Whether you are wanting to replace your existing door, or perhaps you have built a new garage and want to install a new door, here are some guidelines to assist you when contacting installers to get a quote.
The more information you provide and the accuracy of the said information, the more accurate the quote will be. Also there are certain requirements that needs to be met for certain doors, and you may well get a quote on a specific type of door only to find your garage space is not suitable.
Typically installers will offer a quote on the information given, and a final quote will be issued when a site inspection was performed and measurements and limitations could be ascertained for themselves. If information given was pretty accurate deviations on the final quote will be minimal or not applicable at all.
Below you will find a breakdown of information you should gather for a quote and to get it as accurate as possible.
Measurements
Firstly measure the opening of the garage, this is the actual opening for the door, not the width of the garage.
The width will be the opening size from wall to wall. The height will be from the floor to the plinth or lintel. Depending on the size of opening you may have a standard door size which is normally better priced than a custom size which have to be specially manufactured.
Pro Tip: If you are in the process of building, get the standard sizes of garage doors so there is no surprises when it comes to costing the new garage door.
Then you need to measure the nip space, this is measured from your garage wall to the inside of the opening. This nip space needs to be a minimum of 150mm to accommodate the hardware(rails and/or arms) of the doors.
Lastly you would measure the headroom, this is the space above the door opening. For sectional and rollup doors you require a minimum of 300mm. (or minimum 250mm where low headroom tracks can be installed for sectional doors).
Low headroom tracks normally comes at additional costs, in the event of construction being done ensure the minimum of 300mm headspace is adhered too.
Below we created a visual representation of the measurements needed.
Door type
The other information you would need to provide would be which type of door you are looking at, ie tip up, sectional or rollup.
Each door comes with its on pro’s and con’s and different prices. More information on garage door types can be found here and information on garage door pricing can be found here.
Material
The material you want for your door is pretty important, and if you do not it is not a problem. Installer can normally assist with that information of you can find more information on garage door materials here.
The type of material will also influence the final price greatly, for instance at the moment of writing a quality wood door costs more than an aluminum door. where Aluzinc for instance is typically priced very good with a lot of options in terms of finishing and will give you years of good service.
Automation
This is very simple, do you want garage door motor or operate the door manually. Most people chooses automation for the sheer convenience. Again, any reputable installer will be able to assist you with information and pricing for automation. The biggest brands for garage door automation is probably ET nice and Centurion. Both with a long history in the South African market and good track record in terms of quality.
Providing this information to the companies, allows you to get the most accurate quotes. This is especially useful if you are not yet ready to go ahead and just want to start collecting some figures for your budget. You may still be building / renovating. This way you can get the quotes, without having to have anyone come out to your premises yet.
Any reputable company will be happy to assist you and provide a quote free of charge, so do not feel obligated when asking for a quote.
Once you are ready to move ahead, you can schedule a site visit and have the company do the final measurements and prepare a quote accordingly.
For further assistance or advice please feel free to reach out to us at the details below:
Cape Town: 078 949 8130
Port Elizabeth / Gqeberha: 063 462 4003
Email: info@peninsuladoors.co.za
Web: peninsuladoors.co.za
Facebook: peninsulagaragedoors
