Size / 16x7 double
16x7 double garage door install cost in 2026
The 16-foot by 7-foot double is the most common door in American suburban construction. Labour to install one in May 2026 is $300 to $500 on existing tracks, $700 to $1,800 if the wall opening also has to be framed. This page covers the labour line items only, not the door, opener, or permit fees.
Labour by scenario, 16x7 double
| Scenario | Labour low | Labour high | Typical time | Crew |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Replacement on existing tracks (most common) | $300 | $500 | 4 to 6 hours | 2 people |
| Replacement plus new opener | $450 | $700 | 5 to 7 hours | 2 people |
| Replacement plus new tracks and torsion kit | $500 | $900 | 6 to 8 hours | 2 people |
| New construction opening (no existing door) | $700 | $1,800 | 1 to 2 days | 2 people plus framer |
| Single-to-double conversion (structural) | $1,400 | $3,200 | 2 to 3 days | 2 people plus framer |
Ranges are US national averages from HomeAdvisor cost guides and Angi pricing data, cross-checked against published 2026 install packages from major chains. As of May 2026.
Section 02 / Why this size dominates
The 16x7 is the labour benchmark of US garage door work
Walk into any garage door supplier in the United States and ask what gets ordered the most. The answer is the 16-foot wide by 7-foot tall double, by a wide margin. The size lines up with a standard two-car attached garage opening and has been the default new-construction door for residential builders since the late 1970s. The Door and Access Systems Manufacturers Association (DASMA) tracks shipment data showing 16x7 represents roughly 60 percent of residential sectional door shipments in any given year.
Because the size is so common, installers have priced the labour as a flat-rate job. Most professional crews can quote a 16x7 replacement off the top of their head, because they have done several thousand of them. That predictability is good news for you: the variance on quotes you collect for a 16x7 replacement should be narrow, often within $100 from cheapest to most expensive. If you receive a 16x7 replacement quote outside the $300 to $500 labour band, something unusual is being priced in, and the installer should be able to explain what.
The big labour cost driver on a 16x7 is not the panel count (still four panels in a standard sectional). It is the weight. A double-skin insulated steel 16x7 panel set weighs 220 to 320 pounds total, depending on R-value. That is double the lift weight of a 9x7 single, and crosses the threshold where a single installer cannot safely set the bottom panel alone. Two people, every time. That two-person staffing is the reason a 16x7 replacement labour quote is roughly 50 percent above a 9x7 single, even though the work is qualitatively identical.
A second driver is the torsion-spring system. A 16x7 needs a longer torsion tube and either one heavier-gauge spring or, more commonly, two opposing springs to balance the door safely. Winding two torsion springs on a fresh install adds 30 to 45 minutes versus a single, and it is the most safety-sensitive stage of the job. Reputable installers will not skip torsion winding to save time. If a quote does not itemise springs as a sub-line, ask for that line explicitly. You want to see it.
The third driver, which surprises most homeowners, is the opener. A 16x7 needs more lifting force than a 9x7, so the cheapest 0.5 horsepower opener will struggle. Most installers will quote a 0.75 or 1.25 horsepower belt-drive opener for a 16x7, especially on insulated panels. If your quote calls for a 0.5 horsepower opener on a 16x7 insulated door, push back. The opener will work, but it will be noisy, slow, and short-lived.
Section 03 / Time-on-site
A 16x7 install, minute by minute
A two-person crew on a clean replacement runs four to six hours from arrival to walk-through. The minute breakdown below is the typical sequence on a same-day visit. Add 60 to 120 minutes if the tracks need cutting out, or if the wall opening has any rot, rust, or framing damage hidden behind the old door.
