A glass garage door costs about $4,500. Depending on the glass type and door size, most spend between $2,500 and $8,000.
Installing a glass garage door costs $4,500, but depending on the specific type of glass and your garage door size, it can range between $2,500 and $8,000. Installing a glass garage door can transform your bland, old garage into a contemporary masterpiece, but there are some factors to consider.
Several factors go into determining the cost of a glass garage door, including the type of glass, the size of your garage door, the thickness of the glass, the style, and more.
Among the different types of garage doors, glass garage doors are quite a bit more expensive than the cost to install garage doors made of solid wood, fiberglass, or aluminum. Let's break down the biggest cost factors to help you estimate your total expenses for buying a garage door with glass panels.
Depending on the type of glass you choose for your garage door, you could pay anywhere between $2,500 and $12,000. Tempered glass garage doors tend to cost the least, laminated and impact glass cost the most, while insulated glass falls somewhere in the middle.
| Frame Material | Cost Ranges |
|---|---|
| Wood | $4,000–$7,000 |
| Aluminum | $2,500–$5,500 |
| Fiberglass | $5,000–$8,000 |
| Composite Wood | $4,500–$7,500 |
| Vinyl | $3,000–$6,000 |
Glass garage doors require a frame to hold them in place, which can affect material costs. Aluminum and vinyl frames cost the least, while fiberglass, wood composite, and natural wood garage door frames tend to cost the most.
The glass size also plays a role in the cost of your garage door. Naturally, the smallest standard-sized glass tends to cost the least, while larger standard glass sizes come in at the top of the price range. Keep in mind that larger garage doors—like three-car garages—and garage doors with custom glass sizes could cost more than standard garage door sizes. A three-car garage could cost upwards of $10,000.
| Garage Door Sizes | Average Price |
|---|---|
| 8’ x 7’ | $4,000 |
| 8’ x 8’ | $4,300 |
| 9’ x 7’ | $4,100 |
| 9’ x 8’ | $4,400 |
| 10’ x 7’ | $4,600 |
| 10’ x 8’ | $5,000 |
| 16’ x 7’ | $6,500 |
| 16’ x 8’ | $7,100 |
The thickness of your glass garage door panes can mean a noticeable difference in the cost of your garage door. The standard glass pane thickness is 1/8th of an inch, but many homeowners choose tempered glass, which is 1/4th of an inch thick. If insulation is important for your garage space, then you may want to go for an insulated glass garage door. This type of glass is the thickest and can range from 7/16 inches to 1 inch thick.
Unlike standard garage doors that come in many styles, most glass garage doors come in three styles ranging from $2,500 to $6,500 to start. Here’s a breakdown of the different styles and costs for glass garage doors.
Rollup doors: These doors have a moderate starting cost of $4,500, but they offer better durability compared to swing-out garage doors.
Swing-out garage doors: This garage door style has a lower upfront cost starting at $2,500, but it requires regular maintenance over time, potentially increasing costs in the long run. You’ll also have a harder time finding a glass garage door that swings out.
Commercial glass doors: With the highest cost starting at $6,500, commercial glass doors run bigger and heavier and are most often used in business settings.
Installing your glass garage door runs between $700 and $1,500 on average. Simple, single-car garage doors fall at the lower end of this price range, while larger, complex garage doors fall toward the higher end.
If you are building a garage from scratch, you may save quite a bit on labor for installing the door. When deciding who to hire to build a garage, ask the potential contractors if they can install your glass garage door while they’re constructing the garage structure. If so, you don’t have to hire another contractor to do the door separately, which likely would increase your labor costs.
Location matters when it comes to any type of installation service. The cost of living where you live, garage door availability, and your proximity to the installation company can make all of the difference in your cost to install glass garage doors. Some of the biggest price differences occur in regions in hurricane zones and metropolitan areas. You’ll need wind-rated glass for hurricane zones, which cost more.
Before you can install a new glass garage door, you’ll need to factor in the cost to replace a garage door. Getting rid of an old garage door costs anywhere from $40 to $250 if you hire a professional to haul away the door. Many pros offer removal services as an add-on to garage door installations, so check with your installation company to see if they can include this service.
