A new garage door is a noticed improvement, especially when the garage is at the front of the house where all the dents and nicks in the old one are clearly visible. Sure, you can park your car in front of it to hide a less than perfect garage door, but you can also replace the door with a new steel door, designed for years of daily use, not to mention visibility.

A garage door company will replace a standard one-car garage door for $799, which includes a good quality steel door and its installation. You can buy the door for $500 and install it, pocketing an 11 percent savings, which isn't much of a deal when you consider all the work that's involved. Sure, you can replace a garage door, but we don't think you should. This is a job best left to a professional. It's not assembling the door panels and installing them that's tricky, it's installing the springs that provide the lift that opens the door that can be dicey. Figure it'll take you a long day of work if you have carpentry experience, longer if you're a beginner. Have we discouraged you from doing this one? Hope so.

If you want to know how to measure your garage door headroom and opening go to www.gadco.com. To watch a video of what's involved click here www.thisoldhouse.com.

Safety Tip: Be careful handling the counterweight springs, which are under substantial tension, especially when the door is down.