A standard single garage door installation with Union Garage Door Service takes about 90 minutes to two and a half hours, start to finish, including removing and hauling away your old door. A double-wide door typically runs 3 to 4 hours, two separate doors in one day take a full day, and adding a new opener adds about 1 to 2 hours. That is roughly half the time most industry sources quote, and it is not a shortcut - it is what happens when an installer with 48 years of experience does the whole job himself, sometimes alongside a fellow installer he trades labor with.
If you are replacing a garage door in Union, St. Clair, Washington, Pacific, or anywhere else in Franklin County, here is the honest answer: installation day is shorter than most homeowners expect. The waiting happens before installation day, not on it. Here is our whole clock, start to finish, using our real numbers - not the averages every other website copies from each other.
Table of Contents
- How Long Does a Standard Garage Door Installation Take?
- Our Real Timelines: Every Job Type, Side by Side
- What Happens on Installation Day? Stage by Stage
- How Much Longer Does a Double Door Take Than a Single?
- Does Adding a New Opener Add Time to the Job?
- What Actually Makes an Installation Run Long?
- How Long Does It Take to Get the Door in the First Place?
- What Should You Do Before Installation Day?
- Ready to Put a Date on the Calendar?
- Frequently Asked Questions
How Long Does a Standard Garage Door Installation Take?
Most industry sources quote 3 to 6 hours for a single residential door. Amarr's FAQ says a professional installer can "typically install a door in a few hours," and distributor guidance from Overhead Door Company puts most residential installs at "half a day."
Our typical single-door install runs 90 minutes to two and a half hours. That is our real range from jobs across Franklin County, not a marketing number. It is what happens when two experienced installers work together instead of one tech with a helper who is still learning, and when the crew that shows up also does the teardown, the haul-away, and the spring tensioning without waiting on a second truck.
We still block 3 to 5 hours on the schedule for every single-door job. If anything behind the old door surprises us - rotted framing, a non-standard opening, a stripped track - we would rather finish with time to spare than rush the spring work. Most days, you get your driveway back well before lunch.
Our Real Timelines: Every Job Type, Side by Side
| Job | Our typical time | What most sources quote |
|---|---|---|
| Single-car door, existing sound opening | 1 to 1.5 hours | 3 to 6 hours |
| Double-wide (16 ft) door | 2 to 2.5 hours | Half a day or more |
| Two separate single doors, same visit | Full day | Full day or more |
| New opener added to any install | Add 1 to 2 hours | Add 1 to 2 hours |
| Old door removal and haul-away | Included, adds no extra time | Often billed separately |
Two things to know about these numbers:
- They include the teardown. Detensioning the old springs, taking down the old panels, pulling the old track, and loading everything on the truck are part of the job, not line items.
- Jay confirms your exact timeline when he quotes the job, before anything is ordered. No call center, no subcontractors, no rotating crews - you get the same answer from the person who will be in your driveway.
What Happens on Installation Day? Stage by Stage
Every install follows the same sequence. These are Jay's typical stage times for a single door:
| Stage | What happens | Typical time |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Walkaround and check | Check headroom, side framing, and opening condition before anything comes down | 10-15 min |
| 2. Teardown | Detension old springs, take down panels, pull old track and hardware | 30-45 min |
| 3. Build-up | Hang new sections one at a time with hinges and rollers | 20-30 min |
| 4. Track | Set vertical and horizontal track, squared and plumbed | 20-30 min |
| 5. Springs | Install torsion shaft, drums, and cables; wind springs to correct tension | ~30 min |
| 6. Balance check | Door should hold near the halfway point on the manual release, not drop or shoot up | 5-10 min |
| 7. Testing and cleanup | Safety sensor and reversal testing if an opener is present; old door loaded and hauled away | 10-15 min |
A clean job with no surprises lands near 90 minutes. Jobs that hit the top of every stage run closer to two and a half hours, and those are usually the ones where something behind the old door needed attention.
The balance check at the end is the part people skip and should not. With the opener disconnected at the manual release, a properly balanced door should hold near the halfway position rather than dropping or shooting upward. LiftMaster's own monthly maintenance guidance says it plainly: if the door is unbalanced or binding, call a trained door systems technician. An unbalanced door wears out your opener instead of your springs - and it is the single biggest reason a "cheap" install gets expensive later.
How Much Longer Does a Double Door Take Than a Single?
A double-car door is not twice the work, but it is meaningfully more. Jay typically schedules 3 to 4 hours for a single double-wide door, and a full day for two separate single doors in the same visit.
Why the gap? A 16-foot double door uses the same track-and-spring principles but heavier sections that go up slower and need more careful spring sizing. Two separate doors mean two full teardowns, two full track sets, and two spring systems - it is genuinely two jobs, which is why we quote it as a full day rather than pretending it fits in an afternoon.
This comes up on older Franklin County properties a lot - farmhouse garages and shops around Union, St. Clair, and Washington that were built with two singles side by side, plus detached barns and outbuildings. We plan those for the full day and usually bring the labor-trade partner along so the second half of the day does not turn into the slow half.
Does Adding a New Opener Add Time to the Job?
Yes, about 1 to 2 hours. We install LiftMaster, Chamberlain, and Genie, including smart and battery-backup models, and we program your remotes and keypad before we leave.
