About
One owner.
Thirty years.
Howard Helmuth has been fixing and fitting garage doors around Champaign-Urbana since 1995, and he still does the work himself.

Helmuth Garage Door Co. is a small, owner-run company, and that is the point. Since 1995 Howard Helmuth has been repairing and installing garage doors for homes and businesses across Champaign County.
Read his reviews and one name comes up in nearly all of them. Howard is the one who turns up. He looks at the door, tells you what is wrong in plain words, and gives you a price before any work starts. His customers keep mentioning the same things: the bill matched the quote, and sometimes came in under it.
He fixes before he sells. A cable, a spring or a set of rollers is a repair, and he will not talk you into a new door you do not need. One customer had been quoted more than $5,000 for a new door elsewhere. Howard fixed the broken cables in half an hour.
Broken springs are most of the work, and the replacement springs ride on the truck. A lot of reviews describe a door that broke in the morning and was working again that afternoon.
Straight answers
Things people ask before they call.
Do you charge for an estimate?
No. Coming out to look at the job and telling you what it needs and what it will cost is free, for a repair or a new door. You are under no obligation afterward.
My spring just broke. Can I use the door?
Please don't. With a broken spring the opener is trying to lift the full weight of the door on its own, which can strip the opener and bring the door down hard. Leave it closed, keep people and cars clear of it, and send a request.
Should I repair my door or replace it?
Most doors can be repaired. Springs, cables, rollers, tracks, hinges and single panels can all be replaced on their own. Replacement starts to make sense when several panels are damaged, the door is badly rusted, or you want a better-looking or better-insulated door. Howard will tell you which side of that line yours is on.
Do you work on commercial doors?
Yes. Helmuth Garage Door Co. installs, services and repairs residential and commercial garage doors.
What are your hours?
Monday to Saturday, 8 AM to 5 PM. Closed Sunday. Call (217) 273-1497, or send the request form at any time.
What areas do you cover?
Champaign County: Champaign, Urbana, Savoy, Mahomet, St. Joseph, Rantoul, Tolono and the smaller towns between them, plus Tuscola. If you are a little outside that, ask.
Reviews
Judge him on this.
Real reviews from Google, HomeAdvisor and Yelp, quoted exactly as written.
Free estimate
Tell us what your door is doing.
Howard is usually up a ladder when the phone rings. Send this instead: where the door is and what it is doing, and he will call you back to set a time. The estimate costs nothing either way.
- Free estimates — No charge to come out and price it.
- Since 1995 — Thirty years of garage doors in Champaign County.
- Owner on every job — Howard does the work himself.
- Homes and businesses — Residential and commercial doors and openers.
