What's Included in a New Garage Door Install (and How Long It Takes)

The Checklist: What a Complete Install Includes

A garage door is a system: the door sections ride on rollers in a set of tracks, and a spring system does the actual lifting. A complete install replaces that whole system as a matched set. Here's what should be on the list:

If a quote just says "new door, installed," ask which of these lines it covers. A cheaper quote that reuses old springs or skips the seals isn't the same job.

What's Usually Not Included

These are the things that most often come up as a separate line, or as a surprise if nobody mentions them on the measure visit:

• A new opener. Your existing opener is reconnected and adjusted. Replacing it is your call, and it's priced separately. More on that below.
• New exterior trim. The trim around the outside of the opening is often replaced as an option. Be aware that pulling old trim off a stucco house can chip or crack the stucco around it, and that patch can stay visible after the new trim goes on. Ask about it before the day, not on the day.
• Framing or jamb repairs. If the wood the tracks and trim attach to is rotted, split or out of plumb, it has to be fixed before the new door can hang right. A good installer checks this at the measure visit.
• Upgrades you choose. Windows, decorative handles and hinges, a higher insulation level, or higher-cycle springs are usually options on top of the base door.
• Paint and drywall. Touching up the garage walls or the outside of the house around the opening is generally not part of a door install.

Can You Reuse Your Old Tracks?

Sometimes, but it's the exception. New doors normally come with their own tracks, and there are good reasons to use them:

• The tracks have to match the door. The track width, the radius of the curve where the track turns toward the ceiling, and the hardware on the door all have to line up. A new door of the same size can still use different hardware than the old one.
• Old tracks wear. Years of rollers grind the track, brackets loosen, and a track that's been bumped by a car or bent by a door coming off its rollers rarely runs true again.
• A heavier door asks more of them. An insulated door weighs more than the single-layer steel door it often replaces.

Reusing the existing track can make sense when the new door is the same size and lift type, and the old track is straight, solidly mounted and in good shape. That's a judgment call made on the measure visit, not on install day, and it should be written on the quote either way so you know which you're getting.

In the East Valley? Text us a photo of your tracks and we'll tell you whether they look reusable.

Does a New Door Come With New Springs?

It should, every time. Springs do the lifting, and they're wound for a specific door weight. Your old springs were sized for your old door, they're partway through their life, and a new insulated door can weigh a good deal more. Reusing them leaves the door out of balance: heavy to lift, hard on the opener, and quick to wear out both.

Two things to ask about:

• The cycle rating. Springs are rated by how many open-and-close cycles they're built for. Standard springs are commonly rated around 10,000 cycles, and higher-cycle springs are an upgrade worth asking about if you use the garage door as your front door. Our spring lifespan guide compares the ratings.
• Extension or torsion. Some older East Valley homes still have extension springs running along the tracks. A new door is a good time to move to a torsion system; here's how to tell which you have.

Can You Keep Your Garage Door Opener?

Usually, yes. A healthy opener can run a new door. On install day it's disconnected, the new door is hung and balanced, and then the opener is reconnected and its travel limits and force are reset for the new door. The last step is a safety-reverse test.

It may be time for a new opener as well when:

• It's old. Openers made before 1993 don't have the safety sensors at the floor that are required now. Any opener that has needed several repairs is worth a second look.
• The new door is much heavier. A small-horsepower opener that was fine with a light, single-layer door may labor with an insulated two-car door, even when the door is properly balanced.
• You want something it can't do, like quieter belt drive, battery backup, smartphone control, or a wall-mount opener that frees up the ceiling (wall-mount openers need a torsion spring system).

Our guide to repairing or replacing a garage door opener goes through the decision. If you're replacing both, doing them on the same visit saves a second trip.

How Long a Garage Door Install Takes

There are two clocks: the time before install day, and install day itself.

Before install day. It starts with a measure visit, where the installer checks the opening, the headroom above it, the room beside it, the framing and your opener, and you pick the door. Then the door is ordered. Common sizes and styles can come quickly; custom colors, wood-look finishes, windows and non-standard sizes take longer. Ask for the expected lead time when you approve the quote. If you have an HOA, get its approval for the style and color before the order goes in.

Install day. For a standard two-car door replacing an old one, plan on a few hours. Here's roughly how the time goes:

1. Old door out. The old springs are released safely, then the door, tracks and hardware come down and get loaded up for haul-away.
2. Opening checked. The framing and jambs are checked for rot or damage before anything new goes up.
3. Tracks up. The new tracks are mounted, leveled and set to the right pitch.
4. Door stacked. The sections go in from the bottom up, with hinges and rollers attached as each one is set.
5. Springs on. The torsion springs, drums and cables go on, and the springs are wound for the new door's weight.
6. Balanced and sealed. The door is tested by hand for balance, and the bottom and perimeter seals are adjusted.
7. Opener and safety. The opener is reconnected and adjusted, and the safety reverse is tested.
8. Walkthrough. You get shown how it all works, including the manual release, and the old door leaves with the crew.

Add time for a new opener, new exterior trim, framing repairs, an extension-to-torsion conversion, or a second door. Your installer should tell you up front which of those apply to your job.

How to Get Ready for Install Day

• Move the cars out the night before, and clear the driveway in front of the door. The crew needs room to stage the new sections and stack the old ones.
• Clear a few feet inside the opening, plus the walls along both tracks up to the ceiling. Shelving, bikes and anything hanging near the tracks should come down.
• Check the outlet for the opener on the ceiling, and let the installer know if it's on a switch or a GFCI that trips.
• Plan to be home at the start and the end: at the start to confirm the details, and at the end for the walkthrough and remote programming.
• Keep pets and kids inside. The garage will be open, and springs and heavy sections are coming down.
• Have your HOA approval handy if your neighborhood requires one.

Seven Questions to Ask About Any Quote

Use these on every quote you get, ours included. The answers should be in writing:

1. Are new tracks included, or are you reusing mine? If reusing, why?
2. Are new springs included, sized to the new door, and what's their cycle rating?
3. Are the bottom seal and perimeter seal new?
4. Is removal and haul-away of my old door included?
5. What happens with my opener: reconnected and adjusted, or replaced? If replaced, which model?
6. What's not included that might come up on the day: trim, framing, drywall, permits or HOA paperwork?
7. Who warranties what, and for how long: the door and parts, and the installation labor?

Also ask who warranties what, because there are usually two warranties. The door and its parts are covered by the manufacturer, and the length and terms differ by brand and by door model. The installation labor is covered by the installer. On our installs, Farnsworth covers the labor for 1 year. Our garage door warranty guide explains the difference. And if you're comparing financing, see financing a garage door installation.

In the Phoenix area? Call or text (602) 935-9766 and we'll answer all seven for your door before you decide.

Frequently Asked Questions