Garage Doors

[JEBar]

over the last month we've been collecting estimates to have two garage doors replaced .... I never ceased to be amazed at just how expensive it can be to have such things taken care of these days and this has been no exception .... all together we had folks from 5 different companies come by .... in cost, there is a just over $500 spread from the most expensive to the least expensive estimate .... with the decision made, I just booked the company to replace the doors one week from today (Friday, March 4th) .... our detached garage doesn't have a separate entrance door .... for that reason we had them price in a door that can be opened during a power outage .... other than that it should be a pretty straight forward job .... we don't park vehicles in ours so it pretty well filled with mowers, kids battery vehicles, boat accessories and bunches of other stuff .... one of our sons will be coming by either late Thursday or early Friday to help clean out space for them to work .... the doors have been there since the late '70's/early 80's, we'll be very happy to see them go

[Sir Henry]

The joys of home ownership! My garage is completely empty.

[dave77]

How much $$ for the new doors? I had a 16' plain jane door installed for a $1000 back in 2006, I imagine they're quite a bit more now. My door has a release so it can be opened and closed without power but you have to hook it back up to have the door locked. I do have a separate entrance door.

I built my garage specifically for my new Miata so it's always parked in it. A friend helped me with the slab and a crew came and put the carport up, I paid to have the garage door installed but did all the rest myself. My total cost back then was right around $6000.

It is nice to have a place for my tools and stuff and although it's not heated it is insulated so unless it's really cold I can run a couple of space heaters and get it warm enough to be OK when I need to work on something in the Winter.

[JEBar]

our best quote has been just over $2,800 for removing and hauling off the 2 current doors along with both motors, tracks, etc .... then installing 2 new 9' X 7' doors along with 2 new motors and all other necessary tracks/hardware .... one new motor will have a battery backup to run it when the power is off .... every person who gave us a quote told us that the doors and hardware cost them more today than they charged their customer 3 or so years ago

[dave77]

Not as much as I thought it would be for 2 doors and openers.

[Hatchdog]

That battery backup is a great idea. Never heard of that.

[JEBar]

Not as much as I thought it would be for 2 doors and openers.

one of the facts I have been wrestling with centers on if we should not install two electric door openers, install one electric door opener, or even if wouldn't make more sense to not install any electric openers .... as noted, the garage is not attached to our home, it doesn't have a separate regular door, and its main function is that of a storage facility ... the electric openers are a considerable convenience but certainly aren't a necessity .... even now that we have placed a firm order, I'm still waffling

[dave77]

Maybe try them without openers, you can always have openers installed later. Are the doors you are getting capable of being locked? My door doesn't have any locking hardware, it's just the opener that keeps it secure. Did the doors you are replacing have openers? If the mounts for the openers are already there it won't require much labor to install new ones so you probably won't save that much, openers with battery backup are only around $200.

https://www.lowes.com/search?searchTerm ... 4294858020

[JEBar]

I'm sure that the doors they are going to be installed don't have individual locks and as you mention the locking open or closed comes from the the lift motors .... we are pretty well locked into the ones we contracted and that's not a bad thing

[fortyshooter]

My doors have the torsion spring and work well. Have never had an electric door opener.

[JEBar]

where we've lived since '78 is the only place we've ever had a garage .... its always had electric garage door openers but they haven't worked in several years .... where we really like them is being able to push a remote and open them in bad weather .... doing so cuts down the time we are standing in the rain while unlocking and manually raising the doors

[Shakey Jake]

My doors have the torsion spring and work well. Have never had an electric door opener.

I passed on the electric opener this last time also. The torsion bars work great and a lot faster just to open the darn things than wait for an opener.
Jake

[dave77]

My doors have the torsion spring and work well. Have never had an electric door opener.

