Everything You Need to Know About Garage Door Openers

Garage doors aren't just lifted by hand any more. Modern openers come with a long list of features and accessories, and there's a model for almost every door. Here's what to look at.

Residential Openers and Commercial Operators

Home openers are designed for residential sectional doors. Commercial doors use heavier-duty operators:

• Trolley: standard lifting for commercial sectional doors.
• Jackshaft: for rolling doors, grilles, shutters and high-lift sectional doors.
• Hoist: a jackshaft-style operator with a manual hoist backup, for heavy industrial doors.
• Slide: for single and bi-parting sliding doors and sliding fire doors.

Drive System

Choose chain drive (strong and economical), belt drive (quiet) or a direct-drive or wall-mount design (quietest and lowest maintenance).

Motor Type and Power

Motor power matters most for heavy doors. A ½ HP motor or DC equivalent suits most single and double steel doors; heavy wood, insulated or oversized doors need more. DC motors add soft start and stop and battery backup.

Speed

Most openers move the door about 7 inches per second. Some faster DC models open up to about twice as fast and slow down at the end of travel.

Warranty

Opener warranties vary by brand and part. Motors typically carry 6 to 25 years, while parts and accessories have shorter coverage. Check what's covered before you buy.

Safety Features to Look For

These are standard on modern openers:

• Photo-eye sensors: an invisible beam near the floor that reverses the door if a person, pet or object crosses it.
• Auto-reverse on contact: the door reverses if it touches something while closing.
• Force adjustment: limits how hard the opener pushes.
• Emergency release: the red cord that disconnects the opener so you can move the door by hand.
• Automatic lighting when the door moves.

Noise

Chain drives are the loudest. Belt, direct-drive and wall-mount openers are much quieter. Regular lubrication and a balanced door keep any opener quieter.

What Makes a Good Opener

Safe, reliable, suited to your door's weight, and well-built, with weather-resistant components and tidy, protected wiring.

Opener Repair in Coquitlam

The opener is the most-used part of an automatic garage door, so it's often the first thing to fail. GVA Garage Doors diagnoses and repairs openers in Coquitlam and across Greater Vancouver. Call 604.398.4009.