garage door install ???

[67 455 Bird ragtop]

Is this a DIY task or definately a professional install ???

Here's what I was wondering. I have three 8x8 doors to install. My wall are 12'. Two of the doors will be a basic setup. The third will have a special track to allow it to hug the ceiling since I will use a lift in that bay. I was wondering if I could set the two "normal" doors this weekend then have the installer do the third. I know those springs can be a bear. So I would probably also have the installer finish those also. Or are these guys usually fast at installs where the labor rate won't amount to much??

Any experience or comments on installing garage doors is appreciated.

 

[rgarling]

If you have everything, you might as well try installing one of the doors. When it comes time to tension the spring, if you don't have the right tool or feel uncomfortable messing with it, then let it be. Once you get some tension on it, it can be very dangerous. On the other hand, you might see exactly what the danger is, and protect yourself from it.

 

[aerobb]

Have you purchased the doors yet? I found an installer that gave me a better deal than I could buy the door myself, with installation it was still cheaper.

 

[67 455 Bird ragtop]

Yes I have already purchased the doors. I got them WAY below cost.

 

[nonhog]

Yes I have already purchased the doors. I got them WAY below cost.

I have many times heard the term "widow maker" re: those springs HOWEVER
the guy who installed one for me once never heard of that ?
STUDY !!!!! and be safe !

 

[67 455 Bird ragtop]

I have many times heard the term "widow maker" re: those springs HOWEVER
the guy who installed one for me once never heard of that ?
STUDY !!!!! and be safe !

Trust me . I have NO intentions on messing with those springs.

As a follow up. My installer is stopping by tomorrow morning to discuss installation and give me an estimate. I plan to ask him about me doing a "partial" install to save a few $$. Weather here this weekend is supposed to be rainy so I doubt I'll be installing any shingles. So I am looking for things I can do inside the garage to move thigs along.

 

[turbojimmy]

Just a data point for you: I just had mine 'raised' (existing door tracks moved to hug the ceiling) for $350. Worth every penny to not have to mess with the torsion bar. That price included parts and labor for removal of my overhead springs, installation of the new tracks, torsion bar and necessary adjustments. When you have the door hug the ceiling you need to install tapered drums on the bar. A pro will know how to do it.

I'm in NJ. They should do it for half as much in FL

Jim

 

[JohnZ]

I had one of my 18' x 8' insulated doors converted to a "high-lift" with my 12' ceiling seven years ago by my garage door guy for less than $400, including the added dummy top panel; horizontal tracks are 8" from the ceiling, and the operator track is 2" from the ceiling. Works great, didn't need tapered drums.

 

[turbojimmy]

I had one of my 18' x 8' insulated doors converted to a "high-lift" with my 12' ceiling seven years ago by my garage door guy for less than $400, including the added dummy top panel; horizontal tracks are 8" from the ceiling, and the operator track is 2" from the ceiling. Works great, didn't need tapered drums.

I kind of questioned the need for tapered drums on a door that essentially weighs nothing, but they did it anyway.

Jim

 

[Franz©]

Damn, do I wish I lived near enough to make tons of money off you guys.

Did you ever see a OH door installer who looked like he went to Overhead Door College? Hanging a door is dirt simple. Extending vertical tracks is a walk in the park, and somebody paid $350 to do it.
Absolutely amazing.

 

[markb1]

This is the age of experts.

 

[turbojimmy]

Damn, do I wish I lived near enough to make tons of money off you guys.

Did you ever see a OH door installer who looked like he went to Overhead Door College? Hanging a door is dirt simple. Extending vertical tracks is a walk in the park, and somebody paid $350 to do it.
Absolutely amazing.

Yeah - that was me that paid $350. Bottom line is that my time is more valuable than his. It was a bargain as far as I'm concerned. The guys were nice, courteous and knowledgeable. The $350 paid for what would've been a full Saturday of me screwing around with the tracks, angle iron, torsion bar, cables and drums. I paid him for his experience, as I am paid for mine (albeit in a different field altogether).

If it makes you feel better I work on my own cars....when I have time.

Jim

 

[nova65ss]

Damn, do I wish I lived near enough to make tons of money off you guys.

Did you ever see a OH door installer who looked like he went to Overhead Door College? Hanging a door is dirt simple. Extending vertical tracks is a walk in the park, and somebody paid $350 to do it.
Absolutely amazing.

