any garage door opener advice?

[badatmath]

The screws pulled out of the bracket on the garage door and I was not expecting to replace the opener but I am being told it is also in sad shape (which at 24 years I am not shocked but not really interested). Stupid bracket alone is $225.

3 quotes so far I must have wifi and led and cameras and idk what all. . . and they say they all come that way now. And some say belt drive and some say chain. I am not quite clear why I need a camera?

Does anyone have any feature they particularly love or hate on their opener? I am absolutely NOT using wifi even if it is there so that is irrelevant to my purpose.

I can get a handyman to install a cheaper opener but I will have to ask if the ORB (bracket thing) is a readily replaceable item that he would know how to do. I mean I assume so but I have not heard of it and what with having a mess with the painter I won't get time to look until next week so I thought I'd pop in here for ideas.

If you all have cool stuff that isn't wifi I can look for it.

 

[Car-Guy]

I've got two... A Chamberlain and a Craftsman. One is chain driven and one is belt driven. Never use or needed the WiFi 802.11 capabilities.

No problems with either but if I had to pick one, I'd pick the Chamberlain (chain driven) model.

 

[OldShooter]

My new house/new liftmaster came with "MyQ" wifi, which is a sad joke. It sends me notifications when the door opens and when it closes, mostly many minutes (10?) after the event. I also have their camera, which was cheap at $35 but is nearly useless since the reason the door opened or closed is long since past. Of course they would really like to sell me a subscription where the video is recorded to the cloud and I can review it. I don't do subscriptions. Eventually I will probably buy a camera that records on site and I can review for free but I have lived a long life with no garage cameras at all and it seems to be working out.

The Liftmaster is belt drive and very quiet. I like that. Its light beam blockage sensors are on the floor at each side of the door, very flimsy and easy to knock out of alignment. I'm sure I will come to hate them and eventually disable them.

"Bracket on the garage door" Hard to believe that can't be repaired or drilled for a larger screw. Local welding shop might be able to help, too. Pictures?

 

[Jerry1]

Sorry, the cool stuff is the wifi. I like being able to open my garage with my phone and check that it’s closed when I leave. A camera would be even better to confirm the door is shut and nothing’s in your garage that’s not supposed to be.

 

[target2019]

I installed a remote camera in the 2-car garage and sometimes check to see all is well. There is no wifi or camera in my old Chamberlain.

 

[GrayHare]

No wifi? You mean you want to deny some poor person in Asia the ability to remotely open your garage at will? How cruel of you! (I'm not a fan most IOT.)

 

[badatmath]

LOL. All the big installers I called so far use Liftmaster.

The bracket is called an ORB. It is about $75 to buy and the rest is labor. IDK if it goes over the top of what is there or they take it off. It is dark out there right now so would not get a good photo.

I just find it hard to believe I need $1100 worth of opener.

 

[CRLLS]

My Lift Master (one of the Chamberlain Group) was in the house when we bought it 18 years ago. It is still running fine. No WiFi, No cameras. Just plain ol' basic belt-drive garage door opener. It is amazingly quiet. We added laser parking markers and an outside keypad.

 

[target2019]

No wifi in the garage door, but I do have iot in use elsewhere. When I bought the opener I'm not sure there was any option for wifi.

 

[marko]

Sorry, the cool stuff is the wifi. I like being able to open my garage with my phone and check that it’s closed when I leave. A camera would be even better to confirm the door is shut and nothing’s in your garage that’s not supposed to be.

Agree, 100+ How many times have I driven 10 miles and then wonder "gee, did I close the garage door when I left?" Half the time I've forgotten, can see that it's still open and then close it remotely.

Second good thing that that I've been able to enable Amazon garage delivery. Thwarts porch pirates and gets the packages out of the rain or snow.

Third, service guy comes over. We're not home. He calls and I open the door for him.

 

[COcheesehead]

Sorry, the cool stuff is the wifi. I like being able to open my garage with my phone and check that it’s closed when I leave. A camera would be even better to confirm the door is shut and nothing’s in your garage that’s not supposed to be.

Our door is programmable. I have it shut one minute after opening. I never worry about forgetting to close it.

 

[badatmath]

I never worry about any of that anyway. And I forgot the keypad so I guess price will go up unless they can re-use my existing one.

After 30+ years in IT I hate automated stuff more than you would believe possible really since I have had to fix it or listen to complaints about it.

I have read some say belt drives are not so durable as chains so thinking I'd rather have a chain. I don't really care if it makes noise. In fact I sort of prefer it does. That way no one can sneak up on me!

 

[Sunset]

LOL. All the big installers I called so far use Liftmaster.

The bracket is called an ORB. It is about $75 to buy and the rest is labor. IDK if it goes over the top of what is there or they take it off. It is dark out there right now so would not get a good photo.

I just find it hard to believe I need $1100 worth of opener.

I had to look up an ORB they are $30 at HD, and nothing special.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Clopay-21-in-Opener-Reinforcement-Bracket-Kit-4125479/100069364?irgwc=1&im_rewards=1&cm_mmc=afl-ir-2003851-1420157-bing&clickid=WJfzAlRKgxyPR7kz1iThoxF7UkH0VzTVRSB7y40

Seems like they must think you are rich & stupid to quote $1,100 for a garage door opener replacement.

