Is it hard to install a garage door? Depending on your level of competency with do-it-yourself projects, this would be an intermediate-level project. If your garage door is north of 20 years old, then an update is needed to a newer, safer, and easier to use garage door. The garage doors themselves, are very heavy. Even heavier if weighted with insulation and could weigh up to 400 lbs. Get a helper with this, when you are ready. This garage door installation will take between 8 hours to 12 hours and will possibly save hundreds of dollars. But, be mindful to finish the day you begin and not allow the installation to carry over to the next day. There will be a security risk to your home and property.

Good items to have on hand before you begin are:

• Safety glasses
• Step ladder
• Sawhorses
• Screwdriver, include a Phillips head, too.
• Drill wrench
• Pliers socket set
• Level masking tape
• Shims weatherstripping

Demolition is the best part and it is the first thing you will need to do. Demo the doors, tracking rails, hardware, and all components and mechanisms. Throw them out. Be careful with the garage door panels as they can be very heavy and with deteriorating hardware. Unforeseen accidents can happen here. Again, be careful with removing the spring, especially a tension spring, you may want to get a professional to help you with this. If not, carefully release the tension and cables. Prepare your workspace to be clean and uncluttered.

Layout your components and take inventory. This will save time from running back and forth to the hardware store. If you are working with a kit, make sure everything is included. If you will be installing an automatic door opener, make sure it has auto-reverse and photoelectric eyes. With the addition to the automatic door opener, you will need a support strut and an opener bracket. The photoelectric eyes are located at each bottom corner of the garage opening. If the laser beam connecting the eyes is broken, the door will auto-reverse. If the lenses are not internally connected the garage door will not work. As an automatic door, you can opt for a standard chain-driven motor or a belt drive motor which is smoother and quieter.

Lightly insulated steel doors weigh less than wood or hardboard doors but are heavier than aluminum, fiberglass, or a wood composite. Steel doors are a good option for handling the installation and their weight makes the tension springs more manageable. Make sure you opt for a pinch-less door which is a good safeguard from finger injuries or amputations. Steel garage doors come in standard height and widths of 8 – 9 feet wide and 7 feet tall for a single door and 16 feet by 7 feet tall for a double garage door. Both are readily stocked and come in easily manageable panels. Any custom size will need to be ordered and custom manufactured.

According to Russell Madden, Jr. of This Old House, installing a steel garage door will take 6-8 hours with a crew. Russell begins by attaching rollers and hinges to the bottom panel and then centers the panel in the opening and matches up the rollers with the side tracks. Attach the brackets to the tracks. Attach the remaining panels with the rollers and hinges and center in the opening, just as the first panel. Place the level on top of the third panel. Install the horizontal track and level. Stand back and check the alignment so far, make any adjustments then tighten all screws. Over the header, install the torsion spring and header. Install the garage door motor. Now, test by opening and closing the garage door.

If you purchase your new garage door in a kit, read the instructions carefully. Enlist a helper or crew. And, talk to an expert garage door installer like Ace Garage Door. Garage door installations can be tricky and dangerous for a do-it-yourself beginner.