Getting out of the car to open a garage door, driving in, then getting out again to close it takes a minute or two. In Johannesburg, those minutes in the driveway, often after dark, are exactly when people are most exposed. Automating the door removes them: you open it from the car, drive straight in and close it behind you. That is the main reason most homes here now have one, and almost any existing garage door can be automated.
The benefits of an automatic garage door
- Safety at the driveway. You stay in a locked car with the engine running until you are inside, and the door closes behind you before you get out.
- Security when closed. A motorised door is held shut by the motor and is far harder to lift or force open than a manual door with a worn lock.
- Convenience every day. No getting out in rain, cold or in the middle of the school run, and the door can be opened from inside the house or the car.
- Easier for everyone. Heavy doors that older family members struggle to lift open at the press of a button.
- Light where you need it. Most motors switch on a courtesy light as the door opens, so you never walk into a dark garage.
- Kerb appeal. A well-fitted automatic door is something buyers expect on a modern home.
Choosing a motor for your door
The motor has to suit both the type of door and its weight. An undersized motor strains, wears out early and can fail with the door half open.
- Sectional and tip-up (up-and-over) doors are usually automated with a ceiling-mounted motor that pulls the door along a rail.
- Roll-up doors use a motor suited to their coiling action.
- Heavy doors, such as solid timber or double doors, need a stronger motor. See our guide to wooden garage doors for why weight matters.
Rail motors are driven by a chain, a belt or a screw. Chain drives are robust and economical but noisier; belt drives are the quietest, which matters if a bedroom is above or next to the garage; screw drives sit in between with few moving parts. Our guide to modern garage door openers compares the options in more detail, and our overview of the types of garage doors explains how each door opens.
Power and load shedding
A garage door motor needs a backup battery, so the door still opens and closes when the power is off. Repeated load shedding drains and wears batteries, so the battery should be sized for your door and checked at every service. If the battery is flat, the manual release lets you open the door by hand: make sure you know where it is and that it works.
Safety settings that must be right
A garage door is heavy, and an automatic one closes on its own, so the installation must include:
- Auto-reverse: the motor's force setting, adjusted so the door stops and reverses if it meets an obstruction, a car, a child or a pet.
- Safety beams across the opening, which stop the door closing if anything is in its path.
- An emergency release you can reach from inside the garage, so no one can be trapped if the motor fails.
- A correctly balanced door. The springs should carry the weight, not the motor. A door that is heavy by hand will wear out any motor.
Test the auto-reverse every few months by closing the door onto a block of wood: it should stop and reverse as soon as it touches. If it does not, stop using it and have it set.
Using an automatic door securely
- Use rolling-code remotes, which change their code every time and cannot be copied with a scanner the way old fixed-code remotes can.
- Wait for the door to close before getting out of the car or driving away, and watch your mirrors for anyone following you in.
- Look before you open: if a car or person you do not recognise is near your driveway, drive on and come back.
- Keep remotes safe: do not leave a spare in the car, keep them away from small children, and have lost remotes removed from the system.
- Link it with the rest of your security, such as a door contact on your alarm system, so the alarm knows if the garage is opened.
Keeping it running
An automatic door opens and closes several times a day, so it needs regular attention: tracks and rollers cleaned and lubricated, the balance and springs checked, the battery tested and the safety settings confirmed. See our guide to basic garage door maintenance, and if the door develops a fault, our garage door repair guide explains what to check first. For the doors and motors we fit, see our garage door installations and repairs.
If you want to automate an existing garage door, replace a motor that is struggling, or add battery backup for load shedding, we can match the motor to your door and quote in writing. Call Tyson on 071 846 7554 or request a free written quote.