Door type
Automatic Garage Doors & Openers
An opener is only as good as the door underneath it, which is why we test the door before we ever talk about the motor.
Quick answer
Automatic Garage Doors & Openers: the essentials
An automatic garage door is any garage door fitted with a motorised opener operated by remote control, wall button, keypad or smartphone. Sectional and panel lift doors use a ceiling-mounted rail opener with a chain or belt drive; roller doors use a motor mounted directly on the drum shaft. Belt drives are noticeably quieter than chain drives and are recommended where the garage adjoins or sits beneath living space. Critically, the opener does not lift the weight of the door, which is carried by the counterbalancing springs; the opener only overcomes friction and small imbalance. This is why fitting an opener to an unbalanced or binding door causes premature motor failure, and why any retrofit should begin with a balance test. Modern openers use 433MHz rolling code remotes, include photoelectric safety beams and auto-reverse, and many support Wi-Fi and smartphone control. Doormec supplies, installs and repairs automatic garage doors and openers of all major brands across the Illawarra, Wollongong and South Coast. Phone 0490 774 111.
Suits
Best for
- Any household where someone has to get out in the rain to lift a door
- Homes where a heavy double door has become hard to manage by hand
- Properties wanting keypad or smartphone access without carrying a remote
- Existing manual doors that are still mechanically sound, via a retrofit
Trade-offs
Worth knowing
- The door must be balanced and running smoothly before automation, not after
- Belt drives cost more than chain drives and are much quieter
- A garage with no power run to it will need an electrician before an opener can be fitted
- Battery backup is worth specifying where the garage is the only vehicle access
Answers
Automatic Garage Doors & Openers questions
Can I add an opener to my existing garage door?
In most cases yes, provided the door is mechanically sound. The test is simple: disengage any existing opener, lift the door by hand and let go halfway. A door ready for automation should feel light through its travel and stay where you leave it. If it feels heavy or drops, the springs are addressed first, because an opener fitted to an unbalanced door will fail early.
Chain drive or belt drive?
Belt drive if the garage is attached to the house, sits under a bedroom, or you simply value quiet, because the difference is substantial and immediately noticeable. Chain drive is perfectly reliable and cheaper, and is the sensible choice for a detached garage where noise does not matter to anyone.
What happens to my automatic door in a blackout?
Every opener has a manual release cord that disengages the door from the carriage so you can lift it by hand. If the garage is your only vehicle access, or you have a steep driveway, a battery backup unit is worth specifying, because it keeps the door operating normally through an outage rather than leaving you lifting a 100kg door in the dark.
Compare
Other door types
Roller Garage Doors
The roller door is the workhorse of the Illawarra: fewer parts, less space needed, and a shape that fits garages built long before anyone designed for a sectional track.
Read morePanel Lift & Sectional Garage Doors
If you want the garage door to actually look like part of the house rather than a hole in the front of it, this is the door type that gives you the options.
Read moreCommercial Garage Doors & Roller Shutters
Commercial doors get specified on cycles and load, not on catalogue size. Getting that wrong is why some businesses replace a motor every two years.
Read moreThinking about automatic doors?
Ring Doormec for a straight answer on what is wrong, what it costs and how soon we can be there. Standard service call is $170 plus parts, and emergency callout runs 24 hours.