The cost to install a garage door opener falls between $200 and $550 on average. Keep in mind, most standard garage door openers do not work with glass garage doors. Since glass garage doors weigh more than traditional garage doors, you'll probably need to replace a garage door opener with one that has more horsepower for it to be strong enough to lift the garage door. Heavy-duty garage door openers cost toward the higher end of the price range, at $300 or more
Again, the average price of your glass garage doors depends in part on the type of glass you choose for your door. Below is a closer look at glass garage door costs by the type of glass:
| Glass Garage Door Type | Average Cost |
|---|---|
| Frosted glass | $4,400 |
| Insulated glass | $5,000 |
| Laminated glass | $5,200 |
| Tempered glass | $4,000 |
| Impact Glass | $9,000 |
The average cost for frosted glass garage doors is $4,400. As the second most economical option, frosted glass costs around $400 more than tempered glass. This type of glass garage door offers privacy while still allowing natural light to enter the garage, making it perfect for anyone planning on using their garage as an office or bedroom space.
Tempered glass is the standard type of glass used in garage doors. This type of glass is the most budget-friendly, coming in at $4,000 on average, but it does lack privacy and strength compared to some of the other glass garage door types.
For extra insulation and energy efficiency, insulated glass garage doors are your go-to type of glass. Insulated glass, however, comes at a cost. You’ll pay an extra 25%, or around $5,000, to install this option instead of tempered glass. If you already insulated the rest of your garage, insulated glass is a cost-effective finishing touch. The cost to insulate a garage is about $4,700.
At $5,200, laminated glass has a high cost versus other types of glass garage door materials. Despite its 30% higher cost, laminated glass is more shatter-resistant and soundproof, making it especially useful for garages converted into bedrooms.
If you live in an area with significant wind storms or hurricanes, you may want your door to include impact glass, also called hurricane glass or wind-rated glass. Impact glass uses an extra layer of film between the panes to prevent shattered glass from flying around, which increases its cost vs. other options. The film, which often consists of polyvinyl butyral (PVB), is significantly stronger than traditional glass, generating the impact resistance.
Your homeowner’s insurance company may require you to install impact-resistant glass in the door, so you may not have a choice on whether to spend the extra money on it. The insurance policy may also require hiring a professional to install the impact glass garage door, so DIY isn’t an option.
Some glass garage doors will have a rating on a scale that indicates the ability to withstand impacts carrying varying force. Your insurer may require you to purchase a door with a minimum rating on the scale. The PG, or Performance Grade, rating scale is commonly used in areas with hurricanes. Another common one is the DP, or Design Pressure, rating scale.
Hurricane glass frequently costs anywhere from one-and-a-half to three times more than inexpensive types of glass, depending on the rating. Expect to pay $9,000 on average for an impact glass garage door, but a common range is anywhere from $6,000 to $12,000, based on the rating.
If you decide to install a glass garage door yourself, you could save anywhere from $700 to $1,500 on average. At the same time, glass garage doors are a big investment and heavy. The last thing you want is to attempt to DIY the installation and injure yourself or end up needing to purchase new glass doors entirely due to a faulty installation.
Your best bet is to contact a local professional garage door installer to do the job. Working with a pro ensures your safety, as glass, springs, and electrical wiring for a new garage door opener can all present dangers to anyone installing garage doors.
Although the cost of glass garage doors is a concern, a bigger concern is safety against high-wind storms and burglars breaking the glass. If you use tempered or impact glass on your garage door, it’s more shatter-resistant than standard glass. This is safer in a storm where you don’t want shards of glass flying around. However, if a burglar wants to access your garage, the glass door is easier to break into than a solid wood or metal garage door.
A glass garage door comes with many benefits that may make this garage door type worth your while. Some of the biggest perks to installing a glass garage door include increased natural light inside your garage, better curb appeal outside your garage, the illusion of more space, and a higher ROI.
One of the biggest disadvantages of glass garage doors is that they are not the best at insulating your garage. In the summer, heat can enter through the glass, while in the winter, heat can escape through the glass, increasing your electricity and gas bills as you crank up your HVAC unit. You can help mitigate the poorer insulation by investing in insulated glass and insulating your garage.