 

[Sunset]

Our door is programmable. I have it shut one minute after opening. I never worry about forgetting to close it.

I don't think I would get out of the garage that fast !!

 

[Sunset]

I installed a remote camera in the 2-car garage and sometimes check to see all is well. There is no wifi or camera in my old Chamberlain.

I also put my own wifi camera in the garage so I can check on it now and then.

One night in bed, couldn't remember if I closed it, so checked online rather than run down and look. Nice and handy.

 

[badatmath]

I had to look up an ORB they are $30 at HD, and nothing special.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Clopay-21-in-Opener-Reinforcement-Bracket-Kit-4125479/100069364?irgwc=1&im_rewards=1&cm_mmc=afl-ir-2003851-1420157-bing&clickid=WJfzAlRKgxyPR7kz1iThoxF7UkH0VzTVRSB7y40

Seems like they must think you are rich & stupid to quote $1,100 for a garage door opener replacement.

Oh thank you so much I checked Lowes and didn't find it but maybe it was my search skills. It has been a bad week.

And they definitely acted like I was stupid - I was like I will need a second remote and they are all like no one gets that they don't come that way. Um well if I am buying one they better because I intend to have 2. . . (my car is not programmable). And they tried to alarm me by saying if I didn't do this today blah blah blah bad stuff would happen. Um, it has been broken a few hours - I can just park in the driveway. It isn't a crisis of monumental proportions. So after I threw out the first guy who tried to charge me for his "free estimate" I called a couple others who were less slimey about it but still overpriced IMO (over $800). IDK. These were the "low end" models which they implied I was "stupid" to consider when I really needed the "better" ones. . .

 

[freedomatlast]

I wouldn't replace the whole garage door opener just because the bracket failed.

I did have to replace an opener recently, however . Liftmaster is the only brand I would consider. Found one on FB Marketplace that was 5 years old (verified by the date code) that included the outside access pad and was being replaced because the owner wanted a new one with WiFi capability. $75 and a half hour of my own labor and I'm back in business. No need to BTD and deal with any overpriced garage door company.

 

[badatmath]

Yeah that was my idea to start - just the bracket. I was just reading that genie uses a lot of plastic parts. (This was by a garage door company so may be lying).

 

[FLSUnFIRE]

You can buy a "dumb" opener for under $200. Hire a competent handyman to install for another $100-$200 if he/she can't fix/repair the existing unit. They are pretty easy to install. I'm somewhat handy and have installed 3 in the last decade so unless you have an odd install situation it shouldn't be too challenging.



As to the smart openers, I like my home automation, especially voice control, but "Alexa" mishears too much. It's one thing if I light gets left on/off but I don't want her accidentally opening my garage door so not something I want. I did install a Ring Camera facing my garage door so I can validate it is closed for piece of mind and at least see the people stealing my stuff. (I'm in an urban area so an open garage would eventually get pilfered -I've been lucky the few times mine has auto-reversed without me catching it)

 

[DrRoy]

We got a Liftmaster belt drive this year and love it. If we forget to close the door it does so itself before bedtime.

 

[Badger]

My Lift Master (one of the Chamberlain Group) was in the house when we bought it 18 years ago. It is still running fine. No WiFi, No cameras. Just plain ol' basic belt-drive garage door opener. It is amazingly quiet.

We bought a 3/4 Chamberlain LiftMaster opener about 10+ years ago when we replace the garage door. Works fine but only came with 1 remote opener for the car. I only needed something to open the garage door and don't need or want anything else.

Cheers!

 

[njhowie]

Sorry, the cool stuff is the wifi. I like being able to open my garage with my phone and check that it’s closed when I leave. A camera would be even better to confirm the door is shut and nothing’s in your garage that’s not supposed to be.

While doing all the smart home stuff this year, I installed the eufy garage cam/opener. It is really nice and is well integrated with eufy's platform. Price was reasonable as well. Simple install.

 

[njhowie]

Agree, 100+ How many times have I driven 10 miles and then wonder "gee, did I close the garage door when I left?" Half the time I've forgotten, can see that it's still open and then close it remotely.

On numerous occasions, before having the eufy, 5 minutes after leaving the house for a trip, I'd turn to DW and ask "Did I close the garage"? Then turn around, drive home and double check.

 

[foxcreek9]

Chamberlain with battery backup (rarely needed but handy) and myQ internet connection. Our sons have access to the garage though the app so no need to share physical keys. We have a Blink camera in the garage, the Chamberlain version is exactly the same thing but usually at a higher cost. No issues with notifications, notified before we even get in car that the door had opened.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

The only feature I like on mine is the backup battery that will allow me to open and close the door in a power failure. Having said that you don't need a new door opener if all you need is that bracket replaced. It's so sickening that it seems everyone you call these days is out to screw you and don't offer a cheaper option if it's available. I'm sure your handyman can handle this job easily.