What the opener add-on includes: mounting the rail and motor unit, installing and aligning the safety sensors, wiring, connecting the door arm, setting travel and force limits, and testing the reversal system. Doing it the same day as the door is the smart move - the ladder is already up and the door is already balanced, so the opener work starts from a clean, tested baseline instead of inheriting somebody else's problems.
What Actually Makes an Installation Run Long?
In order of how often we see it:
- Rotted or undersized framing. A door that has been leaking has often been quietly rotting the wood around it. Fixing the jamb or the header adds time before the new door can go in.
- Non-standard openings. Older garages around Union and St. Clair were not always built to today's standard sizes. Converting an odd opening to a standard door size adds framing work.
- Concrete or floor problems. Track anchors only hold as well as the concrete they go into.
- Accessibility. Tight driveways, steep approaches, and cluttered garages slow down every stage, especially the haul-away.
- Weather. We can work in most conditions, but winding springs on a 15-degree morning takes longer than it does in October. Everyone works slower and safer in bad weather.
None of these are reasons to rush. They are reasons we tell you the honest range upfront and then confirm it at the quote - before anything is ordered.
How Long Does It Take to Get the Door in the First Place?
This is the part of the clock most articles leave out, and it is usually longer than the installation itself.
- Common steel doors are often available quickly - sometimes within days.
- Special-order doors (insulated, custom colors, windows, non-standard sizes) typically take 1 to 2 weeks to arrive from the manufacturer.
- Custom and wood doors can take longer depending on the maker.
The measurement matters more than the catalog. Jay measures your opening during the estimate, confirms the exact door and timeline, and gives you the lead time in writing before you order anything. The fastest way to shorten the whole process is to get the measurement done - the install day is the easy part.
What Should You Do Before Installation Day?
Ten minutes of prep saves real time on the clock:
- Move your vehicles out - both the garage bay and the driveway space the truck needs.
- Clear the work area. Shelving, freezers, and stored items within about 3 feet of the door opening should move.
- Keep pets inside. An open garage door with a nervous dog is a longer day for everyone.
- Plan around the downtime. The garage is unusable during the install, so grab what you need from it the night before.
- Be reachable at the start. Jay walks the job with you first and confirms the plan before teardown begins - it is the best 10 minutes of the whole day.
Ready to Put a Date on the Calendar?
Call Jay at 636-221-7066, Monday through Friday, 6:00 am to 6:00 pm, or request a free estimate through our installation page. Free, honest estimates across Union, St. Clair, Washington, Pacific, Villa Ridge, Gerald, New Haven, and Sullivan - and a clear timeline before anything is ordered.
No call center, no subcontractors, no rotating crews. When you have a question about your new door six months from now, you call the person who put it in.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a garage door installation take?
With Union Garage Door Service, a standard single-door installation typically runs 90 minutes to two and a half hours, including removing and hauling away the old door. That is roughly half the time most industry sources quote, because Jay has been installing doors since 1978 and sometimes works alongside a fellow experienced installer. A double door typically runs 3 to 4 hours, two separate doors take a full day, and adding a new opener adds about 1 to 2 hours.
How much longer does a double garage door take to install than a single?
A single double-wide (16-foot) door typically takes 3 to 4 hours - about 1.5 to 2 hours longer than a single door. Two separate single doors in the same visit take a full day, because each door needs its own full teardown, track set, and spring system.
Can you install the door and a new opener in the same visit?
Yes. We install LiftMaster, Chamberlain, and Genie, including smart and battery-backup models, and we program your remotes and keypad before we leave. It adds roughly 1 to 2 hours to the day.
Do you remove and haul away my old door?
Yes, always. Removal and haul-away of the old door, track, and hardware are included in the price, never billed separately.
Does it take two people to install a garage door?
Many shops now send two installers, and for good reason: modern insulated steel doors are heavy, and manufacturers warn that spring and cable hardware is under extreme tension. Jay sometimes works alongside Jeff Adler, a fellow installer with decades of experience. They trade labor, no money involved - two people who each know what they are doing make a heavy door faster and safer, and neither is a subcontractor.
How long does it take to get the new door after I order it?
Common steel doors are often available within days; special-order insulated or custom doors typically take 1 to 2 weeks. Jay confirms your door's exact lead time when he quotes the job, before anything is ordered.
Is it hard to install a garage door yourself?
Hard enough that manufacturers advise against it. Amarr's FAQ states that homeowner installations "typically span several days and cause much frustration." The springs are the real issue - LiftMaster's installation instructions are explicit that repairs to cables and spring assemblies, which are under extreme tension, must be made by a trained door systems technician. A door that takes Jay an afternoon takes a weekend warrior a weekend, and sometimes a trip to the ER.
Jay Mangelsdorf is the owner of Union Garage Door Service, a family-owned garage door company based in Union, Missouri, serving Franklin County and the St. Louis west county area since 1978. For more than four decades, Jay has personally diagnosed and repaired thousands of doors – torsion springs, cables, openers, off-track doors – handling every job himself rather than passing it to a rotating crew of subcontractors. He’s known for honest, upfront pricing: a clear diagnosis and a firm quote before any work begins. When he’s not up on a ladder, Jay enjoys time with his family and staying active in the Franklin County community.
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