Motorized garage door openers became popular in the 1970s and have evolved into an enormous market with a huge selection of different kinds of automatic overhead door openers for commercial and residential garages. Automated garage door openers took the inconvenience out of needing to leave the car to manually open the garage door. Various garage door openers may be set up by seasoned do-it-yourselfers, however, for most, installation should be entrusted to the experts. When safety is such an essential issue, as it is with garage doors and garage door openers, it's just better to leave it to the experts.

There are four kinds of garage door openers: chain driven, belt driven, screw drive, and jack-shaft. Every kind operates differently and your particular needs will guide you to the most suitable opener for your garage door.

Factors to think about when shopping for an opener:

Do you need extra safety features for your opener? This is very significant if you have children.
Are you looking for a very quiet opener?
Do you live in an environment with extreme temperatures (in which a screw drive opener may be the very best choice)?
Do you need to have remote access?
Does your garage allow ceiling setup of the opener, or do you have cathedral ceilings (which would make a jack-shaft the most suitable choice)?
What is your budget? Chain-drive openers are the least pricey of the four choices.
Chain Drive
Chain-drive overhead door are among the most popular of the four kinds of garage door opener. They are the least pricy. They are the noisiest of the four styles, they are incredibly durable and are a solid overhead door opener choice.

Belt Drive
Belt-drive garage door openers are quieter than chain drives since they use rubber belts. They cost a bit more than chain-drive openers and are best for people with living spaces above or next to the garage. There are also minimal vibrations associated with this opener type.

Screw Drives
This overhead door opener kind is oftentimes used in environments with extreme temperatures since they are developed to withstand temperature changes. Screw-drive openers will not suffer from iced over chains or other weather-related problems. The tracks are plastic-lined and there is very limited servicing involved.

Jack-shaft
Jack-shaft drives are good for eliminating that large garage door opener box on the ceiling of your garage. Jack-shaft openers are attached on the side wall of your garage and are excellent for garages with high ceilings. Another benefit is that they are super silent.

Find a local garage door professional who can assist you decide if you are not sure about which garage door opener is better for your garage.


Automatic garage door openers became popular in the 1970s and have evolved into a huge market with a plethora of different kinds of automatic garage more info door openers for residential and commercial garages. Automatic garage door openers took the inconvenience out of having to get out of the car to manually open the garage get more info door. When safety is such an important issue, as it is with garage doors and garage door openers, it's simply better to leave it to the experts.