventually, no matter how careful you are, to get them open.
Trust me, you DO NOT want a channel in the concrete, or a buried channel iron.
With option "A" the doors will still seal up nicely against the lip made by the angle iron, and guide in the center like what is now on your center post, will hold the doors from blowing out. Here is the addition I mentioned above: put two additional "center post" type guides at the middle of each side, for a total of three center guides, so when you open the doors in the wind, that middle guide will hold them from blowing while you slide them open. This arrangement will solve both problems of holding the doors while part way open, and will let all dirt and trash get away instead of being trapped in a channel. We have one older building with these additional guides, with just a lip like "A" above, and it works fine. |
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NE SD | E is the best.....unless you need to use it in the winter. If you need to use it in the winter at all you best go with A and put a couple of posts filled with concrete at can keep the doors from flopping too much. |
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Macoupin County IL | Our door was poured like A then we bolted a T guide to the concrete like the ones in pic C with redhead bolts |
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| Another vote for A. Plenty of slope away from the door on both sides. Heat under the door if you hope to use it in snow/cold weather. |
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Sac & Story county IA | Read the specifications of the door track. Most ag use track is 400 pounds door. That size door will exceed that. Add wind load, too. |
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Sibley county Minesota | I have E its been there 34 years. |
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Northeast Indiana (Auburn) | My Morton's have the "B" method. 31 years and still works good. |
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north central Kansas | My doors have A but only about 8" long in a couple places the length of the door. the door can't actually go anywhere but they're easy to clean if they get dirt or snow in them. |
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North Central IN | Here's mine. Version A. 20X18. Fronts are 30x18. Wind already broke the fronts once. Am planning on cross brace very soon. Pad is just poured inside of door rest of barn is limestone chips.(73's?)
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South Central Illinois | Sometimes a few areas have a small bump of concrete on the outside to secure the door. |
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Morris, IL | We have A, just a center holder, it's kind of the standard around this are. Works really good, if wind is blowing in it won't go anywhere and if it's blowing out you can pull against the stop all all your weight. You only have to keep from going out and not in which helps a ton. It's dug down 4', about 16" bucket but close to 20" on the top. 2x2" angle iron for the lip, and outside of concrete slops down and out pretty good. Easy to clean and keep working in winter. Really nice. Each door half is either fully open or fully closed.
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south east SD | Mine is "A" the lip up is inside the door. The center is where "T" is. Welded the "T" to some long rebar that is buried in the concert. The "T" is as high as the concert lip behind it. Been 13 with no trouble, even in SD winters. I do keep grass, leaves and dirt out of the tracks so they don't freeze up. |
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| Could you just run a 2" x 4" or x 6" rectangular steel heavy wall tube on edge with a couple inches sticking above the concrete all the way across? The door would track on both sides, nothing to clean out and the rain wouldn't run underneath. |
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Cambridge, southwestern Nebraska | We've had some sliding doors that have an "H" shaped piece on the bottom of the door that sits a half inch above a square rail. Has worked good for 30 years. |
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north central ky | We got style A with style c in the center where our (2)15 ft doors come together. We hate them! Our problem is trying to open or close these doors when the wind is blowing. The problem is the wind blowing them out. The concrete lip keeps them from blowing in but if you have 30ft doors open on one end and try to shut the doors on the other end it is very dangerous. We have had the doors almost completely horizontal in the wind and it doesn't take a real big wind. 20-30 mph is more than you want. We will end up installing a full track or just take down and go with overhead door. Good luck |
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| +1 for NEILfarmer. Same set ups we use. No problems. Work perfect. |
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west central wisconsin | You don't mention how wide the shed is, but I assume the door is centered, and that the building is less than 108 feet wide? You might consider having the door extend out past the edge of the building, and protect it with a stub wall, so you can have a reinforced one piece door. Just another idea |
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Sliding Door Track Ideas
