In today’s economy we all try to save a few bucks whenever we can.Last week I went to a couple service calls where the customers had gone to a box store and purchased garage doors and made an attempt to install them.The first customer stated they had over thirty hours trying to get them to work correctly,they had it mostly correct but not all,the brackets that hold the tracks to the wall were installed wrong for the thickness of the door.Luckily no damage was done to the door.I had to “undo” their work and start over.My second customer had purchased two doors (cheaply made single skin with an insulated backer) cash and carry about $400 each.He had installed one door completely and the other partially.He finally gave up and called me.I looked at the doors,he had installed the center hinges backwards,the hinges were broken and the door sections were bent and twisted,they were too damaged to ever work correctly.He had the wrong tracks for the ceiling height and the doors didn’t have very good insulating value, only R-6,since the garage was in the basement of his house he should have been thinking more insulating value.My customer decided to purchase two doors from me,now he has exactly what he wants,two 3 layer construction doors with an R 13.5 insulating value and insulated windows,the correct tracks and a professional install.One of the difficult parts of purchasing doors from a box store is knowing what you need and knowing the quality of the product you are purchasing.A responsible garage door professional will help you make good informed decisions,a great install and years of problem free operation.Will a box store provide that kind of service?Does the employee at a box store know garage doors?Who do you call if there is a problem?