Who this page is for
Installation and replacement overlap, so here’s how we split them. This page is for doors going into an opening that doesn’t have one yet, or where everything is starting fresh: a new build, a garage addition, a converted carport, a detached garage that finally gets a proper door. If you’re swapping out an existing door, our garage door replacement page speaks more directly to that.
Either way, the decisions are similar. What changes is how much framing and prep is involved.
Getting the opening right
A sectional door needs more than a hole in the wall. Before ordering, we measure five things:
- Width and height of the finished opening, at more than one point, because few openings are perfectly square
- Headroom from the top of the opening to the ceiling or the lowest obstruction. Standard track wants about 12 inches. Low-headroom kits can work with less.
- Sideroom on each side for the vertical track and, with torsion springs, the end bearing plates
- Backroom, the clear depth into the garage, which needs to be the door height plus room for the opener
- The jambs and header. They should be flat, plumb, and solid lumber. We can fasten track to a lot of things, but not to drywall over air.
On new construction, the framer usually leaves this ready. On older detached garages around Franklin, we often find a header that has sagged or jambs that have rotted near the slab. It’s better to fix that first than to hang a new door on a tired frame.
Choosing the door itself
Construction
Steel doors come in three basic builds. A single-layer door is a stamped steel skin and nothing else. It’s light and affordable and fine for an unheated shed. A two-layer door adds a sheet of polystyrene insulation behind the steel. A three-layer door sandwiches insulation between two steel skins, which makes it stiffer, quieter, and much better at holding heat.
For an attached garage in Wisconsin, we usually recommend the three-layer door. The difference in price is real, and so is the difference on a January morning.
Insulation
| Insulation type | How it’s made | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| None | Single steel skin | Garage tracks the outdoor temperature closely. Louder operation. |
| Polystyrene | Rigid foam board fitted into each section | A solid step up. Common R-values in the 6 to 9 range. |
| Polyurethane | Foam injected between two skins, bonding to both | The stiffest, quietest option. R-values commonly 12 to 18 depending on thickness. |
R-values are measured on the section, not the installed door, so treat them as a way to compare products instead of a promise about your heating bill. The seals around the door matter just as much, and we cover those below.
Style, color, and windows
Most doors we install around Franklin fall into a few looks: traditional raised panel, long recessed panel, carriage house with decorative hardware, and flush modern designs. Color is baked on at the factory, with wood-grain finishes available if you want the look of cedar without the upkeep.
Windows change the feel of a garage more than people expect. A row of glass across the top section brings in daylight and breaks up a large flat surface. Ask for insulated glass, and think about what’s visible from the street if you store things you’d prefer to keep private. Frosted or obscure glass solves that.
Wind and hardware
A 16-foot door is a big sail. Doors that face open fields, which is common on the south and west sides of the city, benefit from extra struts across the back of the sections. We also pay attention to hardware grade: heavier-gauge hinges, nylon rollers with sealed bearings, and track that’s sized for the door weight. None of it shows from the street. All of it shows up in how the door runs ten years from now.
What installation day looks like
- Prep the opening. We check the jambs and header one more time, confirm the floor is reasonably level and note where it isn’t, because the bottom seal has to make up the difference.
- Set the first section. The bottom section goes in level. Everything above it stacks from that line, so we take our time here.
- Stack and hinge. Each section is set, hinged to the one below, and fitted with rollers. Vertical track goes up alongside.
- Hang the horizontal track. It’s squared to the opening and braced to the ceiling framing with angle iron, not strapping.
- Install the spring system. Torsion shaft, bearings, drums, and springs sized for this exact door. Then cables, tensioned evenly.
- Wind, balance, and test. The door should lift with one hand and hold where you leave it.
- Seal it. Bottom seal, vinyl stop molding along the sides and top, adjusted so it touches the door without dragging on it.
- Connect the opener. New or existing, with travel limits, force, and the safety reverse all checked.
- Clean up and hand over. Packaging goes with us. You get a walkthrough of the release cord, the balance test, and basic care.
