All vertical track, no horizontal. The door rises straight up the wall above the opening, which keeps the ceiling free for wash equipment, cranes, lights, and ductwork. Fabricated in 304 stainless for high-moisture and high-cycle buildings.
Vertical lift uses vertical track for the full travel. The door rises straight up past the header and parks against the wall above the opening. There is no radius and no horizontal track, so nothing hangs from the ceiling.
It needs wall height roughly equal to the door height plus room for the spring assembly, typically about 12 inches. That makes it a tall-wall configuration: warehouses, dock doors, wash bays with equipment overhead, and industrial buildings with high eaves.
Vertical lift runs on dedicated vertical-lift cable drums, which are tapered so cable tension stays even as the door rises. Drums, shaft, bearings, head plates, and track are quoted together because they are sized to each other.
The track itself is simple. The sizing of drums, shaft, and springs to the door height and weight is where the engineering is.
2-inch track and rollers for lighter commercial doors on tall walls. Full-height verticals in stainless, mounted on continuous angle.
Best for: Lighter commercial doors up to about 14 feet
3-inch track and rollers for tall, heavy industrial doors. Heavier profile, heavier angle, bearing plates and shaft to match the door weight.
Best for: Heavy doors, 3-inch panels, high-cycle openings
Because the track runs the full travel, vertical lift almost always mounts on full-height stainless angle bolted to steel or masonry rather than on jamb brackets.
Best for: Steel-frame and block buildings
Tapered vertical-lift drums (850-11 and 1100-18 in our catalog) sized to the door height and weight, on stainless head plates with greaseable bearings.
Best for: Every vertical-lift door; drums are selected on the quote
Measure from inside the building. Photos of the wall above the opening and the ceiling structure save a round of questions.
Not sure how to measure? The Track ID Guide shows where each dimension is taken. Photos of the opening from inside help more than anything else.
Usually a jackshaft operator mounted on the torsion shaft, because there is no horizontal track for a trolley operator to ride. Tell us what operator you have or plan to use on the form.
Door height plus the spring assembly, usually about 12 inches, measured from the top of the opening to the lowest obstruction. If you are short by a few feet, high lift gets you most of the benefit.
Often, on the same panels: new track, drums, cables, head plates, and usually springs. Send photos and measurements and we will tell you what carries over.
Long sections ship LTL freight, curbside, and may need an appointment. Shorter runs and hardware ship UPS. The quote states the shipping method, the lead time, and whether a liftgate is needed.
