Is it Time for a New Garage Door Opener?

Wondering if it’s time for a new garage door opener? Then let Boulder Garage Door help answer that question. Most likely, it will depend on the age and condition of your current garage door. With today’s smart technologies, garage door operators are much safer than their older counterparts. If you think about just how many times your garage door works throughout the year, you can understand why it will eventually wear out. Opening and closing a couple times per day all year long for a decade amounts to more than twenty thousand trips.

The Signs

Most likely, there are going to be some visible or audible signs if your garage door opener is nearing the end of its useful life. The first sign of a dying garage door opener is if it only works intermittently. If you must push the remote button many times in order for it to respond, this is the first sign of trouble.

Notice if the garage door opener moves slower opening and closing than it used to. This is another sign that it’s time for a new garage door opener. Hesitation opening is another subtle sign. If your garage door suddenly detaches from the opener and falls, this is a dramatic sign indicating the need for a new garage door opener and a dangerous one requiring immediate attention.

If your garage door opener suddenly reverses without prompting, this can be an indicator of a failing electrical system inside the opener. The other reason this may happen is due to the “eye” feature which came on every garage door after 1992. If anything is in the way of the closing garage door, or if the eye is misaligned, this can lead to the sudden reversal issue. Otherwise, its simply time for a new garage door opener.

Sounds and loud noises can be a red flag, telling of the condition of your garage door opener. Older garage door openers tend to be louder in general, with chain drives rattling along. If the chains are slack and vibrating, this could point to quickly approaching failure. The electric motor that raises and lowers your garage door will get extremely loud towards the end of its life, so keep your ears out for this sign.

Be aware if you notice vibrations coming from your garage door opener. You may see extreme vibration coming from the opener mounts which can even shake loose entirely. Old and worn out garage door motors will have degraded armatures and bent shafts and will vibrate within the housing. This can lead to big problems, shaking free of the mounts and even falling on top of your car.

Security

Garage door openers have come so far and in recent years, have started being outfitted with new smart technology. Now you can even control your garage door opener from your smartphone from anywhere with internet. An early edition of the average garage door did not include enough security measures.

Older models opened by means of a transmitting frequency which could be used on multiple garages in the neighborhood. That is how so many thieves made out. All they had to do was broadcast various frequencies and find the ones that worked for the houses they cased for robbing.

Luckily, with new garage door technologies, those days are over. Now, with a smart garage door opener, instead of using the same code to open the garage door, it will automatically use rolling codes, so it is never the same. This prevents thieves from finding a way into the garage like they used to.

Advances

Not only can new garage door openers boast a huge improvement in security features, but efficiency and convenience have also followed the new technologies.

Instead of fretting about whether you left the garage door open, you can simply check your smart device to see and close it from any remote location. All that is needed is a Wi-Fi signal.

Additionally, opening and closing your garage door for guests or your children just got a whole lot easier. They can each have their own device connected or have a code sent for entry when you grant it. There is no longer the need to have a whole new key made for guests when they can get easy access granted when you allow it.

If you are expecting a package and don’t want it left outside, simply open your door for the delivery man, even if you are at work. All of these options are available with a new smart garage door opener which is why it might be time for a new garage door opener.

Why bother worrying about what’s going on at home when you can just check in on your device and see for yourself. This includes when you are on vacation; you can permanently lock your garage door from afar to ensure no unwanted guests can enter.

Today’s new smart garage door openers even have battery backups, so in the event that the electricity is out, it will still operate. That includes garage lighting as well, for additional safety. This is immensely helpful in the event of a storm of any type; you will be glad that you had it installed when the time comes.

So, is it time for a new garage door opener? Let the experienced team at Boulder Garage Door help with our incredible selection of custom garage doors made just for you. An old and worn out garage door is going to give up the ghost eventually. The best thing is to prevent an accident from happening and replace your existing outdated garage door opener with a new smart garage door opener.

Be sure to check the signs of a failing garage door opener before they escalate to a point that someone gets hurt. Consider the security features available with a new garage door opener and reap the benefits of having more peace of mind. You and your family are worth every penny. Call us at Boulder Garage Door today to get started updating your old garage door opener.