Thanks everyone!! To the person who asked about garage vs. carport, a garage would take up significantly more room in the yard than a carport since it should accomdate current SUVs, need clearance to open the doors, etc. Plus it would cost twice as much as a nice carport, which would really eat into my budget that's already been severely reduced by miscellaneous projects (all new water lines, new sewer line, new roof, new ductless heating/cooling system...). So I felt a nice carport would be a better choice. While I can agree with the people saying one of those portable carport kits would be tacky & undesirable, I disagree with those who think a nice carport would not be a selling point. No one can say these are not both attractive and functional: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-spmqLmkTWR4/TuEKwLXb6KI/AAAAAAAACOc/wFqtxm1HeNo/s640/IMG_0911.JPG http://www.rbmremodels.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/CarPort-2-564x409.jpg The person who said "all remodels are money losers".....not sure why you would say that. Sure, if someone remodels for their own specific taste, then they may stand to lose money. But if someone is remodeling for resale, to appeal to the broadest range of buyers, and have a good aesthetic sense, then they can stand to net a strong profit. This will be my third flip, I've always netted nice profits. Hmmm..The blue tarp in the pic is 2 houses down and its in someone's backyard along the alley. Not sure what it is. People can mostly do whatever they want in personalizing their property and whatnot except when it comes to additions and major things of that nature. The historic district covers a large neighborhood in the north part of the city: there are "historic" homes (like mine) which date from early 20th century to the 1950s, and there are more modern homes as well, like many of my neighbors. I'm thinking I will just open the fence up with gates so that the concrete patio slab can be used as a driveway for parking. I can certainly use the extra carport money as I still need to rip out the weedy lawns & put sod down next spring, a sprinkler system (maybe), wood floors, wall off part of the large master to create an upstairs ensuite bathroom. It all really adds up to a lot of expense.

The first thing would be to research the building codes for your jurisdiction. This will dictate what you can and cannot do with regard to this project, including applying for the appropriate building permits. I am adding an addition where I currently have a carport (my existing roof extends over this space). In my case, we will have to dig down under the existing slab to determine how the existing roof is being supported. What we find, along with the building codes, could change the scope of the project. And just because it exists, does not mean the previous owner did the construction correctly or current code will apply. Good luck and expect the unexpected....

Thanks, snoonyb. I'm not sure though that I understand your statement regarding setting the operator back 10' from the full open position of the door along with some type of adapter and "J" bracket. Would you by chance have any pictures to help explain? I've got a 7' high door. Ceilings are taller - maybe just under 8' (e.g. 7' 10"). My issue is I have 2 large beams that are parallel to the garage door holding up the floor joists above them (below a garage), which have a clearance of 7' 3". And they sit right at 8'0" from the garage door. Looks like I would be able to install a garage door using low profile tracks, but clearance of an electric opener is questionable as the door and any track would have to fit within that 7'3" clearance when open. I'm hopeful but looking at other options as well. This is what lead me to this page and my question regarding any new technology that came around since this thread started. Any help or comments is much appreciated!

See these pics that i took. As you can see on he left hand side is where we have the 6 inch gap. To make matters worse we have a downward sloped driveway going into the garage so we will need clearance to get into the garage and room for the garage door rails