Motorized garage door openers became popular in the 1970s and have expanded into a massive market with a wide variety of different kinds of electric overhead door openers for commercial and residential garages. Automatic garage door openers took the trouble out of needing to get out of the car to physically open up the garage door. Many garage door openers can be mounted by experienced do-it-yourselfers, but for most, installation should be entrusted to the experts. When basic safety is such an important issue, as it is with garage doors and garage door openers, it's simply much better to leave it to the professionals.

There are four styles of garage door openers: chain drive, belt driven, screw drive, and jack-shaft. Each kind operates differently and your particular needs will lead you to the most ideal opener for your garage door.

Points to consider when purchasing an opener:

Do you prefer additional safety capabilities for your opener? If you have children, this is especially important.
Are you shopping for a very quiet opener?
Do you live in a climate with harsh temperature levels (in which a screw drive opener would be optimum selection)?
Do you need remote control access?
Does your garage facilitate ceiling mounting of the opener, or do you have high ceilings (which here would make a jack-shaft the best option)?
What is your budget? Chain-drive openers are the least pricey of the four choices.
Chain Drive
Chain-drive openers are probably the most popular of the four kinds of garage door opener. They are the least expensive. They are the noisiest of the four types, they are incredibly durable and are a solid overhead door opener choice.

Belt Drive
Belt-drive garage door openers are quieter than chain drives since they use rubber belts. They cost a bit more than chain-drive openers and are best for people with living spaces above or next to the garage. There are also minimal vibrations related to this opener type.

Screw Drives
This garage door opener style is commonly used in climates with harsh temperatures since they are built to hold up against temperature changes. Screw-drive openers won't struggle with iced up chains or other weather-related matters. The tracks are plastic-lined and there is very little care involved.

Jack-shaft
Jack-shaft drives are very good for getting rid of that big overhead door opener box on the ceiling of your garage. Jack-shaft openers are installed on the side wall of your garage and are great for garages with tall ceilings. Another advantage is that they are super silent.

Find a local garage door professional who can assist you decide if you are not sure about which garage door opener is most ideal for your garage.


Automatic garage door openers became popular in the 1970s and have evolved into a huge market with a plethora of different kinds of automatic garage door openers for residential and commercial garages. Automatic garage door openers took the inconvenience out of having to get out of the car to manually open the garage door. When safety is such an important issue, as it is with garage doors and garage door openers, it's simply better to leave it to the experts.