Terms and conditions for a garage door installer

A garage door installer needs terms that deal with the opening as found: headroom that will not take the track, a lintel nobody can see behind the render, a customer's own measurements that turn out to be wrong, and a powered door that has to be set up and demonstrated safely. I draft those terms for a fixed fee of £995, delivered in five working days.

Who this is for

Garage door and roller shutter installers in England and Wales, trading as a sole trader or a limited company, fitting sectional, roller, up-and-over and side-hinged doors and automating existing ones. Most of your work is for homeowners, who are consumers in law, but you will also fit and service shutters for workshops, lock-ups and small industrial units, and those customers are treated differently.

What matters in a garage door installer's terms

The survey and the opening as found

Almost every argument starts with the opening. Headroom, side room, a frame that is out of square, a floor that falls away at one end, or a customer who gave you sizes over the phone. Your terms should say that the price is based on your own survey, that any figure given from customer measurements is subject to survey on the day, and what happens if the door ordered will not fit the opening as found. They should also record, in writing before the order goes in, the drive-through width lost to the new frame and tracks.

Made-to-measure doors, deposits and cancellation

Most doors are ordered to the size and finish the customer chose, so a deposit that covers the order is reasonable. Where the contract is agreed at the customer's home or by phone or email, the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 give a consumer fourteen days to cancel, though goods made to the consumer's specification are an exception. Your terms should identify clearly which parts of the order are bespoke, give the cancellation information anyway, and explain what a customer who cancels the installation, as opposed to the door itself, still has to pay.

Power supply, the operator and electrical work

An electric operator needs a supply, and the dispute is usually about who was providing it. Your terms should say whether the price includes a fused spur, whether you are connecting to an existing socket, and that the customer is responsible for a safe and suitable supply being available on the fitting day. Certain electrical work must be certified or notified under the Building Regulations, so the terms need to be honest about what you certify and what you leave to the customer's own electrician. An abortive visit because there is no power should be chargeable.

Safety settings, handover and your guarantee

A powered door is a heavy moving object with a real trapping risk, so handover matters. Your terms should record that you set the force and safety devices on completion, demonstrate the manual release, hand over the operating instructions and the remote controls, and that the customer must not alter the settings or let children operate the door. Keep your workmanship guarantee separate from the manufacturer's warranty on the door and motor, say what affects each, and treat springs, cables, rollers and remote batteries as wearing parts rather than defects.

Old doors, springs and what is behind the frame

Removing an up-and-over door means dealing with counterbalance springs under tension, and taking out the frame often reveals a spalling lintel, rotten timber or asbestos cement in an older garage. Your terms should say that you price on what is visible, that structural repairs and licensed asbestos work are extra and may stop the job until the customer decides how to proceed, and that you are not responsible for delay caused by that. If you take the old door and packaging away you must be registered as a waste carrier with the Environment Agency, and the terms should state whether disposal is included.

Commercial shutters, servicing and loss of use

Fitting or maintaining a shutter on a workshop or unit changes the risk. If a shutter fails, the customer cannot get vehicles or stock in or out and will say your delay cost them trading. For business customers, exclude consequential loss, cap liability at a figure your insurance supports and set response times as targets rather than promises. No cap can remove liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence. Payment terms should carry interest and compensation under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, and retention of title is of little use once the door is fixed into the opening.

What it costs

Customer or supplier terms and conditions, £995. One set of terms, customer-facing or supplier-facing, drafted around your business. Five working days.

Review of your existing terms, £495. You already have terms and want to know how much of a problem they are. Returned marked up with my amendments and an explanation of the changes. Three working days.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the terms and conditions drafting page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• A full set of terms drafted around your business, not a template with your name inserted
• A covering note in plain English explaining every commercial choice I made and why, so you can defend the terms in a negotiation without ringing me
• Liability, payment, termination and IP provisions set at a level that will survive a procurement review
• Consumer-facing wording drafted to be enforceable where you sell to consumers
• Guidance on how to incorporate the terms properly, which is where most businesses actually fail
• One round of amendments after you have read them

What is not included

• Negotiating your terms with individual customers
• Sector-specific regulatory compliance beyond the contract terms themselves
• Website privacy notice and cookie compliance, which I quote separately
• Terms governed by the law of another country

Questions I am often asked

Can I charge for a survey visit if the customer then goes elsewhere?

Charging for a survey is your commercial choice, and the terms can make it chargeable and then credited against the order if it proceeds. What matters with a homeowner is that the charge is set out prominently before they agree to the visit. A price a consumer never had a real chance to see is open to challenge as unfair.

The customer wants me to fit a door they have bought themselves.

Fitting somebody else's door is a services contract, and you carry the installation risk with no control over the product. If you take that work, your terms should state that you accept no responsibility for the door, its components or its suitability for the opening, that you give no warranty on it, and that a wasted visit for missing parts is chargeable.

How do I stop customers ringing me for years about a sticking door?

Set out what your guarantee covers and for how long, treat adjustment, lubrication and re-tensioning as maintenance rather than defects, and price call-outs for anything outside it. A consumer keeps the rights the Consumer Rights Act 2015 gives them, which you cannot sign away, but you are entitled to be clear about what counts as a fault.

Related guidance and services

• Terms and conditions drafting, £995, the service this page describes
• Contract review, £495
• Consultancy and contractor agreements, £595
• Terms and conditions for a window and door installer
• Terms and conditions for an electrician

This page is general guidance for businesses in England and Wales, not advice on your own circumstances. Last reviewed: September 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.