How should I prepare my garage before installation day?

The 15-minute checklist, in order of importance

• Vehicles out first. Out of the garage obviously, but also off the driveway: the crew stages 16-foot sections, tracks, and a trailer there. A car trapped inside a garage with a dead door is a problem we can work around, so mention it when booking and the tech will get the old door open before demolition.
• Clear the walls and ceiling path. New vertical tracks need the first four feet of each side wall, and horizontal tracks run 8 to 12 feet back along the ceiling. Bikes on wall hooks, shelving pushed against the jambs, and those ceiling storage racks OKC garages love all need to move or come down. If a rack conflicts with the new track line, we will tell you at the estimate rather than surprise you.
• Verify power. One working outlet, plus the ceiling outlet if a new opener is going in. If your garage has no ceiling outlet and you are adding a first opener, schedule an electrician before install day; that sequencing question comes up a lot in manual-to-automatic conversions.
• Pets and kids. Spring removal is loud and the opening stands fully open for a couple of hours. Dogs that patrol the backyard fence line and door-dashing cats need a plan. August installs mean the crew props doors for airflow, so containment matters double in summer.
• Access, if you will be away. Keypad code, side door, or a neighbor. Most customers are not home and that works fine, as covered in whether you need to be home.

Nice-to-haves that crews notice

• Sweep or blow out the corner where the vertical tracks land; drilling into clean concrete beats drilling through a decade of leaves.
• If you repainted the garage interior recently, tell us. Fresh paint on jambs takes a fastener fine, but we will be more careful with layout marks.
• Photograph anything fragile within ten feet of the opening. Vibration from removing an old spring shaft can walk items off shelves.
• Decide on keypad codes and how many remotes you want programmed before the walkthrough so it is not a doorstep decision.

What you should never do beforehand

Do not loosen anything, do not unbolt the old opener, and absolutely do not touch the springs, cables, or bottom brackets. Every year someone tries to give the crew a head start and turns a routine tear-out into a hazard. The old door comes down under controlled tension release and leaves with us, per our standard haul-away process. Your only job after the checklist above is deciding where the first parking spot goes under the new door.