Hangar door adjustment
 

Our hangar has sliding doors which run along what appears to be the apex corner of angle iron set into the concrete base. The wheels at the bottom of the doors have a vee groove around their circumference and are encased in the welded steel structure of the door frame, whilst the top of the door, or rather an extension of it, runs in the open side of a steel channel, probably with guide wheels although they can't be seen. The hangar appears to be a commercial design, has no identifying name on it, and is about 25 years old at the most. It was dismantled and moved to our club from another airfield about nine years ago.

The problem is that the one of the doors binds when being opened or shut.

As there is so much potential for expansion and contraction on a large structure (the door aperture is approx 18 metres x 2.5 metres), one would have expected some adjustment to allow for expansion/contraction and settling. From what I can see, any adjustment would have to be on the wheels at the bottom, as there is only about 6 to 12mm clearance between the top of the door and the steel channel top guide.

Have you come across anything similar, and what is the adjustment method?

A picture of the offending article(s) might help?

I will get some close ups of the door and runner next time I'm there. In the meantime this is the hangar from the inside.

Nice hangar, can stack a few gliders in there...!


If the top channel section is what I think it is, it will contain sets of 4 wheel trolleys, which roll along the inside of the channel. The metalwork is quite expensive, for 18ft of it I was quoted 250 pounds, but it does last a long time.


If you put the door in the most stiff position, there may be lock-nut adjustments that can be made to ease the binding. Hopefully that will not make the door too loose at the other end of its travel.


Best of luck..

Sounds to me that the two runners, (top and bottom) are not parallel/straight enough/insufficient clearance. Prob not possible to adjust the bottom one by burying it deeper into set concrete, so adjust the top runner up a bit if possible at the sticky bit.
On site visual with the set up is the only way to know.

Pack any parts that assist with the moving process (channels/wheels etc.) with plenty of grease. If nothing else, it should help.

Thanks for the reply scifi. It is a nice hangar and I should add that the photo was taken some time ago. These days, any attempt to swing a cat in there would result in feline fatalities. I.e. its full!

What you suggest about four wheel dollies sounds likely. Its how to access them to make adjustments that's not obvious.

Crash one The channel in which the top of the door runs is part of the structure of the hangar, so raising it would not be a simple matter.

Just watch it when you try and tinker with it.

Have something that can take the weight of the door both sides so it can't fall if it becomes unsupported.

Hanger doors falling have killed before and will kill again.

Trolley Hangers
 

Products - Cannonball: building product supplier

These work very well and adjust from the top, but likely you have a different supplier.

Get a photo of the upper hardware and check out the agricultural suppliers near where the hangar was originally built.

Round track is the way to go if you have to replace the top hardware.