Since their conception in the 1920’s, garage doors have come a long way. On top of the multiple styles and materials – such as single wide, double wide, carriage house, contemporary…wood, aluminum, steel – garage doors have also found new ways of operating. Before, garage doors had to be open and shut by hand. Then along came belt drives, chain drives, and finally – smart drive. So, what are the latest gadgets for garage doors and where is the industry heading? Let’s see the latest in garage door gadgets.

Smart Garage Door Opener

Ah, the smart garage door opener. A total game changer for those of us who have often come home to discover we left the garage door open all day. Again. In comes the smart garage door opener, where controlling one of your home’s entry points is as simple as checking an app!  With the press of a button, your garage door can be open, closed, illuminated, or turned off. From anywhere!

Integrated Home Monitoring Systems

Home monitoring systems allow you to connect video cameras and/or motion-activated sensors to entry and exit points of your home. Including your garage! Enjoy the peace of mind of knowing your home is safe while you are on vacation, running errands, or any other time you are away from your house. Should a curious animal or an intruder try tampering with your garage door, you will receive an alert on your smartphone.

Eco-Friendly Garage Doors

It is becoming increasingly important to consider the environmental impact our choices and consumption have. Including what the items we use every day are made of. Luckily, manufacturers have begun considering the same thing. And now, garage doors with a lower carbon footprint are becoming easier to access. From sustainably sourced materials such as recycled steel, to well insulated doors that require less energy for temperature control. 

Accessibility and gadgets available for garage doors today have come a long way. There are so many options available, it can become a bit overwhelming to learn all the types of doors and features available. Especially with the ever changing world of technology! How do you choose? That’s where Adam’s Door Systems can help. Don’t hesitate to call us at 1-888-602-6550.

The options when it comes to choosing a garage door opener are endless, but it is important to understand which features matter the most in choosing a safe and reliable garage door opener. In this article we will discuss which features to look for in a garage door opener and how those features will benefit you and your home.

SAFETY

The first, and most important feature to consider when looking for a garage door opener is safety. Making sure your garage door opener has the standard Automatic Reversing feature will help decrease the chance of any accidents. The automatic reversing feature will automatically switch the direction of the garage door any time it encounters an unexpected obstacle. Sensors placed at the bottom of the door are also a great option for preventing injuries or damage.

MANUAL RELEASE

Garage door openers are a wonderful modern convenience! But you may still need to manually open your garage door from time to time, especially in the event of a power loss. This is why having a garage door opener with the Manual Release feature is critical. Manually opening your garage door is also a wonderful way to check for sagging.

HORSEPOWER NEEDS

It’s important to know which level or horsepower you will need so you are not wasting energy or overworking your garage door opener. The newer and standard garage door openers use 1/2 horsepower. Older doors, which were constructed of solid wood, are heavier and would require a higher level of horsepower.

CHAIN-DRIVEN, BELT-DRIVEN, OR SCREW DRIVE OPENER

You will need to decide whether you would like a chain-driven, belt-driven, or screw drive garage door opener. Chain-driven garage door openers are more affordable and stronger than their belt-driven counterparts. Their durability will extend the life of your opener, and their strength guarantees your garage door will open consistently.

Belt-driven garage door openers are ideal if you are looking for an opener that makes less noise and movement. The convenience of a quieter mechanism, however, comes with a cost and they tend to be pricier than a chain-driven opener.

Screw-Drive garage door openers use a different approach to lifting the garage door, and are faster and more reliable than chain and belt-driven openers. However, screw drive garage door openers require more maintenance and are not suitable for heavy doors found in older homes.

Now that you know which features are most important to look for in a garage door opener, you can consider some of the more enjoyable features – like an opener that can be controlled from your smartphone! No matter which garage door opener you decide to purchase, ensuring the functionality and safety of your opener relies on a quality installation job. If you are looking to install or replace your garage door opener, contact our trusted professional team at 1-888-602-6550.

No one can contest the fact that garage door openers are really important pieces of equipment in the home since they are able to control and lock the garage doors of the house.

Unfortunately, when the garagedooropener is not maintained or installed properly, it could create weird vibrations and noises that could be disturbing to the family. If the door opener is starting to become noisy, here are the essential things that you must do:

• Check all nuts and bolts to see if there are any loose pieces. One of the reasons why the door and the door opener create sounds during their operation is because the parts are loosely installed. What you need to do to solve this is to tighten all bolts and nuts and lubricate these parts as soon as they are tightened.

• Replace the rollers that have worn out. When garage door rollers are damaged or worn out, they wobble as the door is being opened or closed which leads to vibrations and sounds. You need to replace the rollers that have been broken. There is a new trend today where nylon rollers are used instead of steel rollers because they require less lubrication and they are quieter but they are also more expensive.

• Lubricate the tracks of the opener. Lubricating the track and all the movable parts will ensure swift operation and will cause less friction too.

• Isolate the door opener through anti-vibration pads. Anti-vibration pads are actually rubber pads that you can insert between the door opener and the ceiling of your garage so that the rubber can absorb the vibrations that the opener will make whenever the entrydoors are being opened or closed. These will also be very helpful especially if the garage is found right under a bedroom since these pads can reduce noise inside the room.

If manually opening your garage door each time is not your cup of tea, automatic garage door openers are just what you need. No bending, lifting or getting out of your warm car and into the biting cold to open heavy doors; all you need to do is press down on a button. The automated function also offers greater security, which is no doubt an important consideration if you have kids moving in and out of your garage with their bikes and playthings.

It goes without saying that you should invest in the right garage door opener. Here are some basic points that will help you make an informed decision.

First things first, what kind of garage door opener do you want?

You can choose from three options: chain drive, belt drive and screw drive. Each has its own mode of operation, pros and cons. A belt drive has fewer moving parts and offers very quiet operation and negligible vibration. It is, however, an expensive proposition. A screw drive has plastic-lined tracks and fewer moving parts. This translates into quiet operation and low maintenance. The chain drive opener is the most economical of the three. While its operation is reliable, it can get noisy.

Controls: What remote access options do you have?

Remote access is the basis of a garage door opener. There is the basic one-button remote for smaller garages and more for two-door and three-door garages. An outdoor wireless keypad is also a good option – with this, you can enter a security code to open your garage door. This is a handy solution for accidental lock-outs.

Garage doors come with rolling codes that roll through several permutations and combinations to choose a unique access code every time. This form of random code generation assures that intruders will not gain access to your door opening code.

When it comes to speed, you can choose from slower standard speeds (will entail some waiting in your driveway) and high-end models that offer quick operation. LED lights are also featured on some controls to alert you to malfunctioning units, and facilitate easier maintenance.

What kind of safety features do garage door openers have?

Garage door openers come equipped with features that help ensure the safety of people who get in the way. The sensors on many garage doors automatically bring a closing door to a halt when there is an object or a person in the way. Some come with automatic lights that are activated when the doors start to open. The newer units have reversing systems that stop the closing action and reverse automatically if the doors haven’t closed completely within a time span of 30 seconds.

Keep these points in mind, and buy a garage door opener that ticks all your boxes.