Our old garage door had seen better days – the wood panels were splintered, rust spots covered the tracks, and it was getting harder to lift by hand each time. After over 20 years of service, it was finally time for an upgrade. While I considered hiring a professional for the job, I enjoyed the idea of taking it on myself as a weekend project. Here’s how my garage door replacement went from start to finish.
The first task was disassembling the old door. I started by removing the hardware – winding mechanisms, rollers, hinges and struts. Then it was time to detach each wooden panel by removing nails and screws. With some gentle persuasion from a crowbar, the heavy door finally came free from the tracks in one piece. Getting it out of the garage was the biggest challenge due to its awkward size and weight.
After clearing out the debris, I gave the tracks and surrounding framing a good scrub down. Any rust or built-up grime was scraped away with a wire brush to ensure a clean install surface for the new components. With a fresh blank slate, I was ready for the exciting part – bringing in the replacement door.
My new door came preassembled in two large sections that easily lifted into place with an extra set of hands. Sliding the new rollers onto the tracks and securing them with T-bolts went smoothly. Reattaching the hinges, struts and other hardware was fairly straightforward following the instructions. It took some finessing to get all the pieces fitting neatly together, but within a few hours the door was fully hung and operational.
For extra peace of mind, I contacted my local garage door company, Garage Door Replacement in Richmond, to perform a safety inspection before using the new door. The technician checked the installation, rollers, springs, sensors and mechanics. Everything checked out perfectly installed. I was given the all-clear and some additional maintenance tips for the years ahead.
Overall, this DIY garage door replacement project came together better than expected thanks to some online research, careful planning and attention to detail. The sense of accomplishment felt great. In the end, I saved well over $1000 by doing the labor myself versus hiring a pro. Now I have a beautiful new insulated door that will last many more years with basic care and tune-ups as needed. Taking on large home projects solo is very rewarding when you can cross it off the to-do list yourself.
Meet Rodney, our garage guru. With a wrench in one hand and a can-do attitude in the other, he’s your go-to expert for all things repair and replacement.
