Bottom guide for Eichler sliding garage doors?
Greetings,
I am lucky enough to have an Eichler with the original bypass "barn doors" with a 4" x 4" post in the center as seen from the street. There is no evidence of any type of guide on the floor (or maybe the garage side frames) to keep the bottoms of the doors, when closed, from swinging inward somewhat if pushed from outside or from banging together when it's windy. Does anyone have a photo/description/source for what might have been there....if anything ever was? Thanks in advance!
There is a metal bracket, similar to the internal grasscloth bypass closet doors, but beefier, that should sit just behind the 4x4 post and is about 6" wide that does exactly what you are describing.
Hi mlbglobal! Okay, so the bottoms of each of my closet doors (I have the aluminum framed burlap covered doors) have plastic blades at both ends that ride in slots in a guide rail fastened to the floor. Translating that to the garage doors, I'm guessing there has to be a continuous "blade" on the underside of each door that rides in a bouble slotted bracket, either fastened to the back of the post or to the floor. Am I visualizing that correctly? Would it be too much to take a photo? I really appreciate your help on this! Thanks so much!
I had issues with getting it posted on here. I shot you a private message shortly after my original post with the picture. If you did not get it, PM me with your email address and I can send it directly.
Either way, the "flat W" bracket is metal, the doors pass over it, it is about 4.5" wide spanning either side of the central post (into each doorway) a bit less than an inch on each side and is shaped like this head on as the doors pass through it:
Garage-facing side |__|__| Street-facing Side
Behind (away from the street) my center post, there is a wood block flush with the concrete floor and that is what the "W" guide bracket is screwed down into.
The "sides" really just need to be a bit taller than the gap at the bottom of the doors; 1"for mine. Unlike your closet, they do NOT need to go all the way across as (1) your bypass garage doors are floating above the floor on a track at the top of your door- the guide is only stopping in/out swinging, so "guiding them" is not necessary; and (2) they never bypass each other completely so the "W" bracket always prevents the doors from moving towards/away from the street by having 4.5" of SOME bottom portion of each door held straight no matter what position either door is in at any given moment.
