How much, ballpark, does a new garage door cost?

October 20, 2005 9:13 PM

How much, ballpark, does a new garage door cost?

I have a plain, manual lift, 1 car garage door on my house. The lock bar has started coming loose, to the point where a good yank can usually jar the door open enough to crawl under. So I'm in the market for either a replacement garage door lock or a brand spanking new door.

The two sites I've looked at, Clopay and Garaga, both do their darndest to avoid mention of a rough price. So how much is it exactly, in dollars? Low hundreds? High hundreds? Thousand plus?

I'd rather spring for the new door than fix it, but I'd like to know pricewise what I'm looking at. I feel like calling these guys for a quote will only alert them to my timid, frightened consumer pheromones and the bloodlust will kick on.

posted by zogbie to Home & Garden (7 answers total)

I just got a new, insulated and professionally installed single door for $900. Had I gone for the cheaper brand, non-insulated one this could have gone as low as $600. One thing that might add to the cost is if you have the sort of door that tilts open instead of rolling open. If that's the case, you'll have a few hundred dollars in extra costs to frame out the rolling guides and such.
posted by split atom at 9:28 PM on October 20, 2005

I should add that I just went to Home Depot, where they have several brands and installers to put them in for you. (Also, price lists!)
posted by split atom at 9:29 PM on October 20, 2005

Best answer: My husband and I installed two garage doors ourselves just last weekend. There are directions in the box. If you have a drill and a screwdriver you can do it, or find a mechanically-inclined friend to help. Each door was 275.00 - foam insulation and steel clad. We had more classic wooden ones before that but they were ridiculously high maintenance. So we tore them down and started from scratch. We had installed those wooden ones too - we built the garage.

We got our new doors at Home Depot too - they have them in stock and you can take them home. The people there will tell you exactly what you need.
posted by iconomy at 5:47 AM on October 21, 2005

Best answer: I'd budget $300 to $500 for the door.

As iconomy says, garage doors are totally do-able yourself. It's not basic, but neither is it difficult. You'll need no more than the usual tools plus a 2 foot/5 cm length of pipe. Two person minimum, three helps. Tricky parts include getting the tracks straight and level and winding the spring (this is what you need the pipe for).

If you don't want to self-install, the price about doubles.
posted by bonehead at 6:34 AM on October 21, 2005

I third the self-install comment. The most difficult thing you'll find is manuvering pieces. It's doable by anyone willing to show a little patience and forethought. The only part requiring serious care is the spring and it sounds like you can leave the existing one alone.

I haven't been involved in purchasing one in long enough that my price data would be useless but I'd suspect you're just as well off buying from your local big box store. The majority of the price reflects the shipping around of the big honking package and I doubt you'll find many ways to save on that.
posted by phearlez at 8:00 AM on October 21, 2005

Just got an 18 foot by 8 foot Clopay, high end, installed plus motor, $3500. They'll tell you the price if you call them.
posted by docpops at 8:35 AM on October 21, 2005

We paid about one thousand dollars, as it was a condition of our house sale and we didn't have time to do it ourselves. This was in rural Utah.

Then the buyer told us he was going to turn the garage into a spare room, and I threw up a little bit.
posted by mecran01 at 3:34 PM on October 21, 2005