Everyone knows how hard it is to lift a heavy garage door. This is true especially if you are carrying loads of groceries, coming home in heavy rain or snowstorm, or coming home from a long, hard day at work. An automatic garage door opener is the answer to these inconveniences and will make life just a little easier for everyone at home.
Since there are many different garage door sizes, the best garage door openers will also have to match the garage door height and the garage door dimensions. Today, there are no standard garage door sizes or standard garage door heights. These facts make it necessary to ask what size garage door opener you need for a single garage door size.
Factors in Determining the Proper
Garage Door Opener Size
When choosing the proper garage door opener, there are several things to consider before making the purchase. Size and weight are the most important factors. If the garage door is small, extra power on an opener is a waste of money and horsepower. If the opener is too small it won’t be able to handle the larger door and the motor will wear out a lot sooner than it should. There needs to be a balance of cost and function.
Garage Door Size
First, the garage door needs to evaluate. This includes learning the necessary amount of horsepower that the opener will need. Naturally, a larger or heavier door will need a more powerful opener. The information can be found by measuring the height and width of the door first. A double door may need more horsepower than a single-door opener. Single-care doors are usually 8 feet tall by 10 feet wide. Anything larger is mainly for two cars.
Garage Door Material/Weight
The type of door material factors in the heaviness. A wood door is heavier than a common steel door that is uninsulated so the wooden door will need more power. Horsepower options are also comparable. The openers can be anywhere from 1/3 to more than one horsepower.
Residential garage doors typically need a 1/2 horsepower opener. An insulated two-car garage door or a wooden door that is up to 8 feet tall and 16 feet wide may easily need a 3/4 horsepower. Anything larger than that will more than likely need a one-horsepower opener. These choices will keep strain from destroying the opener.
Determine the Type of Drive You Need
Another choice to make is the type of drive needed. Smaller doors can do well with a chain, screw, or belt-driven opener safely without strain on the motor. The belt and screw types are also less noise than the chain models. However, if there is a problem with a chain opener, they are much easier to repair if there is a problem. Two-car garages should use a chain or screw-driven type.
Get Help from a Garage Door Professional
Once the decision is made for the proper opener, there is also the decision on whether it will be installed by a professional or by yourself. Hiring an expert will allow a homeowner to rest assured that the job is being done correctly. Contact Ridgeline Overhead Door today for a free consultation.