Hi,
I’m purchasing a house with a new detached garage that lacks an opener. The door is not insulated and is approximatly 24″ wide. Does anyone have any recommendations as to what opener to go with. $300 is my budget. Thank you for your help.
Troy
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"I'm purchasing a house with a new detached garage that lacks an opener. The door is not insulated and is approximatly 24" wide. Does anyone have any recommendations as to what opener to go with. $300 is my budget. Thank you for your help"
Is that 24 INCHES or 24 FEET? Insulated or not makes no difference. Only the weight of the door matters. And if the springs are adjusted properly, even the weight doesn't matter a great deal.
I've used Sears garage door openers a few times and they have always worked fine. Unless noise was a consideration (it doesn't seem like it should be for a detached garage), just get a simple chain-drive.
Also, as I recently learned, if there is no other door to the garage, you will need to add a keyed remote entry in case of a power failure. I can provide more info if necessary.
-Don
"Also, as I recently learned, if there is no other door to the garage, you will need to add a keyed remote entry in case of a power failure. I can provide more info if necessary."One option that is available on many is an external link to the release handle.There are also units available with battery backup. However, if there was no man-door I would still want and external release on the door.There are always mechanical failures.
Hi all,
Thank you for the advice so far, keep them coming!!! Don D, that is a 24' or so door; my fat fingers must have pressed the shift key.
The garage does have an additional passway, it looks to be your standard exterior door and also two double hung windows if the need ever arose!!!
I'm basically looking for the best opener my money ($300) can buy and nice features.
Thanks again,
Troy
I am not sure what features you are looking far.I don't know the accelerator feature or the super quiet versions.Whether it comes with 1 remote or 2 or keyless (keypad) entry varies by the "package". But if find one that other wise has what you want you can buy them.There are a few other options, but kind of specialized. For example the high end Lift-masters have a motion sensor built into the manual switch that will light up the lights when you walk into the garage. But again you can buy that separately. Don't know if they have that feature on Sears or Chamberlains, but it is available as an accessory.One thing to look for is the height of the door. Common doors are 7ft and you will need an extension kit (or a longer rail if using a one piece rail unit). You need to check if one is availalbe for your model.
I don't know where you are, but $300 should get you a pretty good unit. Are you installing it yourself? I had a garage built last year and it took the garage door opener guy about an hour to do the whole job. That's all his company does. It's basically a Genie and it works great. The big key is making sure the door springs are adjusted properly.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
Are you saying the door is 24' (feet) wide ,or are you saying the entire Garage is 24' wide. Most doors are in the -8'-10'-12' range, and some of the wider ones are 16'.
but a 24' door???? I do'nt think so,but even if it is, then your going to need more than a 1/3 opener to open it. More than likely at least a heck of a good 1/2 may fit the bill.
Sears has good ones.
Hube,
Thanks for setting me straight, the door is only 16' (feet). I guess my 24' estimation was way off!!! This is my first two-car garage (actually 2.5), my last house had a one-car garage and I hated it.
Troy
Took us a while to get from 24" to 16' , didn't it?$175.00 will buy you all the opener you will ever need, but take your $300.00 and hire someone to put it up, please.
What the HECK was I thinking?
Nah, putting up an opener in this case is a good "first project" for a DIYer. Should be fairly straightforward in a new detached garage. The one thing that can be really screwed up is the bracing of the door. Everything else can be fixed if it isn't right the first time.
Twenty-four feet wide is a fairly wide door, so you probably want a 1/3 or maybe 1/2 horse unit, but other than that there's not much need for anything fancy. (1/2 horse is probably overkill on a lightweight uninsulated steel door, though reasonable on a better quality insulated one.)
Chain drives are noisy but reliable, and the only reason why you'd really want something quieter is if garage has a bedroom above it. If anyone can't stand the noise of an opener for the 10 seconds that it runs then they can't stand the noise of a car. However, there are some belt drive units available (basically with a flat plastic belt instead of the chain) that are a little quieter, almost as cheap as chain, and probably just as good.
Sears openers are as good as any. I personally wouldn't trust a Stanley as far as I could throw it, but then I'm a little prejudiced against Stanley. Chamberlain is generally on par with Sears, and I think has often made them for Sears.
Before installing the opener, spend some time checking out the door. Make sure it moves smoothly and is well-balanced.
If this is your typical steel door, you MUST reenforce the mounting point where the opener arm hooks to the door. Failure to do this WILL result in a bent door. With a 24' door this will be a bit of a challenge. Read the instructions, but I think I'd try something like bolting an 8' 2x4 across the top of the door to attach the opener arm, and then run the standard steel reenforcing channel (which you probably have to buy separately) the full 24' just above or below that. Be sure to rebalance the door after installing the bracing.
Plan the installation. If necessary (eg, when installing on open joists/trusses) install some blocking and bracing to stabilize the mounting point. Make sure you have the proper overhead clearance (the minimum distance between door and ceiling as the door opens), or get a low-clearance kit to go with the opener. Ie, make sure you know the required clearances and whether you'll need a kit before you buy the opener. Clearance requirements vary between units, and some units have kits available and some not.
Yes, the same company that makes the Sears openers also make the Chamerlains. In fact if you compare models you will often see that they are identical except with the lights on the side on one version and front and back on the other.Chamberlain also makes the Lift-Master's. They are similar to the Chamerlian's, but designed for sales through door companies. The big difference is that they have one piece rails.BTW, I don't think that anything but 1/2 hp units are available any more.I just replaced a 1/3 hp Lift-Master that operated a HEAVY (and often unbalanced) 18ft wood door for over 25 years.