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My current garage door is recessed about 8" into the wall of the garage. This seems to be a pretty standard practice, however, I'm wondering if moving it closer to the outside could cause any potential issues.

enter image description here

Why this came up in the first place is for 2 reasons:

#1. The bottom of my garage door has a larger gap on one side than on the other (see https://i.stack.imgur.com/U1IId.jpg). It appears that there is some room for adjusting the tracks, however, whoever installed the door initially adjusted the track that would need to go down - all the way down and the track that would need to come up - all the way up. I believe my only option at this point is to drill new holes for the brackets, however it's only about a 3/4" difference and I'm afraid the lag bolts will break through to the old holes and won't be secure.

#2. The 2x8 garage door jamb has completely rotted out at the bottom and lets in water and critters. I definitely need to replace it (possibly with PT wood?) and possibly wrap it in some sort of aluminum (what is typically done here?)enter image description here

The way it is currently framed is 2 2x4's attached perpendicularly to the walls 2x4 stud and a 2x8 attached parallel to the wall stud and perpendicular to the 2 2x4's which forms the outside jamb of the door opening (see diagram & photo below). Is this how it is typically done? What is the correct way? enter image description here enter image description here

I can remove the 2 2x4's and "shift" the garage door 3" closer to the outside - installing the garage door track directly into the wall studs (see diagram below). This would be give me a tiny bit more space, I would be able to drill new holes into the wall studs and it would minimize that unsightly corner where the front wall of the garage meets the side wall (a favorite gathering place for spiders, leaves and dirt). Would there be anything wrong with doing it that way? Is there a better or a correct way of framing (or reframing) a garage door opening? Obviously, I would need to adjust the top mounts of the garage door track as well, but that won't be an issue and I'll have full access to do that.

enter image description here

TYIA for any insight!

A few additional photos:enter image description here enter image description here

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  • An interior picture, from the same spot as the last actual picture, but looking up at the header above the garage door and the curve of the track would be helpful. Edit them into your question.
    – FreeMan
    Oct 12, 2022 at 11:56
  • Perhaps they were allowing for the possibility that the garage might be well-insulated (more than 3.5") at some point... Hard to know. Pressure treated is definitely indicated for the lower part of that hunk of wood. Mine transitions to PT with a 45° angle cut.
    – Ecnerwal
    Oct 12, 2022 at 12:57
  • What track are you thinking about adjusting in order to get the garage door all the way down? When you unhook the garage door bracket from the opener does the door go all the way down to the ground? The door doesn't appear to be level either. You should be able to adjust all this without drilling new holes for the brackets.
    – Platinum Goose
    Oct 12, 2022 at 15:34
  • It looks like from your first picture that the door isn't completely down, if you look at the very top section, it doesn't appear to be completely flush with your opening. If you disconnect from the opening, does it go down any farther and completely close the top section? If so, then you may just need to adjust the closed position to be closer to the ground. To counter the unevenness, talk to a garage door company and see if they have a taller gasket that would take up the different between one side of the door and the other.
    – Milwrdfan
    Oct 12, 2022 at 15:39
  • @FreeMan this is at my vacation house and unfortunately I'm not there now to take additional photos - but I have attached the photos I do have. You can't see the header in either of them but I don't believe the header is any thicker than the wall.
    – Yev
    Oct 12, 2022 at 15:52

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Garage doors are typically installed as your "proposed" plan is shown except that often there is an interior wall covering, This is often drywall with interior trims which the garage door hardware bolts through. You would probably need 2- 2x4's for good solid backing of the hardware lags. And yes, a jamb like you show is typical.

Is there a reason they added the extra sideways 2x4's ? Possibly a wider header beam above which required the extra depth ? Maybe they installed the 2x8 jambs and then had to fir out the wall to meet that (rather than ripping the 2x8 to the appropriate size) ?

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  • So you would typically see the track bolted directly to the king/jack studs of the garage door opening? It's a vacation house and I'm not there now, but I don't believe the header is any deeper than the wall. I'll definitely need to check that.
    – Yev
    Oct 12, 2022 at 16:01

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