| Phase | Minutes on a 16x7 |
|---|---|
| Spring tension release and old-door teardown | 30 to 60 min |
| Track inspection or replacement | 30 to 90 min |
| Bottom panel placement and weather seal | 20 to 40 min |
| Panel stacking, hinges, rollers | 60 to 90 min |
| Torsion-spring winding and cable set | 45 to 75 min |
| Opener reconnection and safety reverse test | 20 to 30 min |
| Balance check and homeowner walk-through | 15 to 20 min |
Section 04 / Material and labour
How the door material changes 16x7 labour
At 16x7, the door material is a labour-cost lever in a way that it is not on a 9x7 single. The reason is panel weight. A non-insulated steel 16x7 weighs roughly 130 pounds total panel mass. An insulated steel panel set weighs 220 to 320 pounds. A solid wood carriage-house 16x7 can hit 450 pounds. Each extra 100 pounds of panel mass takes the installer crew out of comfortable lifting territory and into a slower, more careful pace.
Installers price that pace difference directly. A 16x7 steel replacement is the baseline $300 to $500 labour. A 16x7 insulated steel replacement runs $350 to $550 because the panels are heavier and the torsion springs need to be sized accordingly. A 16x7 wood door labour quote will be $500 to $900 because the panels need careful handling to avoid scuffing the finish, and the spring tension has to be tuned over a longer settling period.
Full-view glass-and-aluminum 16x7 doors (think modern minimalist) sit in their own labour tier because the glass panels arrive crated and need a three-person crew for the bottom-panel lift. Expect $700 to $1,500 labour on a full-view 16x7, plus a separate insurance rider on the install. Our full-view glass install cost page breaks the full-view category down on its own.
For a deeper comparison of door materials themselves (skin gauges, R-values, brand defaults), see our sister site material comparison. This page is the labour-only view.
Section 05 / Regional variance
Where the 16x7 labour quote lands in your market
National averages mask a 50 to 60 percent labour-rate spread between rural-Midwest installers and coastal urban metros. A 16x7 replacement in suburban Indianapolis lands at the bottom of the $300 to $500 band. The same job in Bay Area California sits at the top, with some quotes pushing $600 once city licensing and parking factor in. Florida Gulf Coast and Atlantic Coast quotes carry a hurricane-rated door premium on top of the baseline labour, addressed on our hurricane-rated install page.
For Texas, the labour band is closer to $250 to $450 on a 16x7 replacement because of low installer licensing burden and high installer density. See our Texas page for the state-specific quote ranges. New York City has a separate consideration: building access (driveway loading zones, doorman buildings for attached townhouse garages) can add a $100 to $200 access surcharge.
State-level wage data underwrites these regional differences. The BLS structural iron and steel worker wage table (47-2181) is a good proxy for installer-tier hourly rates, since most garage door installers do not have a dedicated SOC code and skill-pay against this nearby trade.
Section 06 / Common cost surprises on a 16x7
Five things that push a 16x7 install above the band
- Header beam damage
The header above a 16x7 opening carries more roof load than a 9x7. If it has settled, cracked, or rotted, the installer has to call in a framer. Add $300 to $800 of framing labour before the new door bolts up.
- Low headroom
A 16x7 standard-lift kit needs 12 to 14 inches of clearance above the top of the open door. If you have less, a low-headroom kit costs an extra $100 to $200 in hardware and 60 minutes of labour to fit.
- Old extension springs
If your current 16x7 still has extension springs, code now requires torsion on replacement in most jurisdictions. Torsion conversion adds $150 to $300 in labour and hardware over a like-for-like spring replacement.
- Smart opener integration
Pairing a 16x7 install to a myQ, Aladdin Connect, or HomeKit smart opener adds 30 to 60 minutes of setup. Most installers bill this as a $50 to $100 line, separate from the opener install fee itself.
- Wall outlet placement
A new opener needs a 120V ceiling outlet within six feet of the motor head. If your garage does not have one, the electrician sub-trade adds $150 to $400. Most installers will not do the electrical themselves.
- Weather seal upgrade
Standard install includes a basic bottom weather seal. Upgrading to a perimeter seal kit (bottom, sides, top) on a 16x7 adds $75 to $150 in hardware and 20 minutes of labour. Worth it on attached garages where temperature matters.