how easy is it to replace an old fashioned solid garage door with roll up panel door?
 

I have an old solid garage door, the kind with the big springs on the side that the whole door gets lifted as one piece.

I need to replace it for obvious reasons but I have never installed a garage door before.

is this something I should pay the idiots at home depot to do or it as easy as following the directions and its pretty fool proof to do?

im figuring on getting one of those cheap $250 doors from home depot since its just a simple plain roll up panel door that is all I need.

please advise? are there any "special" things to expect or will it mount up just like the old swing door mounting points?

thanks for your advice

not hard to do just has too be level and you need 2ft of wall above door.

ok, thanks, I was hoping to hear it was simple and easy.

I will be doing it by myself so I didn't want to get into anything too involved

Keakar. I used to install garage doors for a living. It's ease as long as your opening is under 12x7. 12 foot wide by 7 foot tall. The doors smaller than that will have extension springs down both sides of the doors upper tracks. The larger opening doors have a torsion spring mounted over the door on the header. You have to wind that spring with winding bars. I've head numerous stories of fingers chopped off trying to wind springs with screw drivers....etc.

You basically put the door in the hole and then mount the tracks to the walls. Then open the door half way and then secure the upper tracks to the ceiling. Then open the door fully and clamp it in place. Then you stretch the springs with the supplied cable by hand, and tie it to the upper track.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

As David mentioned, be very careful with the springs. I know someone who lost a finger messing with one.

thanks guys, this will be a basic 8x7 door so no worries about the big door issues.

home depot has one that's $80 off because they left it out in the rain and the box is all messed up but the guy assures me its all there. so im thinking i'll get that one. after all, I think its all aluminum with galvanized tracks right? so if that is the case then im thinking the box getting wet should not have hurt anything

You'll be fine. It's a garage door. They are made to be wet. Lol.

Don't forget to get the weather stripping for around the opening. Install it about a quarter inch from the inside jambs.

After 18.5 years, I had a spring break on my garage door. After doing some research, I learned that the springs are designed for 10,000 cycles and I made an estimate and came up with ~ 9000+ cycles........ so I guess we wore out the spring.

This Door had 2 springs..... a right spring and a Left spring [red and blue].

After a bunch of searching, I bought the 2 springs online for a total of $ 62.31 for 2" dia x 24" long with .225" wire dia.
www.northshorecommercialdoor.com.

To install the spring, I took the 1" dia rod down. After putting the rod with new springs back up, it took a lot of trial and error adjustment on the springs before getting it set "just right".

I have 2 16" long rods that I use to turn the spring to get the spring" loaded up" to support the door weight while in use. And YES, I was carful. This is not the first time I have adjusted door springs.

Note: When opening and closing the door manually, it should require the same amount of force. If the spring is too tight or not tight enough......it will require too much force to move the door.

If the door springs are not adjusted correctly to balance the force needed...... the plastic gears in the motor will wear out.

thanks

thanks, I will be careful with it.

I'll mess with a lot of things. Garage doors are not one of them. Door Works in Sulphur has always done a good job with reasonable prices.

When done...be sure and let us know how "simple and easy" it was. :rolleyes:



I tried one myself and found out it wasn't that way. And, it wasn't even a replacement.

Good luck!!