How we price
How we price a job
You will not find a price list here yet, and we would rather say that plainly than publish numbers we cannot stand behind. What this page does explain is exactly how the number is arrived at, what moves it, and when you will see it — which is before anyone touches your door, in writing, with your signature on it.
There is no charge to email us a video and ask what it looks like.
Repairs
The jobs people call about
These are the repairs that make up most of our week, and the honest account of what decides the price on each one. Every quote includes parts, labour, and hauling the old hardware away, with Massachusetts sales tax added where it applies.
| Job | What moves the number |
|---|---|
| Torsion spring replacement, single | Door weight and height, wire size and cycle rating. We fit 25,000-cycle springs as standard where the headroom allows — roughly double the life of the builder-grade spring most doors ship with. |
| Torsion springs, replacing the pair | If one has gone, the second is the same age and within months of the same fate. Doing both in one visit saves a second service call. |
| Cable off the drum / re-tracking | Whether the drum, track or bottom bracket was damaged when it let go. Catching it early is the difference between a straightforward re-track and a much bigger bill. |
| Rollers, full set of 10 | Nylon sealed-bearing rollers rather than the steel ones that came with the door. This is the single biggest change you can make to how loud the door is. |
| Opener repair (gear, trolley, belt, board) | Which part failed. A stripped drive gear is a common and cheap fix on an opener that someone else has told you to replace. |
| Opener supplied and installed | Chain, belt or wall-mount; horsepower; whether you want the camera, battery backup and keypad. Belt drive is worth it if there is a bedroom over the garage. |
| Safety sensor alignment or replacement | Alignment alone is often included in a tune-up. Replacement depends on the opener's make. |
| 27-point tune-up & safety inspection | Nothing. It is a flat fee, and it is the same whether your door passes or fails. |
New doors
Installed, old door taken away
| Door | Notes |
|---|---|
| Non-insulated steel | Fine for a detached garage you don't heat. We will talk you out of it if the room above is a bedroom. |
| Insulated steel, R-9 to R-13 | The right answer for most attached garages in this climate. Quieter, and it holds the room above about 8–12°F warmer in January. |
| Carriage house style | Steel or composite overlay. The price swings on the overlay and the glass. |
| Full-view aluminium & glass | Glazing choice drives this more than anything else. |
| Double door, 16×7 | Available in every style above. A double is a meaningful step up from a single — we will price yours specifically. |
The honest part
Why we won't give you a firm price on the phone
You will find companies that give you one. We think you should be wary of them, and here is the mechanical reason why.
A torsion spring is specified by four numbers: the wire diameter, the inside diameter, the length, and the cycle rating. Get them wrong and the door is either too heavy to lift by hand or it slams. To pick the right spring, someone has to know what the door weighs — and door weight varies from about 130 lb for a bare single to over 400 lb for an insulated double with glass. Nobody can know that down a phone line.
So a firm phone quote is one of two things. It is a guess, in which case it will change when the technician arrives. Or it is bait, designed to get someone into your driveway before the real number appears — which is exactly the pattern the Better Business Bureau has a standing alert out on for this trade.
What we can give you on the phone is which job it is likely to be, an honest read from a ten-second video, and a straight answer about whether it is worth repairing at all. What we give you at the house is a written price, before anything is touched, that does not change.
What is not on this page
Commercial and rolling steel doors, and anything structural — a rotted header, a garage that has settled — are quoted individually because the range would be too wide to be useful. Ask and we will tell you what we would charge before we come out.
Paying
What payment do you take?
Ask when you book and Jeff will tell you what he takes.
Do you charge extra for evenings or weekends?
Ask when you call. Whatever applies is said up front, not added to the bill afterwards.
Is the price different in Lowell or Pelham?
No. The service call is the same everywhere we go, and so is the price of the work. We would rather set one price across the whole service area than have you wonder whether your town costs more.
What is the warranty?
The warranty terms are written on the invoice you are handed on the day. If a repair we did does not hold, we come back and make it right at no charge.
Do you price-match?
No, and we would be cautious of anyone who does in this trade. A lower number usually means a builder-grade spring with half the cycle life, or a price that is going to move once the door is apart. Compare the cycle rating and the warranty, not the headline.
Know the number before we start
Book a slot, or send a video and we will tell you which of these jobs you are looking at before anyone drives out.