Are you in the process of building a new garage? While making plans for your construction, you may notice a lot of space hanging over your garage door. The trolley-centered garage door opener may be taking up a lot of room. Do you ever wonder if there is an alternative to this garage door pulley system?
If so, the answer is yes! This article explains everything you need to know about a great alternative to traditional garage door openers. You will come to understand how they are used, when the best time is to use one, and what space requirements are needed to install one in your own garage.
How can a door opener be installed beside the door?
A wall‑mounted garage door opener is designed to be used in garages with high ceilings. More frequently, we are seeing homes being built with garage ceiling heights over 10 ft. (3 m), a design known as cathedral ceilings. Since homeowners want more space and a sleeker look in their garages, wall‑mounted door openers can be a viable option.
To put things in perspective, most garage doors measure 7 ft. high (2.1 m). The majority of door openers sold today are mounted centrally on the ceiling, and are known as trolley‑type garage door openers. Our specialty wall‑mounted door opener sits beside the door, and is known as a “Jackshaft” opener. This measures 16 ¼" high by 6" wide by 6 ¾"" deep (41 cm x 15 cm x 17 cm).
There are several advantages to this wall‑mounted door opener. It is just as safe as a traditional trolley opener, and comes with a photoelectric reversal system to ensure smooth opening and closing of your door. It uses the advanced Security+ 2.0 system to make sure that nobody can pick up on your opener signal and access your garage. There is also a three‑button control panel on the wall to make opening and closing your door easier. It can also be equipped with MyQ technology, which allows you to have full control over your door using your smartphone or tablet.
When is this door opener recommended?
This wall‑mounted door opener is a great alternative to a traditional opener, as long as your floor-to-ceiling distance ceiling in your garage measures over 10 ft. (3 m). And, if your garage door is over 7 ft. (2.1 m) high, you will have the ideal space in your garage to install this device. You can hang the monitor at least 3 ft. (61 cm) from the ceiling, and the brackets that hold the monitor will be long and securely installed.
This type of door opener is also great if you have a cathedral ceiling, or a large sloped ceiling. This type of ceiling may make centrally-mounted trolley openers unsafe and unideal. A wall‑mounted opener offers practicality and a sleeker look.
Are there any physical constraints?
There are only two major physical constraints that you should know about:
- You must have enough space on one side of your garage door, preferably at least 8 inches (20 cm) on one side.
- If you have any type of torsion hardware installed on your garage door, you should use a solid shaft instead of a tube to hold the springs together. This is what the opener uses to open and close the door, and doing so safely is the key to success.
No matter which type of opener you decide to use, it is extremely important that you understand that the door must remain properly balanced. As a general rule of thumb, a well-balanced garage door should be able to be lifted with one hand. It should also only weigh between 8 and 10 pounds (3.5 and 4.5 kg).
Is this wall‑mounted opener more expensive?
It is slightly more expensive, but the benefits far outweigh the small extra cost. To put things in perspective, the model 8355W (a professional trolley opener with ½ HP and a belt drive) sells for $375 – $400, while the wall‑mounted opener, such as the model 8500C, will cost just $150 – $175 more on top of that.
Where can I learn more?
If you’re interested in consulting with our garage door specialists, you’ve come to the right place. We know door openers better than anyone in the industry. For more information, please contact us anytime at 506-450-3031. You can also visit our website to request an online quotation.
Come and visit our showroom to see a wide range of doors and door openers available to you on the market. If you’re on our website, you can use our Design Centre to make your own garage door design that matches with your home. You can also view our image gallery to see what others have created.
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