How garage door installation works
A look and a measure
The door specialist checks the opening, the room around it and the ceiling behind it. Their measure is the one that counts: Steel-Line makes a sectional door at least 25mm wider than the opening on each side and 30mm taller, so a 2130mm opening takes a 2160mm high door.
The quote and the order
You settle on the door, finish and opener. The written quote should name the model and the warranty, so two quotes can be compared fairly.
Power for the opener
If there is no power point near the ceiling, a licensed electrician puts one in. Sort this before the day the door arrives.
The door goes in
The old door comes out if there is one, the new door is fixed to the opening, and its springs are set so the door balances. Then the opener is set up to suit.
The handover
Ask to see the reversing check: B&D's Smart Pro manual wants the opener to back off when the door touches a 40 mm high object on the floor. Ask where the manual release is, and keep the paperwork.
The room each type of door needs
| Roller door | Sectional door | |
|---|---|---|
| Above the opening | 430mm to 510mm on Steel-Line's A and AA series | 290mm on Steel-Line doors, down to 150mm with a low headroom rear mount |
| Add for an opener | Allowed for in the side room below | 50mm more headroom, Steel-Line says |
| Beside the opening | 90mm by hand or 120mm with an opener on Steel-Line's A series | 125mm on Steel-Line doors, 120mm on a standard B&D Panelift |
| Back into the garage | The curtain stays above the opening, so the ceiling stays clear | B&D lists 3374mm for doors up to 2400mm high, with one of its openers and rail |
Choosing a new garage door
Measure first, then shop. The figures above are makers' own and Steel-Line calls its figures a guide only, but they rule things out quickly. A low beam points you to a sectional door on a low headroom mount. Storage hung from the ceiling points you to a roller door, which leaves that space alone. Tilt doors swing out over the driveway as they open, and no maker publishes a plain headroom figure for them. Single and double door sizes walks through measuring up.
Then think about what the garage is for. If it doubles as a gym or an office, read about insulated doors: B&D says an insulated sectional door can cut outside noise by 18dB, about twice what a standard Panelift does. If the door faces the street, the look carries more weight, and Steel-Line offers more than 70 Dulux colours, on its sectional doors only. Door types and colours go further.
Where you live can decide the door
- Cyclone and high wind areas: the National Construction Code asks for doors that meet AS/NZS 4505 in wind regions C and D, and Western Australia adds region B. Cyclone rated doors covers what changes under NCC 2025.
- Bushfire-prone land: the home's BAL assessment and the building surveyor set what the door must do. B&D says its BAL-Maze system was tested by the CSIRO up to BAL-40 on Panelift and Panelift Icon doors, and that it isn't available on roller doors.
- Near the sea: Steel-Line's warranty excludes installations within 800 metres of the sea. Gliderol's 7 year curtain corrosion cover has the same 800 metre limit for high salt. Ask how the warranty treats your street before you pick a door.
- Western Australia: Steel-Line says its UniCote LUX roller door isn't sold there and its DecoWood finish may not be available, so check the range in your state before you fall for a finish.
Garage door suppliers and how doors are sold
The large makers reach you in different ways. Steel-Line says it sells, installs and services through a network of 22 branches of its own. B&D says its doors and openers are sold and installed by its Accredited Dealers. Gliderol says it has production in all the major capital cities and supplies Australia wide.
Who supplies the door shapes the warranty. Gliderol says it covers delivery and re-installation only on products it sold and installed itself; where a third party supplied the product, it covers defects of manufacture only. So ask any door specialist which brands they supply, and whose name goes on the warranty.
What the makers' warranties ask of you
| Door cover | Servicing | |
|---|---|---|
| B&D | 5 years on Roll-A-Door and Panelift Icon, 3 years on Panelift | Within the first 12 months, then at least every two years |
| Steel-Line | 2 years on workmanship and components, 1 year on spring tension | At least annually, or the warranty is invalidated |
| Gliderol roller doors | 1 year on components, labour and workmanship when an authorised distributor or technician fits it | Recommended every 24 months |
Pick the opener with the door
Openers are rated by weight or size, so a heavy door can rule out a light motor. Steel-Line's SD1500 Pro changes from belt drive to chain drive once a sectional door passes 210 kg, and Gliderol's Glidermatic Dual is the one it lists for roller doors up to 16 square metres. Buying the two together can lift the warranty too: B&D offers its 10-year Total Confidence Warranty when a B&D door and opener are bought and installed together, registered, and serviced on time.
Garage door openers has the rest, including the safety features to ask about.
Licences and contracts by state
In Queensland, QBCC says anyone carrying out building work valued over $3,300 must hold a QBCC licence. In Victoria, Consumer Affairs Victoria says domestic building work worth more than $10,000 needs a written major domestic building contract, and builders must get Home Warranty insurance for work worth more than $20,000. The other states run their own rules, and our state pages set them out.
Not a weekend job
By Steel-Line's figures a sectional door can approach or exceed 200kg, and its manual says the door is constantly under extreme spring tension. The manual leaves the cables and spring assembly to a trained door technician. Don't fit one yourself to save a call.
What you can do, and what to leave
You can
- Measure the opening, the headroom, the side walls and the depth
- Look for a power point on the ceiling near where a motor would sit
- Check how close you are to the sea, and any BAL rating on your plans
- Clear the garage around the opening before the day
Leave to a door specialist
- The final measure and the order
- Fixing the door and setting the springs
- Setting up the opener and its safety features
- A new power point or hard wiring, by a licensed electrician
What we would do
Before you choose between two doors, write the servicing terms beside each one. B&D asks for a service in the first 12 months and then at least every two years, while Steel-Line asks for one at least annually. Over the life of a door that is a real difference, and a missed service can end the cover, so ask how the door specialist handles reminders.