Motorized garage door openers became popular in the 1970s and have evolved into an enormous market with a huge selection of different kinds of automated garage door openers for commercial and residential garages. Automated garage door openers took the hassle out of having to leave the car to physically open the garage door. Many garage door openers may be set up by experienced do-it-yourselfers, but for most, installation should be entrusted to the experts. When basic safety is such an important issue, as it is with garage doors and garage door openers, it's simply much better to leave it to the professionals.

There are four types of overhead door openers: chain driven, belt drive, screw driven, and jack-shaft. Every type operates in different ways and your specific needs will lead you to the most ideal opener for your garage door.

Points to consider when purchasing an opener:

Do you prefer additional safety capabilities for your opener? This is extremely important if you have young children.
Are you looking for a very quiet opener?
Do you live in an environment with extreme temperatures (in which a screw drive opener might 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 openers are probably the most preferred of the four kinds of garage door openers. They are the least expensive. They are the noisiest of the four kinds, they are extremely durable and are a good garage door opener option.

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

Screw Drives
This garage door opener type get more info is usually used in climates with harsh temperatures since they are developed to hold up against temperature changes. Screw-drive openers won't suffer from frosted chains or other weather-related issues. more info The tracks are plastic-lined and there is very limited website upkeep required.

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

Find a local garage door specialist who can assist you choose 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 door openers for commercial and residential garages. Automatic garage door openers took the inconvenience out of having to get out of the car to manually open the garage 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.