A new door changes more than you might expect
The garage door is usually the largest moving part of your house. It is also one of the first things you — and everyone who drives past — sees every day. When the existing door is worn out, damaged, or simply outdated, replacing it is one of the better investments you can make in a home's appearance and function.
Ryan Bruch has been installing residential garage doors in Palmerton, Jim Thorpe, Lehighton, and the rest of Carbon County since 1991. He has done them all: basic steel utility doors on starter homes, mahogany carriage house doors on custom builds in Jim Thorpe, insulated steel doors on homes where the garage is attached and the family feels the cold through the wall every winter. If you are thinking about a new door, the first step is seeing what is actually available.
Come see them in person at the showroom
The showroom at 3785 Forest Inn Road in Palmerton exists for one reason: so you do not have to guess from a catalog photo.
Garage doors look different on a screen than they do standing in front of them. The weight of the panel, the texture of the wood grain on a steel door, the way light catches a carriage house door with decorative hardware — none of that comes through on a website. Kelly Strauch came in to replace three white utility doors. She left with three mahogany carriage doors that changed the entire front of her property. That kind of decision is easier when you can see and touch the actual product.
Stop by and bring your garage opening measurements if you have them. Standard single doors run 8 to 10 feet wide; standard double doors run 16 feet wide. If you are not sure of the measurement, that is fine — we can help you figure out what size your opening takes.
What we sell and install
We sell and install Haas Door and Hormann products, along with other leading manufacturers. Here is what that covers for residential jobs:
Steel doors The most common choice for standard residential use. Steel doors are durable, available in a wide range of panel styles, and can be ordered with insulation. They hold paint well and hold up to the weather Carbon County gets — freezing winters, wet springs, the temperature swings that come with being in a mountain valley.
Insulated doors If your garage is attached to your house, insulation matters. An uninsulated steel door in a Carbon County January lets cold air into the garage wall assembly, and you feel it in the room above or beside the garage. An insulated door with a thermal break reduces that heat loss noticeably. It also reduces noise — both from the door operating and from sound transmission in general.
Carriage house doors The carriage house door style has become the dominant choice for homeowners who want more character on the exterior. They are hinged-appearance doors — they operate like a standard overhead door but look from the street like old-style swing-out carriage doors. Available in steel with woodgrain embossing, or in real mahogany for custom projects.
Mahogany and wood doors Real wood doors are a significant step up in cost and require periodic finishing maintenance, but nothing matches them on a high-end custom home. We have installed mahogany carriage doors on several properties in the Jim Thorpe area and in Palmerton, and they hold up well when the owner keeps up with the finish.
Custom openings and specialty sizes Not all garage openings are standard. Older homes sometimes have smaller openings; some newer builds have taller or wider clearances. We can work with non-standard dimensions. If you are not sure what your opening requires, call and we will walk through it with you.
The installation process
A residential door installation typically takes a few hours for a single door, longer for a double door or a custom configuration. Here is what happens:
Measure and select. Before anything is ordered, we confirm the opening dimensions, the headroom above the opening, and the side room on either side. These measurements determine what hardware and door size will work. If you have already picked a door style, we verify it fits. If you are still deciding, the showroom visit is the right next step.
Order and lead time. Standard doors in common sizes can often come in quickly. Custom configurations, real wood doors, and non-standard sizes take longer — sometimes several weeks. We will give you a realistic timeline when the order is placed. (See the FAQ for more on typical lead times.)
Remove the old door. We take down and haul away the existing door and hardware unless you want to keep specific components.
Install the new door and hardware. Track, springs, cables, rollers, and hardware all go in as a system. We do not install a new door on old worn hardware unless the hardware checks out — that is a setup for an early service call.
Set up and balance. A properly installed door should lift smoothly with two fingers when disconnected from the opener. We balance the spring tension before the job is done and test the operation under power.
Opener connection. If you have an existing opener, we confirm it is compatible and reconnect it. If the opener needs to come out — either because it is worn out or incompatible with the new door weight — we can discuss replacement at the same time.
What a new door costs
Residential garage door installation in Carbon County runs from roughly $800 to $2,500 or more, depending on door size, style, material, and whether the opener needs to be replaced. A single standard steel door on the lower end of that range; a double insulated carriage house door toward the upper end; a custom mahogany door above that.
Those are real ranges, not floor numbers designed to get you to call. When you call or visit the showroom, Ryan will give you a specific number for the door and installation you are actually discussing.
We offer free estimates. There is no charge to come to the showroom, look at the doors, take measurements, and get a quote.
Questions before you call?
See the FAQ page for answers to the most common questions about new door costs, lead times, sizing, and what the installation involves. Or call (610) 826-2400 directly — Ryan picks up.
Get a free estimate
Call (610) 826-2400 or visit the showroom at 3785 Forest Inn Road in Palmerton. If you have photos of the current door and opening, text or email them to ryan@palmertongarage.com and we can often give you a ballpark before the visit.
Palmerton Garage Door II LLC 3785 Forest Inn Road, Palmerton, PA 18071 (610) 826-2400 ryan@palmertongarage.com
Seven-time Times News Best Garage Door Company. Carbon County's own since 1991.