Garage Door Experts?

[Scarpozzi]

My garage just got a concrete floor this week. I'm going to be framing the door jams tomorrow to prepare for garage doors.

Questions:
What brands should I look at?
My door size will be like 7'8"-7'10"...and 9ft wide.

What do most people charge to install to install a new door? This is a new build, so there are no doors/tracks to remove.

Thanks!

 

[mvbighead]

Pretty sure I had one installed recently for $800ish. Right around that mark anyway. That was with old hardware there, but all of it was replaced. They had it done pretty damned quick, and hauled away the old stuff at no charge.

 

[fstime]

Are you installing electric motors as well?

For just one garage door installation, I would say around $300 is a good price assuming you buy all the material. Someone recently installed two doors for around $600.

I think those torsion spring style doors are pretty dangerous to install, a lot of lost fingers installing those so I would get the other type.

Usually, they're three classes of garage doors, most people opt for the middle grade versions if it is a detached garage. If it is an attached garage and something you want very well insulated, I would just go for the 3000 series.

 

[skyking]

What he said about the springs. I did everything on my garage build, from the ground up. I paid for the doors with pleasure.

 

[Scarpozzi]

Thanks for the advice about the springs. I think I've decided to have an expert save me the time on the install. I was more nervous about the height of the door because my floor was poured slightly thicker than I had planned and I already had the door opening framed.

I've got 7'9" and that doesn't seem to be a problem for Clopay and a few others. I've found that you simply can't order odd sizes through Lowe's without going through a lot of trouble. I'm probably going to get a Quote from Home Depot on Clopay, then call 2 local shops and see who can give me the better deal.

 

[fstime]

Places like Home Depot and Lowes usually rape you on prices, I remember they quoted $600 for a standard exterior door install, a 2 hour job.

If you don't have any guys lined up, try Costco while you're at it.

 

[drnickriviera]

torsion springs aren't dangerous if you have any basic mechanical/physics skills, you can safely install and work on them. it helps to have a second person tighten the set screws. There are apparently plenty of darwin award winners out there, as I always have to sign a waiver each time I buy a replacement spring.

Definitely go for a 9' door. 10' if you want to be lazy backing out. Our ram 2500 has a few inches to spare on a 9' door