Cost for fitting a new garage door?

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 LastBoyScout 17 Feb 2021

Hi,

We're looking at getting a door put into the side of our garage and hve asked a local company for a quote.

They've said @£800 for a uPVC door or ~£1700-£2000 for a composite door, plus the cost of cutting a hole in the garage wall (standard brick wall).

This seems on the steep side to me - I had no idea a composite door would cost that much!

 MarkAstley 17 Feb 2021
In reply to LastBoyScout:

Plenty places online sell standard size doors in frames, all types as well. Have a Google, see what you can get and consider just paying a local builder to cut the hole and fit.

Mark

 Richard Horn 17 Feb 2021
In reply to LastBoyScout:

Sounds about right for a uPVC door, but on the steep side for a composite, the company we dealt with the composites were only 20-30% more than the uPVC, but it was a few years ago now

3
 Sean_J 17 Feb 2021
In reply to LastBoyScout:

Don't bother paying a builder to buy you a door, they'll pocket a few hundred (or more like a thousand) quid straight away for doing close to FA. Buy the door yourself and then have a builder cut the hole and fit it. For that kind of money i'd expect a super-specialist door, if you're not storing guns or gold bullion in your garage then you can probably expect to pay a lot less.

Both options sound very overpriced to me by a factor of 2, if not more. Go to a local window/door manufacturer and have a chat with them.

P.S. a steel door might be a good option if you're at all concerned about security, with decent multi-point locking. Latham's are a good starting point for this.

Post edited at 16:15
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OP LastBoyScout 17 Feb 2021
In reply to Sean_J:

Felt very expensive to me. I've asked the company for a quote for a replacement double glazed unit in the past (got smashed) and paid a LOT less going to another local company.

On that occasion, I could easily fit it myself, but I'm not about to start cutting through walls and fit a lintel - I'll happily pay a builder to do that for me.

 Rick Graham 17 Feb 2021
In reply to LastBoyScout:

0p?

I know someone who bought a good quality garage door secondhand for £20.

Fitted it himself then sold the old one for £20.

 Blue Straggler 17 Feb 2021
In reply to Rick Graham:

> 0p?

OP

1
 Alkis 17 Feb 2021
In reply to LastBoyScout:

Also, recommendations go a long way. When using a builder that you trust, ask who *they* would get in to do a job on *their* house. I ended up with a father and son outfit of local window fitters having a large pair of French doors (1.80x2.20m) fabricated and fitted for half a grand less than the nearest online price.

baron 17 Feb 2021
In reply to LastBoyScout:

Had a new UPVC back door fitted  to replace an existing wooden door last year - £850.

Had a new composite front door fitted last month to replace an existing wooden one -£1400.

Sorry, no idea how much to cut a hole in a brick wall but wouldn’t imagine that it would be cheap.

 Dax H 17 Feb 2021
In reply to Alkis:

The ask the builder thing is total pot luck. Most will recommend their mates regardless of if their mates are any good. 

 Alkis 17 Feb 2021
In reply to Dax H:

Hence why I said a builder you trust, it has to be someone who isn't going to bullshit. In my case it was someone who I used, having given me the most expensive quote out of 3, so I trusted that he didn't have anything to prove by recommending an imbecile. I've certainly been recommended bad tradesmen before.

Post edited at 18:41
In reply to Rick Graham:

> I know someone who bought a good quality garage door secondhand for £20.

I pass a small factory frequently that does replacement upvc windows and doors. They store outside all the old windows and doors that they take out. Most are in excellent condition from a quick glance.

I’ve thought a few times that if anyone wanted a 2nd hand door or window that could be a good way of buying one cheap. I assume otherwise they just send to a recycler and it probably costs them to do so.

 Rick Graham 17 Feb 2021
In reply to Climbing Pieman:

Actually I misread the OP in my rush to tell the tale.  Cost for adding a new doorway would be a more accurate title.

Lots of good stuff thrown away in the building trade. One of the joys of working on building sites is seeing what's new in the site skip. " Skip Rat" .