Damn Franz is there anything you can't do? It's guys like you that keep me in business. Do you know how many times "Mr. Handymans" wife has called us to come fix the mess he made of the garage door? 350 is a very good price for what he got, the parts alone would cost about a hundred. Keep in mind they are running a business that has to turn a profit and have some cash flow. Sounds like you know all about cash flow.

 

[Franz©]

Hey Nova, feel free to post the first time my wife has to call in anybody to repair something I built or fixed.

Kit, you might need a friggin kit, I can do the same job with a scrap piece of track I find layin beside the road. The biggest reason for replacing overhead doors is the halfassed installers who can't screw the hinges on properly and the door falls apart.

Overhead doors are a walk in the park. Let me know when you fix the first one that selfcams the panels and the bottom panel lifts the rest straight up the inside of the wall. No hinges on it either, just links and hooks.

You claim to be an expert, tell the group how to convert a 4 panel door to a bifold.

 

[bluesman2a]

Hey Nova, feel free to post the first time my wife has to call in anybody to repair something I built or fixed.

Kit, you might need a friggin kit, I can do the same job with a scrap piece of track I find layin beside the road.

[Translation]
Chest-beating...Chest-beating... Grumpy Demeanor... Coulda done that cheaper, better, faster, smarter, cooler, blindfolded, with one hand tied behind my back, with a butter knife and a rock... chest beating... grumpy demeanor... I WALKED to school 10 miles before Jesus picked the color of dirt, in three feet of snow, UPHILL, BOTH WAYS, and I killed a bear with my spiral notebook. Chest-beating... all you stupid people waste money on stuff I've known for YEARS... blah... blah... blah...
AUDIENCE: this is your cue to genuflect
[/translation]

It's amazing, this is about the fourth board I've run into Franz on. It's always the same story. His tech is interesting. His insight is sometimes amusing. Mostly he's just a grumpa-saur-us who grates on people until he gets pissed off enough to dramatically storm out, then said board is useless along with all current, former, and future participants/content.

Thanks for the amusement Franz.

 

[Franz©]

Hey Bluesman, did yo ever get anything built yet all by yourself?

Since I'm being polite, don't forget to use plenty of lubricant.

 

[bluesman2a]

Hey Bluesman, did yo ever get anything built yet all by yourself?
Since I'm being polite, don't forget to use plenty of lubricant.

Yessir. I build stuff every day, all by myself. The difference is I build multi-million dollar network management systems for a multi-national company. It pays better than the average construction worker.

While I have NEVER built something as FINE as this all by myself:

I *DO* hire people to build stuff FOR me. Mainly (as a matter of cash flow) this is because I earn money faster than they do (I can hire more than one of them). I also earn money faster than I earn vacation time, so I save that for things I like doing. Occasionally I get lucky and they do a better job than I could have. It's simple economics.

Since I'm being polite, I always use plenty of lubricant, it makes for a much less ABRASIVE experience.

 

[Franz©]

Oh whoopie, you can push keys on a keyboard. What else can you do with your hands?
You already posted more than suficient proof you can't understand tieplates for a roof structure.

Did you actually learn to strike an arc yet or are you still posin there too?

 

[bluesman2a]

Oh whoopie, you can push keys on a keyboard. What else can you do with your hands?
You already posted more than suficient proof you can't understand tieplates for a roof structure.

Did you actually learn to strike an arc yet or are you still posin there too?

I earn a living with my hands which allows me to do the things that make me happy and supports my family. I try to learn where I can about things I like to do. Is there something I'm missing here? Have you found some deeper happiness you're not sharing with the rest of us?

You're absolutely 100% correct Franz, as always. I don't understand tie plates for a roof structure, never been exposed to them, wouldn't have known one if it bit me on the ***. But you know, I learned about them here. That's why I come here. That's why I appreciate the wealth of knowledge here.

As for striking an arc, yep still posing there too. I get by with what I've picked up along the way. Building stuff makes me happy. I never claimed to know it all, and I bow before your superior knowledge/experience.

So rather than take this any further in the direection it's obviously going... I'll say just it: Franz, you are right. You are always right. You are the best. You know it all.

Now having said all that, I would like to invite you teach us all something we didn't know before we started reading this, please sir. I know you've got it in you. It's the reason I still read your posts. Whatda'ya say Franz?

 

[turbojimmy]

Damn Franz is there anything you can't do? It's guys like you that keep me in business. Do you know how many times "Mr. Handymans" wife has called us to come fix the mess he made of the garage door? 350 is a very good price for what he got, the parts alone would cost about a hundred. Keep in mind they are running a business that has to turn a profit and have some cash flow.

