We put motors on existing garage doors, fit new electric and insulated doors, replace remotes and repair doors that have stopped working across Washington. Many homes here have an integral or attached garage, and plenty still have the door they were built with. So the first decision is usually whether to keep the door and add a motor, or replace it.
Helping you choose between a motor and a new door
Our work on the estates covers four kinds of job: openers added to sound up-and-over doors, new sectional and roller doors with motors, matched handsets for older openers, and repairs to doors that stick, reverse or stop.
From first message to written quote
Send your details through the quote form at the top of this page, or email info@remotegaragedoor.co.uk. Tell us which district you are in, how the door runs when you lift it by hand and whether a room sits over the garage. A photo of the door from outside and one from inside, showing the mechanism and any nearby socket, lets us judge whether it can take a motor. If it can, the written quote covers the opener and remotes. If it can't, we explain why and price a new door instead, so you can compare the two routes.
What you can count on
Our advice is plain. If the cheaper route will serve you well, we recommend it. The opening is measured properly before any door is ordered. Once the work is finished, we test the force limits and obstacle detection, pair the remotes and show you the manual release, which matters if the garage is how you usually get into the house.
What makes a Washington garage different?
The town was developed as a new town from the 1960s, built around numbered districts, so integral and attached garages are a common feature. A garage built into the house shares walls with your living space and may have a room directly above. Any draught, noise or vibration from the door is more likely to be felt indoors.
On the plus side, an integral garage is often closer to a power supply than a detached one, which can make fitting an opener more straightforward.
Is your original door worth keeping?
If the door still runs well, it probably is. Age alone does not rule a door out, because an opener only needs a door that moves smoothly and stays balanced. A 1970s or 1980s door in Washington that has been looked after can take a motor without trouble.
Signs it is a good candidate
Lift the door by hand. It should move evenly, with no sticking or dropping, and it should not fly up or crash down part of the way. A straight frame and sound tracks are also encouraging, and automation is then a tidy upgrade.
Signs it is time for a new door
Rust, twisting and damaged tracks all point the other way, and so does a door that is hard to lift. A motor on a door like this will strain, and the safety systems can trip. If there is no socket near the motor position, a qualified electrician can add one, at a typical UK guide figure of £80 to £150.
How the two routes compare on cost and comfort
Seeing the two side by side usually settles it for a Washington semi or townhouse. The prices are typical 2026 UK guide figures for a single garage and are not our price list.
| Question | Add a motor to an up-and-over door | New insulated sectional door |
|---|---|---|
| Typical guide cost, fitted | £300 to £600 | £1,200 to £3,000 for an electric sectional |
| Remote control | Yes | Yes |
| Warmth and draughts | Little change | A clear improvement |
| Swings out on the drive | Yes | No, it lifts vertically |
| Best when | The door is sound and the garage is mainly for parking or storage | The door is tired or the garage is cold |
A new electric roller door is another option, typically £900 to £2,000 fitted, and our price guide has the wider figures.
Our integral garage is cold. What would help?
An insulated door with good seals is a strong starting point, particularly if the garage shares a wall with living space. Single-skin doors let the cold straight in, and draughts along the bottom and sides make it worse. A double-skinned sectional door is usually the best performer on these estates, while a foam-filled roller door keeps the ceiling clear.
The walls and roof matter as well, so even a well-sealed insulated garage door will not turn the garage into a warm room on its own. If you have damp as well as cold, ventilation counts too, especially when a wet car goes in at the end of the day.
Quieter running for the rooms above
If someone sleeps over the garage, a chain drive is good value but the louder choice. Typical UK guide figures are £250 to £400 for chain, £350 to £550 for belt and £500 to £800 for direct drive, and a belt or direct drive is usually worth the difference in a Washington home with a bedroom over the door.
Older openers, lost remotes and doors that have stopped
If your opener dates from the same era as the door and the remote has failed, you can usually keep the system. We can match a replacement remote to its frequency and coding type. If the remote is obsolete, a new receiver can often be added to the existing motor.
Older fixed-code systems can be copied by a cloning remote, while modern rolling-code systems change the code on every press. Extra handsets or a wall keypad suit busy Washington households where drivers come and go at different times.
If the door itself has failed
A door that sticks, reverses or stops part-way is a job for a repair. If it has dropped or gone crooked, stop using it, because springs and cables are under high tension. Our guide on safety and power cuts explains the manual release.
Concord, Oxclose and the other districts we cover
We work across Washington, including Concord, Oxclose, Columbia, Barmston and Fatfield. The same estate often has the same door on every house, so if your neighbour's conversion worked well, there is a fair chance yours will too. We still check each door on its own merits.
If you live in Washington and want advice on your own door, use the quote form at the top of this page. Tell us your district, how the door runs and whether the garage sits under a room, and add a photo if you can. We can then suggest the motor or door that fits how you use the space.
