Automating My Garage Door

[Moods]

Hi, looking for some help/guidance. I am looking to automate one of my garage doors. it is less than a year old, up and over style with a power socket already in place overhead. Does anyone have any ideas on ballpark cost for this and any recommendations of who I could use? I am in the North Essex area.



thank you!

[BaldOldMan]

How handy are you ?

They are not that difficult to DIY - a Chamberlain opener from Amazon will be a couple of hundred quid.

[Moods]

Thanks. On a scale of 1-10 I would say I am around a 5 for handiness. Would that be sufficient?

[langtounlad]

You need a conversion kit (springs, reinforcing plates etc) in addition to the automation kit. Budget ~ £500 + vat for it to be done properly & to the correct safety standard.

[Captain Raymond Holt]

General caution- be very careful if playing with the springs.


They will fk you up!

[Mogsmex]

Nathan done my new door and a couple of mates since, very reasonable and concise neat work

https://www.murray-garage-doors.co.uk/

not sure if he does just the openers on there own but worth a call ?

[anonymous-user]

I did mine myself.

Mine is an up and over canopy. Yours looks like up and over fully retractable (it all ends up indoors with none poking outside (canopy))

I bought a Liftmaster 5580 for around £200. I had to buy a "chamberlain arm" adapter for another £70 or so - needed for up and over canopy doors. I dont think you need them for fully retractable doors.

My doors have weights on wires that I didn't touch.

I'd rate it as a 7 /10 job. Read the instructions twice, install once. Veyr nice bit of kit with auto sensing when the limits are reached etc.

Installing the IR beam sensors took a little while - making little blocks of wood to mount the brackets on so they were in the right place. All done in a long afternoon.

[Cold]

If you've got the budget that garage looks to be crying out for a pair of automated roller doors.

[Convert]

I did one of my garage doors about 13 years ago, with a £50 Einhell kit from Aldi.

Still works fine.

Failry easy to fit.

[Moods]

Mogsmex said:

Nathan done my new door and a couple of mates since, very reasonable and concise neat work

https://www.murray-garage-doors.co.uk/

not sure if he does just the openers on there own but worth a call ?

thanks.

[Moods]

RogerDodger said:

I did mine myself.

Mine is an up and over canopy. Yours looks like up and over fully retractable (it all ends up indoors with none poking outside (canopy))

I bought a Liftmaster 5580 for around £200. I had to buy a "chamberlain arm" adapter for another £70 or so - needed for up and over canopy doors. I dont think you need them for fully retractable doors.

My doors have weights on wires that I didn't touch.

I'd rate it as a 7 /10 job. Read the instructions twice, install once. Veyr nice bit of kit with auto sensing when the limits are reached etc.

Installing the IR beam sensors took a little while - making little blocks of wood to mount the brackets on so they were in the right place. All done in a long afternoon.

I get the impression I may be better off getting someone else to fit for me. I'll probably end up spending an afternoon trying to do it then paying someone to bail me out.

[Moods]

Cold said:

If you've got the budget that garage looks to be crying out for a pair of automated roller doors.

is there a benefit to roller doors over the ones I have? I am not keen on changing the doors as they are less than a year old and iw ould need to change all three so they match.

[anonymous-user]

Moods said:

RogerDodger said:

I did mine myself.

Mine is an up and over canopy. Yours looks like up and over fully retractable (it all ends up indoors with none poking outside (canopy))

I bought a Liftmaster 5580 for around £200. I had to buy a "chamberlain arm" adapter for another £70 or so - needed for up and over canopy doors. I dont think you need them for fully retractable doors.

My doors have weights on wires that I didn't touch.

I'd rate it as a 7 /10 job. Read the instructions twice, install once. Veyr nice bit of kit with auto sensing when the limits are reached etc.

Installing the IR beam sensors took a little while - making little blocks of wood to mount the brackets on so they were in the right place. All done in a long afternoon.

I get the impression I may be better off getting someone else to fit for me. I'll probably end up spending an afternoon trying to do it then paying someone to bail me out.

I think you may be right. It's the type of job you really must be up for! - I love doing these kind of things, and have the time.

[BaldOldMan]

Moods said:

Thanks. On a scale of 1-10 I would say I am around a 5 for handiness. Would that be sufficient?

I found it fairly straightforward and saves a good bit of cash - I then did my other one, just because I could

Video here which will help you decide whether you're up to it -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFAPX1Z-f0Y

[Composite Guru]

I fitted Novoferm Openers to my garage last year.
Never fitted then before so it was a bit of a learning curve for me.
I had to fabricate some extra bracing to sturdy the system up a bit more but the rest was pretty straightforward.

[Moods]

I have checked and my door is a retractable and the brand is Garador so I think this kit would be fine without needing any other accessories. based on the height of my garage roof I may just need to build in some sort of bracket to hold the motor.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/garador-europro-800-gar...

edit: I think I will need this also... https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hormann-Garador-Canopy-Ad...

Edited by Moods on Friday 15th November 11:36

[24lemons]

If it’s an up and over door, you won’t need a conversion arm. The most awkward part of the installation is securing the motor to the roof. Our rafters are considerably lower than yours which helped.

We bought a pair of hormann openers last year, I think they were about £200. Although daunting, the installation was pretty easy in the end. If you don’t have access to the garage other than through the main doors, you will need to get an emergency release which is a bit of seeing that pokes through the door so that you can open it in a power cut.

[Wacky Racer]

Get an extra remote control tag for what they cost. We have three for our large double garage door, one for myself and Mrs WR and a spare one.

[Moods]

Think I will give it a go myself. The hardest part of the installation appears to be fashioning some sort of bracket to suspend the motor.

[anonymous-user]

Go for it, and no, you don't need the adapter. They are for canopy doors - ones where a portion of the door pokes outside when completely raised. Yours does not, it retracts fully indoors.