At some point, every garage door will need a new opener. For some people, this means that they must hire a professional to come in and take care of it. For others, they want to know more about whether they can install a new door opener on their own. That is why we are here to say that you can avoid paying others. We know that you can tackle easy DIY garage doors opener installation. However, the first step is making sure that it is the opener and not the door that is causing your issues. This can be done by testing the doors balance to see if it can stay halfway opened on its own and by looking to make sure that there are no broken parts.
Once you have determined that the door is fine, you will want to choose the right opener for your garage door. Ideally, you will choose either a 1/2-hp or a 3/4-hp door opener. Choosing larger is a waste of money since your garage door will only open so fast. You will also need to choose chain driven, belt driven, or a screw driven opener. In some cases, it is easiest to go back with the type of opener you had before.
The hardest part of actually installing the opener is that you will have to assemble it and then mount it to the header bracket. The bracket is going to be above the door. Some people find it useful to either have a helper or use ladders and wood to hold it up while you continue to hang it. It is also recommended that you use angle irons rather than flimsy straps when hanging it to ensure you do not have to tackle the repair again in the future. You will also want to replace the photoelectric eyes and wall button openers while you are at it. This also means replacing worn wires and all other things that you can see.
After the install, you will then want to make sure that the door functions the way it is supposed to. This means the force of the open and close. Does it stop if you apply pressure to it? As a safety feature, all doors stop if something solid is under them or pushed against them. If your door stops, you are done with the repair. If it doesn’t, you may need to try again to repair it.