 Dax H 17 Feb 2021
In reply to Rick Graham:

Nothing wrong with being a skip rat. I got £30k in compressor parts from the skip of one of my customers. The engineering manager rang me on Friday night to say they had just cleared out the stores and to help myself. Most of it they had bought from us in the first place but someone decided it cost too much money to hold it in their store's. So there is me and my mate, Friday night in our best gear (we were heading in to town when the call came in) emptying a skip.

My porch door came out of a skip too, brand new still sealed in plastic with the keys. 

 Ian W 17 Feb 2021
In reply to LastBoyScout:

That does sound expensive; we were charged £1,800 to have a new uPVC personnel door, a 3ft x 3ft double glazed window fitted in a new hole in a brick wall, and a dividing stud wall and interior door fitted into our garage to create a workshop separate from the garage bit. Thought it was very good value.

 sbc23 18 Feb 2021
In reply to LastBoyScout:

A bespoke size solid composite door with upvc frame, multipoint lock is about £500+VAT from a trade supplier supply only.

A bespoke-sized powder-coated steel door with steel frame like you would see on an industrial unit is about £1000+VAT supply only. 

1
J1234 18 Feb 2021
In reply to LastBoyScout:

Seems pricey for a Utility Door

https://www.wickes.co.uk/Products/Doors+Windows/External-Doors/Front+Back-D...

https://www.wickes.co.uk/Products/Doors+Windows/External-Doors/Front+Back-D...


Its very easy to open a trade account with Wickes and get an extra 10% discount.

Fitting a pre hung door should not cost the earth, possibly 2 days to cut hole , fit lintel and fit door.

Watching a couple of videos may give you the confidence to do it your self, or not.

youtube.com/watch?v=zCaEGkhVAH4&

 olddirtydoggy 18 Feb 2021
In reply to LastBoyScout:

I'll offer some advice for what it's worth, I fit doors and windows for a living. Much of the advice on here about second hand doors is good but it's a good idea to know what you're buying. I wouldn't buy new from a website. Don't buy from Wickes or B&Q.

Window companies do have good quality removals leaning up next to skips, I've refitted a few doors myself for less well off customers to help them out.

I don't know what you keep in your garage but if you have items of value in there then I'd stay away from PVC as the panels can be kicked in quite easily. Composite is expensive but many factories have mis measured doors in what we often call the 'graveyard' and will let them go cheap. Ebay is an option if you can find something local.

The lock cylinder where you put the key MUST be a 3 star anti snap lock or the break in time will be around 30 seconds.

I'm based up north but if you need any info then feel free to contact me directly.

Post edited at 10:04
OP LastBoyScout 18 Feb 2021
In reply to olddirtydoggy:

Thanks for the advice.

I don't want to get one from Wickes or B&Q, as all their offerings have letter boxes in them, which I don't want, and don't have a big enough window, which I do want.

Garage has usual tools and stuff in it, but also all my outdoor toys and a couple of expensive bikes, so needs to be a composite door.

 gethin_allen 18 Feb 2021
In reply to Dax H:

> Nothing wrong with being a skip rat. ...

It's amazing what people will throw out when clearing out.

When my dad's old works was closing they were throwing dozens of boxes of brand new steel toe work boots out without a second thought.

Somehow it was too much effort to do something worthwhile with them.

 Toccata 18 Feb 2021
In reply to LastBoyScout:

I put one of these in the garage. Looked at uPVC doors initially and couldn't believe how expensive they were. Very solid and you can upgrade the locks.

https://www.lathamssteeldoors.co.uk/steel-security-doors/security-steel-doo...

1
 olddirtydoggy 18 Feb 2021
In reply to LastBoyScout:

I can upgrade a PVC door to better than a composite by adding a 1mm sheet of stainless steel to a flat PVC panel before putting it in. Dog bolts are like spikes that reinforce the hinges so the attacker can't crowbar the hinges off. I fitted one of these for a member of the Sky cycling team before it changed hands a good while back. Most of his training bikes were around 20 grand.

I could cut through a composite door with a cordless jigsaw/circular in around 60 seconds. Try doing that to a stainless panel.


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