Thank you. I had done some research online and locally and came to the conclusion that by the time I got the parts that I'd be better off just paying someone to do it. I don't want Franz to have a stroke, but after doing the research I was willing to pay up to $500 for the job. When the guy said $350 I said "how soon can you be here".

I forgot to mention in my earlier post was that if you have or are converting to a torsion bar arrangement you should seriously consider the Liftmaster 3800 opener. It mounts on the wall next to the door rather than the ceiling. It's a 12V DC motor and very quiet and smooth. The lights are 'remote' in that you can plug them in anywhere and the motor sends a wireless signal to turn them on (unless you have a neighbor blasting a continuous, strong signal from a transmitter at 315 Mhz, which is another story...still trying to sort that one out).

I might have the guy back to do the other door. The torsion bar and Liftmaster 3800 arrangement is virtually silent. My bedroom is above the garage door and it has made a HUGE difference.

Jim

 

[nova65ss]

Hey Nova, feel free to post the first time my wife has to call in anybody to repair something I built or fixed.

Kit, you might need a friggin kit, I can do the same job with a scrap piece of track I find layin beside the road. The biggest reason for replacing overhead doors is the halfassed installers who can't screw the hinges on properly and the door falls apart.

Overhead doors are a walk in the park. Let me know when you fix the first one that selfcams the panels and the bottom panel lifts the rest straight up the inside of the wall. No hinges on it either, just links and hooks.

You claim to be an expert, tell the group how to convert a 4 panel door to a bifold.

Takes more than an old piece of track to lift a door. Never mind the longer cables, tapered drums, flag brackets, different springs, and splice plates. Unless you want a hack "Handyman" job you will need all of this stuff to do it correctly. This stuff doesn't grow on trees someone has to pay for it.

 

[jimval]

In my opinion the torsion springs are not a big deal if you use appropriate care. Anyone with mechanical aptitude should be able to handle a garage door install with torsion springs without any problems.

The garage door install businesses like to make it sound extremely dangerous.

Electrical wiring is another one. If you do one thing wrong electrically you could die in an instant, yet in most locations, homeowners can do their own electrical wiring without a license.

Myself, I changed my electrical service from 60 amps to 200 amps. I also did two high lift garage door conversions with torsion springs.

Read, understand what you are doing before you start, use reasonable safety precautions.

 

[Aircooled]

I gotta throw in my .02 here. As a professional door installer, there is more to the equation than just extending the track, the cables, etc. just as Nova has said. My customers are not looking for hack jobs with bits of track welded in, bolted together, or whatever else could be dreamed up by a handyman/jack of all trades. They want professional work done correctly, with all the right parts. A lot of ideas work, but they aren't all correct. Most importantly.....liability!!! If I piece something together with **** I have laying around the shop, only I can be blamed in the event of an accident. It is better to use the right parts made by a manufacturer for the existing situation. So....installing these doors is not rocket science, but the correct judgement must be used and is not always present with everyone. I have met more people who have had bad experiences with springs than people who claim to have fixed them successfully.

 

[67 455 Bird ragtop]

Not to be rude but, Nova and Franz - Could you take your childish bickering somewhere else and STOP F'ING up my thread ????

All others. Thanks for the feedback. I met with my installer today. We chatted and what I plan to do is install two of the doors myself. Depending on what type of springs I get I may install them also. Or atleast mount them on the wall and let my installer complete the task. He was accetpable to that. I will have him completely install my third door which will have normal tortion speings and extended track to clear the lift. I'll also have them install the door opener on that door. I'll do the ones for the other two. We figure I can save abvout 50% of what it would cost to have them do the complete install. Especially at $60/hr for labor.

 

[nova65ss]

Man relax with the name calling didn't realize the thread meant that much to you. Had you done a search before hand you'd find this has been asked maybe 20 times already. And not to be rude to you either but a decent door man should be able to install a single door in about an hour tops so at 60 bucks an hour it really isn't that much. Good luck!

 

[Franz©]

I was too polite to reply on the forum, but he can see my answer in a PM.

Gosh, I hope he doesn't get his skirt caught in the ladder.

 

[67 455 Bird ragtop]

I don't mind help or constructive help. But when other people start to have their own personal pety fights on a thread it's really childish. And thanks for the PM Franz. The mod will like it too ....