A guide to replacing a tilt-up garage door, including the labour costs and what the job entails.
Here, we’ll discuss the work required to replace a garage door and will examine the steps needed, costs involved and potential problems associated with such a task.
The cost of replacement varies according to the types and styles of the garage doors and the materials needed for the procedure. The supply and installation costs for the replacement of tilt-up garage doors (also known as an up & over garage door) can be approximately £750-£2,000 per door while replacing roll-up doors can be approximately £1,000-£2,500 per door. The restoration cost may differ from location to the type of garage door. The insulated garage doors are costly and very expensive, and hence the cost of repair and replacement is also costly as it has layers in it.
Fitting a new garage door is relatively straight forward and will be a task that many DIY enthusiasts can tackle with ease.
The means of replacing your garage door all depends on the door types that you’ve installed in your garage to establish the repairing strategies from that point. Some are more difficult to repair or replace, and that will increase the cost. The roll-up or tilt-up, garage doors, or simple hinged type are by far deemed the most affordable garage door styles to be repaired or replaced. The other models are a bit too complicated for the process and hence needs more money than these door types to be repaired or replaced. This article will focus on roll-up or tilt-up and simple hinged type doors.
Replacing any of these types of doors is relatively cheap, with the simple hinged type being the cheapest type to replace or renovate. Next cheapest tend to be the single-pane tilt-up variety followed by roller-type. Replacing a tilt-up garage door is relatively easy provided that you follow a few simple rules and consider what you are doing as you go.
The two main types of garage door are not dissimilar, though the roller type tend to be motorized and that can add another dimension to the removal and replacement of them. Single pane tilt-up garage doors are among the most simple to replace so it is important to consider that more complicated systems requiring extra work on top of the necessary installation will incorporate higher costs.
Here are some average prices of different types and sizes of tilt-up doors:
| Material | Size | Supply cost | Installation cost | Total cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Timber | Single | £1,130 | £280 | £1,410 |
| Steel | Single | £1,000 | £250 | £1,250 |
| Timber | Double | £2,100 | £275 | £2,300 |
| Steel | Double | £1,650 | £275 | £1,925 |
With a single pane tilt-up door, a torsion spring counterweight system contains one or two compactly wound-up springs on a steel shaft with cable drums at either end. The whole device mounts on the header wall directly above the garage door and has three supports:
The springs themselves contain steel wire with a fixed cone at one end and a winding cone at the opposite end. The fixed cone is attached to the centre bearing plate, and the winding cone consists of holes every single 90 degrees for winding up the springs and two sets of screws to fasten the springs to the shaft. Steel counterweight cables go from the roller brackets located at the lower corners of the door, to a nick in the cable drums. When the door is elevated, the springs uncoil, and the stored tension raises the door by turning the shaft, therefore rotating the cable drums, wrapping the cables around the indentations on the cable drums. When the door is dropped, the cables unwrap from the drums, and the springs are wind back to full tautness.
You will need to take the torsion off the spring before you can start to remove the cables. The tension in the springs vanishes totally as soon as the door is entirely opened. To get it off, open the door completely and block it in this position with G-clamps against any available sturdy metalwork to prevent the door from closing. You can now free the cables and remove the springs without any worry or risk.
Once the cables have been removed, take off the clamps or the locking pliers and slowly close the door. You can now remove the torsion spring. Firstly, lock the door in the closed status. You can either use the locks fitted on the door or use clamps to stop it from opening. Then obstruct the spring shaft with locking pliers leaning against the wall then, slot in one of the winding bars into one of the slots in the winding cone, grip it securely near the top, and unscrew the set screws which are located there. Let the spring slowly unravel towards you and then put in the other winding bar in the hole at the top. Remove the bottom one only when the top one is held securely in your hand. Repeat this process till there’s no tension left in the spring. Repeat the same steps if there’s a second spring. With the tension not there, you can now unfasten the door from its joining points and remove it.
Replacement of the door is a reverse of removing it, being careful to ensure that the door is firmly held in place when you apply torsion to the springs. Once in place, you should check that the door operates properly and adjust it at pivot points if required.
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Here is a list of commonly asked questions regarding replacing a garage door.
If you get all of the parts together before you start work, you can fit most garage doors in around 3-6 hours. Fully electric and other specialist doors take longer than a manual up and over door, since there are many ancillary systems that need to be considered on top of the mechanical parts. In those cases, full installation could take as long as a whole day.
There is no set standard size of garage opening – however, there is a range of the most common imperial sizes available in the UK. You will need to measure your current door and obtain one that is the same basic size, in terms of both width and height.
Most garages haven’t got heating, but your garage door will still influence your property’s energy efficiency. Building resources and insulation innovations for garage doors have enhanced drastically over the last five to ten years. Today’s doors have a tighter seal against the façade to keep out all weather.
If your garage is attached to the house, it’s best to buy an insulated door, particularly if there’s a working room above the garage. It’ll help decrease both noise and energy bills. Also, you should consider the direction your door faces. If it is being heated in the sun all day or getting blasted by the wind, an insulated door will help better regulate the temperature inside. And make it a more balanced feel all year round.
It is recommended that you have your garage door serviced every year to ensure that it continues to work correctly. Servicing of this nature usually involves greasing all mechanical points and checking for signs of wear.
