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 residential and industrial garages. Electric garage door openers took the hassle out of having to get out of the car to physically open up the garage door. Many garage door openers can be mounted by experienced do-it-yourselfers, but for most, installation should be left to the experts. When basic safety is such an essential issue, as it is with garage doors and garage door openers, it's simply better to leave it to the specialists.

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

Factors to take into consideration when purchasing an opener:

Do you prefer extra safety capabilities for your opener? If you have little ones, this is particularly important.
Are you looking for a very quiet opener?
Do you live in an environment with harsh temperatures (in which a screw drive opener may be the most ideal choice)?
Do you want remote control access?
Does your garage facilitate ceiling mounting of the opener, or do you have cathedral ceilings (which would make a jack-shaft the best option)?
What is your budget? Chain-drive openers are the least expensive of the four options.
Chain Drive
Chain-drive openers are probably the most preferred of the four types of garage door openers. They are the least expensive. Although they are the noisiest of the four kinds, they are incredibly durable and are a good overhead door opener choice.

Belt Drive
Because they use rubber belts, belt-drive openers are more quiet than chain drives. They cost a bit more than chain-drive openers and are best for people with living areas 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 designed to withstand temperature changes. Screw-drive openers will not suffer from frozen chains or other weather-related problems. The tracks are plastic-lined and there is very little servicing involved.

Jack-shaft
Jack-shaft drives are very good for getting rid of that big overhead door opener box on the ceiling of your garage. Jack-shaft openers are installed on the side wall of your garage and are great for garages with tall ceilings. Another bonus is that they are very silent.

Find a local garage door expert who can help you decide if you are uncertain about which garage door opener read more is most ideal 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 click here garage door openers for residential and commercial garages. Automatic garage here 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.