The 3 Most Important Parts In A Garage Door Opener

If you're a DIY home repair kind of person or a handyman, at some point you'll need to become very familiar with your garage door opener. Overhead garage doors, whether they roll up in sections or swing up in one piece, operate on spring tension. The door moves on metal tracks on the garage walls and the heavy spring or springs provide the power. In most cases when the door doesn't work easily, it can be linked back to the garage door opener. Here are some of the most important parts of the garage door opener which give you a better understanding of how the parts to a garage door and opener relate.

Angle Iron With Mounting Straps For Strength

New Garage door openers come with everything you need for installation typically, but the mounting straps that are included are often so flimsy that you can bend them with your hands. Angle iron is a sturdier substitute that provides stronger installation and reduces vibration, which helps extend the opener's life span. In an unfinished garage, you attach the angle iron directly to the face of a joist with 1" lag screws. For finished ceilings, attach angle iron along the bottom of a joist with 3" lag screws.

Wires Are Sensitive

Wires run from your opener to the photo eyes and to the wall button are exposed and need to be replaced if you've had your opener for awhile or are planning to replace it. They may be nicked or worn. Newer openers are extremely sensitive and won't work if a wire is damaged. It only takes about 15 minutes to run the new wire so it's time well spent. If the wires are protected inside the wall, you don't need to run new wire.

Screws Are Small But Mighty

These tiny parts control the opening force of your garage door and a slight adjustment could make a huge difference in how well your opener and door operate. If your door encounters more than about 5 pounds of resistance when it's opening, you want it to stop. This is an important safety feature not to be taken lightly. The resistance could be your finger caught in the track. The check the opening force, rest your foot on the door handle near the floor and open the door using the remote control. When the door lifts against your foot, it should stop with very little pressure. If the door continues to open adjust the force appropriately.

At some point, if you haven't already, you'll become familiar with these parts yourself and their operation. As you can see, when you know all that is involved with the garage door and opener it's easy to troubleshoot simple repairs and maintenance that can extend the life of your system.