Replacing an old garage door
Garage door replacement: what's involved
Replacing a garage door means taking the old door, its springs and its track or frame out of the opening, making good anything that has rotted or moved, and fitting a new door sized to the opening as it actually is. We supply and fit the new door and take the old one away, so there is one firm responsible from start to finish.
Most people replacing a door are not starting from scratch. They have an opening that has been shaped around an old up and over door, a motor that may or may not be worth keeping, and a garage they use in a particular way. Those three things decide what the replacement looks like.
- Service
- Supply and fit, old door removed
- Door types
- Roller, sectional, up and over, side-hinged
- Covers
- Homes across Northern Ireland
- Starts with
- A measure of the opening
Signs it is time to replace rather than repair
A repair makes sense while the door itself is sound. Replacement becomes the better spend when the fault is the door rather than a part on it.
- The panel or leaf is rusted through, split or badly dented, not just scuffed.
- Parts for the mechanism are no longer made, so every repair is a workaround.
- The door has had the same fault repaired more than once and it keeps coming back.
- You want to add insulation, automation or better security that the old door cannot take.
- The timber or steel frame around the opening has gone soft or rusty at the base.
Step one: the survey and measure
We measure width, height, headroom above the opening and the space to each side, then look at how the garage is used. A car parked tight to the door, storage along the walls or a ceiling that is already full of shelving all rule certain door types in or out.
Openings built for an older door are not always square. Checking the diagonals and the level of the floor at this stage means the new door is ordered to fit, rather than forced to fit on the day.
Choosing what goes in its place
A replacement does not have to be like-for-like. Many homes that had an up and over door move to a roller or sectional because neither swings out onto the drive.
| If you want | Worth looking at |
|---|---|
| Full use of the drive right up to the door | Roller or sectional |
| Ceiling space kept free | Roller |
| The warmest, quietest door | Insulated sectional |
| A traditional look or a side entrance | Side-hinged |
| The simplest manual door | Up and over |
What happens to the old door
The old door is taken down in a controlled way. Up and over doors store energy in their springs, and that tension has to be released properly before anything is unbolted, which is one of the main reasons removal is not a job to attempt yourself. Once it is out, the old door, frame and fixings leave site with us.
Frames, openings and making good
With the old door out, the opening is inspected. A rotted timber sub-frame is replaced, loose fixings are re-set and, where a new door needs a slightly different profile, the opening is packed or trimmed so the door sits true. It is far easier to deal with this while the opening is empty than to fit a new door onto a frame that is already failing.
Keeping or replacing the motor
An existing operator can sometimes be reused if it suits the new door type and is in good order. Often it does not: a boom kit from an up and over door will not drive a roller, for example. If you want the new door automated, it is usually cleaner to specify the motor with the door so the two are matched from the outset.
Questions we get asked
- Do you take the old garage door away?
- Yes. When we supply and fit a replacement, the old door, frame and fixings are removed from site.
- Can I change to a different type of door?
- Usually, yes. The survey confirms whether the headroom and side room suit a roller or sectional; if they do, you are not tied to the type you had before.
- Will my existing opening need building work?
- Most openings take a new door with only minor packing or frame work. If brickwork needs changing, we will tell you at the survey rather than on the day.
- Is it cheaper to repair my old door?
- Often, if the door itself is sound. Our repair or replace guide sets out how to weigh the two honestly.
Replacing a tired garage door?
Tell us what you have now and how you use the garage, and we will measure up and recommend the right replacement.
Based at 31 Mount Street, Dromore (BT25) · covering Northern Ireland · 24/7 emergency repairs