Replacing a Garage Door Opener

A garage door opener is one of the handiest gadgets you can install in your home. And you can install it yourself following these general instructions and the specific instructions that come with the unit.

The typical garage door opener consists of a reversible motor that drives a carriage along a rail above the door. Attached to the carriage is a drawbar to move the door between its opened and closed positions, with travel-limiting devices to stop the door's movement precisely at the fully opened and fully closed positions. A relay or reversing switch reverses the direction of drive from opening to closing and back again. Most modern garage door openers include a radio receiver that allows you to open the door by sending a signal from an electronic module in your car.

Here's how to install a garage door opener:

Step 1: The mechanism should be installed at the center of the door. To determine the location, use a tape measure to figure the width of the garage door. Half this distance is the center. On the inside of the door, toward the top, draw a short vertical line down the center of the door. When you affix the drawbar (the mechanism for raising and lowering the door) at this line, the door weight will be evenly balanced at the lifting point.

Step 2: Raise and lower the door, observing the top point of its travel. Mark this location, because you must mount the opener so that the rail is higher than the peak of the door's travel. Otherwise, as the door opens, it could strike the rail.

Step 3: Inspect the area right above the garage door at your vertical dividing line; there must be a support in that location suitable for attaching the front end of the rail. If your garage lacks a structural member in that location, install a front mounting board. Center and fasten a length of 2 X 6-inch plank securely with lag screws across two wall studs over your mark of highest door travel. Transfer your high-point mark to this plank, and extend the vertical door center line onto the plank as well.

Step 4: Attach the rail to the motor unit on the garage floor, following the procedure outlined in the kit instructions. With the garage door down, lift and fasten the outermost end of the rail to the front mounting plank at a location about two inches above the intersecting marks you made for your door's high point and center line. The rail bracket provided for this purpose usually fastens to the front mounting plank with lag screws. If bolts and nuts are provided, however, you must drill suitable holes through the front mounting plank. Be sure to use washers under the heads of the bolts to keep them from pressing into the wood.

Step 5: Raise the motor assembly to the point where the rail is horizontal, or parallel with the door track. With the motor assembly held or supported in this position, raise and lower the garage door by hand to be sure that the rail location does not interfere with the door's movement. Once you establish the correct position and height for the motor assembly, fasten it to the garage joists with the metal brackets in the kit. If the position of the motor assembly is between two joists, or if the garage joists run the same direction as the rail, you'll need to fasten a length of 2 X 4 across the joists, and then mount the brackets to the 2 X 4. If your garage ceiling is finished, you can mount a 3/4-inch plywood panel overhead, fastening it to the joists with lag screws. Attach the mounting hardware to the plywood panel with heavy-duty toggle bolts.

Step 6: Attach the drawbar to the rail carriage, and move the carriage to its closed-door position. Mark the drawbar mounting-screw holes on the garage door, and drill the holes in the door. With the drawbar mounted and the holes drilled, insert and tighten the attaching hardware that fastens the drawbar to the door.

Step 7: Make all the necessary adjustments to the drive chain or lead screw, observing particularly the location of the bolts that limit the chain's travel.

Step 8: Install the radio receiver and manual push button. You can use ordinary bell wire for the push button, but be sure to place it where you can see the garage door opener in operation when you push the button. You can also install an optional key switch.

Step 9: Plug the drive assembly cord into an extension cord, and plug the extension cord into a convenient receptacle. Set the garage door in motion, using the manual push button. During the door's first test rising, pull the plug from the extension cord several times so you can check to be sure that there is no binding anywhere and that the lifting action is satisfactory. Make any necessary corrections using the adjustment provisions built into the garage door opener system, and verify the operation of the radio remote module.

• Roof
• Bathroom Remodel
  
• Kitchen Renovation
  
• Siding
  
• Decks
• Window Replacements
  
• Insulation
• Garage Doors
• Repair Garage Door Opener
  
• Garage Door Tax Credit

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