The house project continues at a snail's pace as we pinch pennies until they cry "Uncle!", and the next step is to install some garage doors.
I've been doing some reading and searching, and came across articles of folks who have bought kits and installed them by themselves. Unfortunately, all of those were in the MidWest or Eastern seaboard, so their suppliers were local to them. I haven't yet found a supplier of garage door kits out west.
I am looking for 10' x10' insulated, basic.

Any experience or leads?

Thanks Brethren!

i was looking into it earlier this year, cheapest i've found was at Lowe's, Homie Deep-O was next up

Speaking from the side of a GC... Sure, you can install these yourself, but in reality it only costs a couple hundred to have a pro come in and install. Truing the track and the spring, hanging and adjusting the doors etc.

We just went thorough this on a shop we are building. We looked at man hours for us to install it vs. what else productive we could be doing while a pro installed it. Hands down, it was better to let the pro have at it.

I understand what you're saying Dan.
I just haven't been able to actually see those numbers myself. If my supplier is on the east coast, then shipping has to be factored in as well.
I've taken down and reinstalled garage doors a few times... I don't think it can be difficult to do the job from the start with a kit.

MV, I'll keep you updated if I find a good source!

You mentioned a key point... "... vs what else productive that we could be doing [instead of the hours we'd need to do it ourselves.]
So many people think of it in simpler terms "I make $x/hour, it'll take me this many hours".
I value the hours of my life much differently than by a dollar figure.



I've had questionable results recently. Call me gun shy. hah

Two issues compel me to at least give a fair shake to the idea of installing these myself :
1. We're really squeezing pennies. Even a couple of hundred $ difference will be worth it.
2. There seems to be very few really skilled workers out there, at least as a ratio to formulaic installers. Most contractors seem to be faster at doing things, not better at doing them.
Most, not all. I've been quite surprised by shoddy or mediocre work that I have seen all over the place, not just talking about my recent adventure in insulation work.

My take away from the insulation situation was that you had a general contractor do the work. I think it's less likely you would have experienced the same issues with an actual insulation contractor.

Hiring a general contractor is a good idea for a large project, but if you need specific things done that are within a smaller scope, I think it's best to go directly to the subcontractors yourself. Maybe consider calling an actual garage door company? They're probably a lot less likely to be the jack-of-all-trades type, and have actual lengthy experience installing garage doors.

With that being said, you're a very Hands-On guy Mike. As long as you don't mind spending the time doing it I can't see why you wouldn't do a great job installing the garage doors yourself. Just watch a couple YouTube videos, you'll be an expert in no time.

That wasn't my choice. I just hired the GC to get three tasks on my list done. He "hired out" the other two, and did the insulation himself. I had no idea that he was a goober. Are you victim shaming?!
But it is a very good point to inquire about experience and what the individuals will be doing. .



I have attindud yutoob unuversuty and feel compitunt to do al sortts of theengs now.
This mourning I starrtid in on brane sergery.
https://youtu.be/nOrpepF4pnc


It semes to be werkng so far okay.

If you do it yourself make sure the Balrog and Princess have ear protection if you are anything like me on a home project, I have cus words that haven`t been heard yet

I don't remember which one, Lowe's or Home Depot. But they WILL sell the doors for DIY. The door kits are made in Auburn Washington.

They will send a guy out to measure, and make sure you get the right stuff.

we just had a bunch of insulation work done on our house It's was part of the 'energy upgrade california' program, and since it's run by the state, there are a bunch of rules about how the contractor goes about things. The mandate for the insulation https://mechanicguides.com/best-garage-door-insulation-kit/ was to insulate and air seal "the conditioned space". So that meant that the common wall between our garage and kitchen got insulated, and the door got weatherstripped. But the rest of the garage got nothing. (including the attic above it)

Plus, combine in typical building code, where the garage must be in a separate envelope from the building space (lower floor than main house, no HVAC connections, auto-closing doors). And that it must be ventilated. This is to protect the house inhabitants against things like fires, fumes, and chemicals. (I actually got gently chided for having only one open air vent in the garage).