I passed on the electric opener this last time also. The torsion bars work great and a lot faster just to open the darn things than wait for an opener.
Jake

I would think as far as saving time it would take longer when coming home to get out of the car and open the door and then get back in to drive it into the garage than waiting for the opener. And when you leave you would have do the same, get out, put the door down and then get back in. Of course I'm usually driving my Miata and as I'm getting older it is getting harder for me to get in and out of it. . I'm just not willing to give up the convenience of an electric opener especially considering how cheap they are. I do have a regular sized door at the back of my garage so if I'm just going into the garage for something and not taking the car out I don't have to open the big door.

[BigAl52]

I have electric opener’s. Had the door guy from the company come and rebuild the openers and replaced all the rollers in the doors before I retired. They were about 18 years old then. I also installed the MyQ system. Works good I can open my garage from anywhere. I never wait for my door to open. The app also tells me if the door is open or closed

[JEBar]

interesting system .... ours won't be anywhere near that high tech

[BrokenolMarine]

Maybe try them without openers, you can always have openers installed later. Are the doors you are getting capable of being locked? My door doesn't have any locking hardware, it's just the opener that keeps it secure. Did the doors you are replacing have openers? If the mounts for the openers are already there it won't require much labor to install new ones so you probably won't save that much, openers with battery backup are only around $200.

https://www.lowes.com/search?searchTerm ... 4294858020

Our new system has a switch on the inside door control that you can flip to lock the door openers if you are leaving for vacation or going out of town for the weekend. You open the door, flip the switch to locked, drive out and close the door with the remote. It won't open with the remote again until you come through the house and return the switch to unlock. However, if someone broke in, and pulled the track release they could open the doors manually.

So, if we leave for any length of time, I put a lock thru the track against a runner wheel, freezing the door in the down position, and turn off the door opener to prevent accidental activation damaging the system. Once we return, I remove the locks and restore the system.

Overkill? Maybe, but with my career, I've seen houses cleaned out while folks were on vacation. I've never been able to relax when I'm gone, alarm system, cameras, and all.

[Shakey Jake]

Maybe try them without openers, you can always have openers installed later. Are the doors you are getting capable of being locked? My door doesn't have any locking hardware, it's just the opener that keeps it secure. Did the doors you are replacing have openers? If the mounts for the openers are already there it won't require much labor to install new ones so you probably won't save that much, openers with battery backup are only around $200.

https://www.lowes.com/search?searchTerm ... 4294858020

Our new system has a switch on the inside door control that you can flip to lock the door openers if you are leaving for vacation or going out of town for the weekend. You open the door, flip the switch to locked, drive out and close the door with the remote. It won't open with the remote again until you come through the house and return the switch to unlock. However, if someone broke in, and pulled the track release they could open the doors manually.

So, if we leave for any length of time, I put a lock thru the track against a runner wheel, freezing the door in the down position, and turn off the door opener to prevent accidental activation damaging the system. Once we return, I remove the locks and restore the system.

Overkill? Maybe, but with my career, I've seen houses cleaned out while folks were on vacation. I've never been able to relax when I'm gone, alarm system, cameras, and all.

The old doors could open if the electric went out so I always put a bolt and nut on the rail in front of one of the runners. I don't know if the new openers have a way to prevent manual opening when the electric is off.
Jake

[Hatchdog]

“ Our new system has a switch on the inside door control that you can flip to lock the door openers if you are leaving for vacation or going out of town for the weekend. You open the door, flip the switch to locked, drive out and close the door with the remote. It won't open with the remote again until you come through the house and return the switch to unlock. However, if someone broke in, and pulled the track release they could open the doors manually. ”


Thanks for this, my opener has the lock position on the switch but I have never been able to make it work.

Owners manual, reading directions……. Ya, I know…..

[JEBar]

first picture old door on the left .... new on the right .... 2nd picture two new doors .... the install of all new equipment took a day and a half .... not much apparent improvement is apparent in the pictures but in person the difference in performance remarkable ...

[dave77]

Now you need to put a coat of paint on the building to match the shiny new doors.