Installing a garage door and replacing one are treated as one job here: a new door going into the opening you already have, or into a new or wider one. What changes from house to house is the look, the insulation, and on parts of Long Island, how much wind the door has to be rated for.
For prices, see our installation cost page. This page is about choosing the door and getting the job done right.
Styles Long Island installers carry
Island Door Pros in Plainview lists four styles it installs most: traditional raised panel, carriage house, contemporary flush, and full view aluminum and glass. It installs Clopay, Wayne Dalton, Amarr and C.H.I. doors. All Island Garage Door in Bayport carries Clopay and says its range suits the island’s coastal and suburban houses.
| Style | What it looks like |
|---|---|
| Traditional raised panel | Rows of raised rectangular panels |
| Carriage house | Styled like swing out carriage doors, but it still rolls up overhead |
| Contemporary flush | Flat panels with no raised pattern |
| Full view aluminum and glass | An aluminum frame filled with glass panels |
Island Door Pros’ price table describes its standard single as a 9 by 7 or 8 by 7 insulated steel door and its standard double as 16 by 7 or 18 by 7. Measure your opening before you call.
Insulation and R-values
Clopay, the brand both of those installers carry, explains the two kinds of insulation used in its doors:
- Polystyrene is less dense than polyurethane. Clopay says it is the lighter weight and usually more budget friendly choice.
- Polyurethane foam is injected into the door and fills every gap. Clopay says it gives higher R-values and also dampens noise.
| Clopay collection | R-value Clopay lists |
|---|---|
| Classic Steel | up to 18.4 |
| Gallery Steel | up to 18.4 |
| Modern Steel | 6.3 to 18.4 |
| Canyon Ridge Elements | 6.5, polystyrene |
| Canyon Ridge 5 layer carriage house | 20.4, polyurethane |
Island Door Pros says an insulated door in the R-12 to R-18 range keeps the garage 12 to 22 degrees warmer in February, and that the extra cost pays back in 2 to 3 heating seasons. That is one installer’s claim, not a lab figure, but it gives you something to ask the others about.
Wind load near the coast
New York’s Residential Code has wind design rules that apply to every house in the state, according to the NY Department of State. Each town fills in the local numbers in a table in its code, including the design wind speed and whether a lot sits in a wind-borne debris region. The state defines that region as land within 1 mile of the coastal mean high water line where the design wind speed is 130 mph or more, or anywhere it is 140 mph or more.
For one example, the Town of Islip’s 2025 table lists a residential design wind speed of 130 mph and marks the debris zone as 1 mile from the coast and Fire Island. Check your own town’s table rather than assuming a neighbor’s.
DASMA, the door manufacturers’ association, says the code has required garage doors to be tested to the ANSI/DASMA 108 wind load standard since the 2006 International Residential Code. Ask the installer what wind load the new door is rated for and whether it carries a label showing it. Island Door Pros lists a wind rated upgrade at $150 to $400 extra on its jobs.
Permits and widening an opening
Permit rules come from each town’s building department. The Town of Huntington’s guidelines say no building permit is required for a door replaced in kind with no structural changes. Widening a single opening to a double changes the structure, and Island Door Pros says that work needs a building permit from the town. We have not confirmed the rule for other Long Island towns, so call yours. Nassau County Consumer Affairs reminds homeowners that the owner is responsible for permits unless the contract says the contractor will pull them.
Installation day
Island Door Pros says most single doors go in within 3 to 5 hours and doubles within 4 to 6 hours. Its standard single door price includes hauling away the old door. Ask every company whether removal and disposal are in the quote, because Nassau Consumer Affairs recommends a contract clause making the contractor responsible for cleaning up and removing all debris.
Get these in the contract
Nassau County’s Office of Consumer Affairs lists what a home improvement contract should spell out. For a garage door, that means:
- the county home improvement license number
- the start and completion dates
- the brand, model, size, color and insulation of the door, with the model number
- whether the springs, tracks, opener and weather seal are new
- the warranty on the door and on the labor
- a payment schedule tied to the work, with the last payment after the door is in and working
The office calls a fair down payment anything under 15%.