Improving My Garage Door

Whether you've lost your garage door opener or recently moved into a home without one, the situation can easily be perplexing. After all, how do you find a garage door opener that will be able to open your specific garage door? Each garage door has its own signal programmed into it, making the process a little complicated.

Finding the Right Garage Door Opener

The first step to replacing your door opener is to check the make and model of your garage door. It will usually not be located on the door itself, but instead on the motor on the garage ceiling. Usually there will be a plate either at the bottom of the box or at the side of the box that tells you exactly which manufacturer and model number you need to look for. You can then order a door opener directly from the manufacturer—but this will just give you the opener itself.

Purchasing a Universal Garage Door Opener

Sometimes a garage door may not have a label—or it may simply be old enough that you can't find a replacement part. In this situation, you can also purchase a universal garage door opener. For newer garage doors, a universal garage door opener may not have some of the features that the door came with. For older doors, however, a universal door opener will usually work similarly, if not identically.

Programming a Garage Door Opener

Programming a garage door opener depends largely on the type of door. If the door itself has a "learn" button or a "sync" button, you can press the door button and the opener button at the same time. This should automatically connect both devices. However, this is also a fairly new feature and is not present on older doors.

For older doors, you're going to need to appropriately set the DIP switches. The DIP switches are a long set of switches located within the device itself. To know how to program this device, you are going to need the manual for your garage door. You can find it by, again, looking up the make and model of the door. The switches will need to be flipped appropriately before the door opener can work.

Both locksmiths and garage door installers can commonly rekey a lock to your garage door—at a cost. If you're not having any luck on your own, you might want to consider getting help from a professional at a company like Brian's Garage Doors LLC. They may even have the opener itself to save you some time.