An opener is a small motor doing an easy job, until it isn't
On a balanced door the opener barely works. On an unbalanced one it is lifting the whole door, and that is what kills them early.
Before replacing an opener, check what it is being asked to do
Disconnect the opener and lift the door by hand. It should feel like about ten pounds and it should stay put roughly halfway up. If it slams down or shoots up, the springs are wrong or worn, and the opener has been carrying weight it was never designed to carry.
This is the single most useful thing a homeowner can know, because it is the difference between a spring job and a new opener. Fitting a new opener to an unbalanced door just puts a new motor on the same problem, and it will fail the same way.
One customer here spent a long time on exactly this. Every cheaper option got tried before the motor was condemned, and when it was finally replaced along with some other updates, the door ran smooth and quiet. Order matters more than parts.
- Door balance checked by hand with the opener disconnected
- Travel limits and up and down force set to the door
- Photo eyes mounted at the right height and aligned
- Safety reverse tested against an object on the floor
- Remotes, keypad and any phone app paired and handed over working
Chain, belt and wall mount, and which one suits the garage
Chain drive is the cheapest and the loudest, which is fine over a detached shop and much less fine under a bedroom. Belt drive costs more and is noticeably quieter, and it is what most people want on an attached garage in a house where somebody is asleep upstairs.
Wall mount openers sit on the wall beside the torsion shaft rather than on a rail down the middle of the ceiling. They free the whole ceiling for storage or a lift, they are very quiet, and they suit a low headroom garage. They cost more and they need the right door and shaft setup, so it is a conversation rather than a swap.
One of the photos on this site shows a Chamberlain unit installed on a new build, with the rail hung off angle iron cut to length rather than to whatever was in the box. The ceiling mount is the part nobody looks at and the part that rattles for a decade if it is done badly.
Sensors, keypads and remotes
The photo eyes are a legal requirement on residential openers and they are the most common reason a door stops closing. They sit six inches off the floor either side of the opening, they have to point at each other, and a spider web or a bumped bracket is enough to stop the door.
A customer here had sensors on a door that had not worked properly for a couple of years, replaced on the same visit as a gate repair. Two years of a door that would not close reliably, fixed in one visit, because somebody finally looked at the right part.
Keypads on the outside of the door are the thing families end up using most, because it means nobody is hiding a key under a pot. Remotes get programmed and handed over working rather than left in the box, and if the opener supports a phone app it gets set up before we leave.
After a flood, a storm or a power surge
Openers are ceiling mounted, so water rarely reaches them, but the wall control, the sensors and the wiring runs are all down low. A garage that has taken water usually needs the low level electrics looked at even when the motor itself survived.
One customer had two garage doors repaired after a flood along with the openers replaced, coordinated by Kristen while they were out of town. That is a normal shape for this work: a couple of visits, somebody keeping you informed, and the job finished whether or not you are standing there.
Surge damage tends to show up as a logic board that will not learn a remote, or an opener that runs but ignores its limits. That is a board or a unit replacement rather than a repair, and it is worth checking whether the unit is still in warranty first.
Opener struggling, noisy, or dead?
Call and describe what it does. Half the time it is the door, not the motor.
What 37 homeowners said
Every quote below is a real review, word for word, from our Google profile.
I have been using Entrance Masters for almost 2 years, and from the first encounter the service has been absolutely fantastic. I had been having the worst issues with my garage since the recent purchase of my home, and they have been there every step of the way working to try to figure out the issue. Ricky tried every cost effective option he could before just saying you need to replace the motor, which most companies would not have. The motor was replaced a week ago along with some other updates and my garage closes and opens as it should and it is so smooth and quiet now.
When our residential gate stopped working I called them for a quote. Ricky was extremely responsive (even though he was out of town). He quickly scheduled his tech to come out and within a couple of hours he had our gate working again. He also replaced sensors on a garage door that had not been working properly for a couple of years. Once Ricky was back in town he scheduled to come back and button up a couple of loose ends and bring us some much needed clickers for the gate. Fantastic experience, excellent communication, skilled workmanship, extremely reasonable pricing.
We interviewed two garage door companies. The prices were very close however we chose Entrance Masters Garage Door and Gate Co. after reading great reviews and because it was important that they are local. We had many questions and they kindly and quickly responded. Also the delivery was on time and install quick. We have planned for a garage door for 20+ years and they helped us make our dream come true.
Tim Johnson repaired our garage door today. He went directly to the problem and fixed it. Then, he serviced moveable parts with lubricant. During all of this he talked with my wife and I explaining the various aspects of good garage door maintenance. His service was beyond expectations. We have been caught before with service people and it makes you wary. Tim Johnson spoke highly of his boss and it means that we are going to mention Entrance Masters to all our neighbors.
Great service and very reasonable! After another company told me I needed things I didn't need, I called Ricky and he came out and not only fixed it but did maintenance too, all for under 200 bucks. Would definitely recommend to all my friends and family!
Our garage door looks amazing and Ricky provided top notch customer service. First he was willing to communicate via calls, text and email. This itself is huge. So many companies today want you calling the office and email only which slows production and communication. Next he really laid out all the options and explained them in great detail. Once we narrowed down to two, Ricky went above and beyond really going over pros and cons of both. The install went quick and on time just as he stated. A few days after install he shoots me a text to confirm we're happy.
Monday to Friday, eight to five. (704) 960-0190.
That usually points at the wall control or its wiring rather than the opener itself, which is a much smaller job. Worth saying on the phone because it changes what comes on the truck.
A belt drive is much quieter than a chain, and a wall mount unit beside the torsion shaft is quieter again while also freeing up the ceiling. Both cost more than a chain drive.
Usually yes, as long as the opener is recent enough to have a learn button. Older units sometimes cannot pair a modern keypad and we will tell you before charging you for one.
Fifteen years is normal on a door that is properly balanced. Far less than that on a door whose springs are worn, because the motor is doing the springs' job.
If the unit supports it, yes, and it gets set up and tested with you rather than handed over as a card in a box.
Depends on the unit's age and what it costs to get parts for it. On something recent a gear kit can be the right call. On a twenty year old motor it is usually money you spend twice.
Tell us what the door is doing.
Most garage door problems are one part. Describe the symptom and we will tell you what it usually means.