[mcgsxr]

This year the main updating to the house is a garage door and front door.

Below are the pics of the before (blue) and after (black).  Garage door was rusting through at the bottom and someone ( me!) backed a van into it a few years ago so I knew it would be replaced. 

Went for the R16 insulated, double galvanized (steel exterior and steel interior panels), factory painted garage door.  Not planning on leaving here anytime soon so the added $ was not too big a hit.

Popped for the aluminum trim around the door to help stave off exterior painting.  And figured might as well replace the 20 year old opener with a new belt drive.  Works a treat.

Front door install underway today.  I will have some interior trim to paint in the coming weeks, but letting the pro's handle these installs.

[mcgsxr]

Oh, and a very cool cheap improvement - replaced the light switch for the interior garage light to a motion sensing one from Leviton.  Great $20 spent, and self installed.

Amazing how nice it is to walk into the garage with full hands and the lights just come on.  I have it set to go off 30 seconds after the last movement.

My wife likes that more lights now come on when she drives into the garage (the garage door light on the opener of course, and now the overhead garage lights too).

I suppose this will inevitably lead to replacing the 100w bulb hanging up there with some "proper" lighting.  Let's just hope there is no such thing as a garage chandelier!

[randytsuch]

New door looks really nice.  Like the new pattern on it.

[mcgsxr]

My wife is responsible for the pattern and color choices.

I had some reservations about the dark color for the door (thinking of stories about dark doors warping in summer), but I am assured (and there is a good warranty) that thinking is outdated. 

Here is a quick shot of the new light switch in the garage.  Trust me, the switch is not sideways in the garage!

[ArthurDent]

New door looks really nice.  Like the new pattern on it.

+1  Nice choice. 

[mcgsxr]

Here is the completed project around the front door.

Before:



After:

[JLM]

Nice!

Did you consider windows in the garage door? 

I had 7 lights added to the double lights on all three of our garage (single stall) door openers (all standard A19 - normal incandescent bulbs) when we built because everything you do on a car is on the underside or underneath.

Sadly, after 11 years in the house we still haven't painted/stained our exterior doors (except for the inside of the front door).

[mcgsxr]

Good question about the windows JLM.  There are many cool styles and I like the look of some for sure.

I have security concerns about windows and garage doors.  I have seen way too many videos of kids using the window to see how to release the garage door with a coat hanger.  We do lock the door into the house from the garage, but it creeps me out how simple it is to pop the emergency release when you can see into the garage.

Also I like the T Bird hidden from view when parked.  It spends a LOT of time in the garage.

I will have to think about the best approach for additional lighting.  The new opener has 2 bulbs, so with 3 100w bulbs in there it is plenty bright for normal use.  When I work on the car, I tend to have the garage door open anyway, so ambient light helps for that.

I saw some cool looking LED 4 foot shop lights at Costco the other day.  A pair of those over each car would really make it bright. 

I will try to paint the interior trim around the new front door this Sunday, if I wait it may never get done.

[audiobasic2000]

Good Morning, mcgsxr:

   Very nice!. May I ask if you chose a local shop to do replacement of the entrance and garage doors? For the front doors, did you have the entire frame replaced also or just the door? What was the expenditure, if I may ask, how long did it take, and who was the vendor? Thanks.     

Sincerely,
Kingsley.

[mcgsxr]

I did chose local shops for the work.  One is about 1KM from my house (front door) and the garage door place is around 20KM from me.

The front door was a complete gut.  Sawzall out the frame and sidelight frame etc.  Whole package install.  Fiberglass door, brushed hardware etc.

Garage door a total gut too - rails, springs, door, opener etc.

It wasn't cheap (to me).  Not sure what this stuff runs in other parts of the country (or countries) but was more than 5K together.

[audiobasic2000]

Wow, mcgxr, you're right that it's not cheap! In fact, ouch!!!    Our garage door will need to be replaced sometime soon and one of our neighbors mentioned they had theirs done something around $800-1k (not fiberglass). From an ad on one of the local radio stations, fiberglass is advertised as lifetime/once only affair - hope such is the case. The color scheme is nice, though.    Thanks.

Sincerely,
Kingsley.

[mcgsxr]

I could have done a cheaper garage door and not done the opener at the same time.  I think the most affordable garage door option as about 1200 before tax.  Canadian dollars.  I went for double galvanized steel, higher insulation value and did replace the opener too.  My fault, I often do a full deal to get other stuff off my list.   

We have been here over 11 years and other than a company move I won't budge.  So I am willing to spend more on certain projects with a longer term perspective.