I Need to Replace my Garage Door and Opener

[DonDavis]

Standard 7' x 16' garage door been on the house since built in '93-ish.
Opener is 1/2 Genie chain drive that sounds like a speed metal band on lots of Monster drink.

I'll most likely sell the place in a couple years so I'm not looking for crazy elaborate set up. Just a general door and opener.

Just noticed the next door neighbor is having their door replaced. Asked the guy to stop by for an estimate when he's finished there.

He gave me some rough numbers to chew on while he wraps up that job.

$970 for door with 1 3/8" insulation.
$370 for 1/2 hp chain drive, $440 ( could be wrong on this $ ) for belt driven.

At minimum, I'll have the door replaced by a pro. Entertaining the idea of replacing opener and insulating the door myself.

Thoughts from the peanut gallery, er... I mean, Brain Trust?

[recycled sixtie]

It is certainly worth getting another quote. I find the personnel who do the install - it helps if they are friendly. I check online opinions on the company mentioned. How long is the warranty for? For some reason the opener on mine keeps blowing the bulbs(I do install the hd bulbs though). Am in the dark a lot! We have a Barcol 1/2 hp which works well on the two car/single door garage.

Regular oiling helps prevent problems.

[recycled sixtie]

If you have not done it before watch out for the big springs. I would not recommend touching those. Friend of mine got badly hurt doing it himself.

[gizmofixer]

The insulated door is worth every bit of the extra few dollars.
Inside temps will be noticably better.
Panels are not hard to replace, it's the tensioning that makes the job (and keeps your motor lasting forever)

[dad911]

Originally Posted by DonDavis

......
At minimum, I'll have the door replaced by a pro. Entertaining the idea of replacing opener and insulating the door myself.

Thoughts from the peanut gallery, er... I mean, Brain Trust?

Buy it insulated. They figure the weight of the door when they supply the springs.

I would definitely get other prices, make sure they use torsion springs, and do the opener myself.

[vash]

i remember when i was NOT a home owner, i found myself at a Home Depot.

they had a Wayne Dalton garage door and door opener display. it had a big button that said, "press here".

so being me. i started pushing the button. nothing happened. i kept pushing. in a few moments an associate walked up and asked if he could help me. i said, "yea..what does this button do?" he said, "it operates that garage door"..and he pointed above my head. they had a half sized door display up above my head and i had that thing opening and closing like an idiot. (me being the idiot)

that thing was smooth and silent! i never heard it moving. the motor was built into that shaft that the big coil spring was on. so no over-hanging motor out in the middle of the garage. very cool. it is strange, but i think that design never caught on. i never saw one in real life. in a real garage.

[stevej37]

Originally Posted by vash

i remember when i was NOT a home owner, i found myself at a Home Depot.

they had a Wayne Dalton garage door and door opener display. it had a big button that said, "press here".

so being me. i started pushing the button. nothing happened. i kept pushing. in a few moments an associate walked up and asked if he could help me. i said, "yea..what does this button do?" he said, "it operates that garage door"..and he pointed above my head. they had a half sized door display up above my head and i had that thing opening and closing like an idiot. (me being the idiot)


that thing was smooth and silent! i never heard it moving. the motor was built into that shaft that the big coil spring was on. so no over-hanging motor out in the middle of the garage. very cool. it is strange, but i think that design never caught on. i never saw one in real life. in a real garage.

I have three of the Wayne Daltons working in my garage. Had them 10 years now and they work great! Quiet..fast..and no opener hanging from the ceiling...perfect!

[Jrboulder]

My parents 1996ish house in Scottsdale was having garage door opener trouble. I looked at it and there was a bearing on the sprocket shaft that was totally worn out and screwing everything up. I got an oilite bearing from Ace and cut it down to size. It was pretty easy to install. It worked great until they sold it.

[cgarr]

My friend has one of these and they are so quiet and pretty cool!

Direct Drive 3/4 HP Direct Drive Garage Door Opener with Smartphone Controller-1042V002 - The Home Depot

[vash]

Originally Posted by stevej37

I have three of the Wayne Daltons working in my garage. Had them 10 years now and they work great! Quiet..fast..and no opener hanging from the ceiling...perfect!

Oh yea. Fast!!!

They still sell anything similar?

[stevej37]

Wayne Dalton still sells doors, but they quit the opener business. I think too many users were having trouble with the programming...which is more detailed than most...which led to returns.

[rusnak]

I'm specifying an insulated roll up door for a warehouse space that I'm going to be building starting in a month or two. It has a motor that also sits on the wall. I have no idea of the make or model yet, but it's probably overkill for this app. I can chime back in when we've researched it. All I know right now is that I want a remote and security cameras all over the place when we open.

[Rick Lee]

Don, I got a guy who's pretty good, but I'm not sure if he goes to your area. He's based around Glendale. IIRC, he quoted me around $700 painted and installed for my two car door, but I didn't ask about the opener. He was here to replace the springs only.

[porsche4life]

Don go insulated. Call the guys I'm texting you about. Great guys.


Get a lift master opener with myq

[rattlsnak]

you can get very adequate openers at HD for $99-130. Easy install. less than an hour.

[gshase]

This is the best and super QUIET.....LiftMaster 8500 Elite Series® Wall Mount Garage Door Opener

[DonDavis]

Originally Posted by gshase

This is the best and super QUIET.....LiftMaster 8500 Elite Series® Wall Mount Garage Door Opener

This sounds very interesting.

[jrj3rd]

Great openers. Jackshaft openers are the way to go. Nothing overhead and quiet. My 2 have been flawless for the 6 years they have been installed.

[vash]

Originally Posted by jrj3rd

Great openers. Jackshaft openers are the way to go. Nothing overhead and quiet. My 2 have been flawless for the 6 years they have been installed.

thanks for teaching me the word, Jackshaft.

better than what i called it above..

[wdfifteen]

Just Wednesday I had a local guy who specializes in garage doors come over and give an estimate on replacing 2 7x9 doors. $1200 parts and labor and he'll install an optical door stopper and fix the non-operable door opener for free while he's there, plus he's sending over someone who might be interested in buying the house.
Home Depot wanted $1244 and would have them installed by one of their generic installers. Local guy says a big part of his business is fixing problems with big box garage doors and half baked installations.

I'm very happy with a Chamberlain belt drive opener that I installed at home a year ago. I meant to ask the pro door guy what he thought of belt drive. The belt is guaranteed for life.