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.

A white two-car garage door on a detached garage under tall trees

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.

4.9from 54 reviews on HomeAdvisor
“Howard is fabulous! Came same-day to do inspection (broken lift), and did full replacement the next day, even over the Christmas-New Years holiday! Very reasonable price, extremely fast, and quality work; I will be a lifelong customer!”
Adrienne
Broken lift, full replacement
Google review
“Highly recommend this company. The owner is Down to the earth, very honest person, fixed the broken cables in half hour with good price. I called the other company first, they won’t fix it, just wanted to sell me new garage door more than $5000.”
Jane Zhang
Broken cables
Google review
“The owner, Howard, returned our call Friday night and came out Saturday by 1 p.m. He spent time trying to fix our 25 year old system. When he realized we needed a whole new system he told us he would be back by 5 to install it and even called earlier (coming out in a major rain storm) and had us back and running by 6 p.m. Super nice and excellent work. I highly recommend Howard and Helmuth Garage Doors, LLC”
Claire N.
New opener system
HomeAdvisor review
“Couldn't be happier. I came home to discover my garage door never closed. Silly me, I proceeded to dislodge the pull chain from the driver assembly and the door crashed down. Turns out that the spring was already broken anyway, which is why it never closed. I called Helmuth at 4pm (that's when I got home) and even though he was at another job that he thought would be his last for the day, he came over within the hour and made a late day of it for him. Good thing; my cars were trapped inside! He did excellent work and had me up and running in no time. Phew! He knows what he is doing and does good work and uses quality parts. Top marks.”
Chuck A.
Broken spring, cars trapped
Yelp review
“A spring broke on my residential garage door, leaving the door stuck in the closed position at a particularly inconvenient time. I called Helmuth Garage Door Co., and Howard came out right away that same day and had my door repaired in less than an hour. He charged me even less than the price he had estimated before seeing the job in person; both his estimate and the final actual charge were a fraction of what other companies had quoted over the phone. Howard clearly knew exactly what he was doing. Helmuth Garage Door Co. will have my future door business for sure.”
Michael Schuler
Broken spring, same day
Google review
“Awesome job. I called around 9am and they could send someone over at 2pm and he was super on time! The bottom panel of my garage door was bending and there wasn’t a spring system to roll it up. He quoted $650. He explained to me how the system worked and stuff. He wasn’t pressing at all, let me contact other places to compare, and I’m telling you, Helmut gives the best price! I called him 5pm same day to schedule the repair. He came right in the next morning and had it done at 11am! Very quick service, punctual work, professional, friendly, straightforward, and experienced (he has done this for 25 years). Highly recommend.”
Tony Pham
Bent bottom panel
Google review
“Extremely responsive. Both overhead garage springs snapped during bitter cold weather. Called Helmuth Garage Doors the next morning and although very short notice and three jobs ahead of mine, the garage door was repaired by 2 pm the next day. Tech even took the time to explain to my wife the cause of the failure. All at a price that did not leave me feeling like I was gouged because of my emergency circumstances. Highly recommended and based on previous reviews highly regarded. Wholeheartedly recommend Helmuth Garage Door, LLC.”
Antonio M.
Both springs snapped in the cold
HomeAdvisor review
“I recently worked with Helmuth Garage Door Co. for a garage door replacement, and I couldn't be happier with the results. After the spring on our previous door broke, we needed a quick replacement. Helmuth Garage Door Co. exceeded our expectations by installing a new door within less than a week. Howard was exceptionally reliable in both his service and communication. He kept us informed every step of the way, ensuring a smooth and stress-free experience. The new door looks fantastic and functions perfectly. I highly recommend Helmuth Garage Door Co. for their prompt and professional service. We will definitely be using them again when it's time to replace our garage door opener.”
Lisa Jagoda
New garage door
Google review
“I first called Mr. Helmuth when CU Overhead Doors was way too bored (so it seemed) to arrange a prompt service call. Mr. Helmuth came out right away. He diagnosed the problem and arranged to replace the forty year old door with a new one. Everything was done well and professionally. Have called him twice in the subsequent years. Fast service, everything done well and reasonably priced!”
Jean T.
Forty-year-old door replaced
Yelp review
“FAST response for estimate. He arrived when he told me he'd be here and fixed the problem very quickly. He even added additional metal brace at no extra charge. His total charge was exactly the quote he gave me. I'd recommend using him to anyone needing repairs.”
Meg H.
Garage door repair
HomeAdvisor review
“I highly recommend hiring Helmuth Garage Door Company for garage repairs. The springs for our garage door broke in early in the morning. I looked up several service options in the area seeking quotes, I called Helmuth and I was given a good price quote comparable to other service providers, and I was fortunate enough to have the broken spring replaced that same day. Howard made it easy and gave me a peace of mind!”
Patrick Dass
Broken spring, same day
Google review
“We had an issue with a garage door and called on a Saturday afternoon only to schedule an appointment. We were pleasantly surprised to have our call answered and our issue fixed with a couple of hours. This was far better than we expected. This is the 3rd time we have called Helmuth for garage repairs amd each time we are very pleased with the service, the cost and the reliability of Mr. Helmuth”
Diana Dudzienski
Repeat customer, third repair
Google review
“He came out the same morning I contacted HomeAdvisor. What I thought would be a complete overhaul, he had fixed before I arrived from work to my house. Total cost $80. I do need to replace the garage door & assembly in the near future, but he said this fix would give me some more time to save up. Quote for new door/assembly very reasonable. Will be using Helmuth when the time comes.”
Darlen D.
Repair instead of a new door
HomeAdvisor review
“Mr. Helmuth was able to expertly replace our 20 year old garage door torsion spring that had exceeded its lifespan. He came out on the same day I called him- on his birthday no less. I like to support local business whenever I can. Can't go wrong with Helmuth!”
Kaye K.
Torsion spring replacement
Yelp review
“I had an issue reconnecting my garage door to the automatic system after a power outage, where I disconnected it to open manually. I called this company for help and he came within a couple of hours, and reconnected it within 3 minutes. Very fast and helpful, and didn’t charge me for the quick solution. He found his sticker in my garage, so this company had originally installed it. The garage works well, I would recommend this company.”
Maranda J. H.
Opener reconnected after an outage
Google review
“Howard provided great service. There was a small issue with the original repair, and he came back right away to fix it at no additional charge.”
Jared Crowe
Garage door repair
Google review
“Very appropriate in his care- repaired rather than replaced for much less”
David H.
Repaired, not replaced
HomeAdvisor review
“My garage door opener recently quit working and I called Helmuth Garage door and he was out to my house in no time to replace it (my old one was 20+years). Fast and friendly service!”
Kaite Sanders
New garage door opener
Google review
“Highly honorable and reliable. He stands by his product with fast, fairly priced service! Rare!”
Michael A.
Garage door service
HomeAdvisor review
“Fair and honest could have charged more but it turned out to be a easy fix would use them again and recommend to everyone”
Terry C.
Garage door repair
HomeAdvisor review

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.
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