Some customers prefer to attach the three-foot connector to the center style first and then attach the two eight-foot struts to the connector and then the door.

One of our strut connector kit’s excellent features is, we provide:

• Starter holes at the center of each connector.
• Making it much easier for one person to install the strut.
• Starting in the middle of a door with a predrilled hole. 

Note: When assembling the two struts to the connector. It’s more critical where each end of the strut lines up with each side of your door’s end brackets. Braces are 95″ not 96″ or 8′, so you may have a 2-inch gap in some cases in the middle of the strut. Gap or no gap, performance is not affected.

Our biggest complaint is ” the holes don’t line up with all the styles” The styles to the right and left of the center style will not line up with the holes in the strut. Honestly, you get a better, more secure bond to the style if you use the self-drilling TEK screws to make the holes. However, if the new strut is replacing a broken strut, you will want to use the same holes. So, you will have the predrill four holes 1/8 inch wide, so they line up with the holes in the styles.