Screw drive, chain drive or belt drive: choose your Vernon Hills garage door opener carefully

Is it time to replace that garage door on your Vernon Hills garage? Maybe the garage door is looking a bit shabby. Maybe the garage door doesn’t operate nice and smoothly, the way it used to. Maybe you had a total failure of the garage door and it no longer works at all. Even if you’ve just built the garage and are ready to install its first garage door, you’ll want to get a garage door you can trust – that will last a while.

The first thing to keep in mind about how long your Vernon Hills garage door will last is that it will last longer if you maintain it properly. The other thing you can do to ensure your garage door lasts longer, and operates better during its lifespan, is to purchase a quality garage door opener. This starts with choosing the right type of garage door opener.

There are three primary types of garage door openers:

• Screw Drive Garage Door Opener: With a screw-drive garage door opener, there is a threaded steel rod that moves a trolley to open and lower your garage door. The elements from adverse weather can affect the operation of a screw-drive garage door opener. If you live in Vernon Hills, this is something to consider.
• Chain Drive Garage Door Opener: This is the most common and the least expensive style of garage door opener. Just as a bicycle has a chain that moves when sprockets are turned as you pedal, this style of garage door opener moves the door with a chain that is attached to gears on two sprockets.
• Belt Drive Garage Door Opener: This style of garage door opener operates much the same as the chain drive garage door opener only, instead of a chain moving the trolley to raise and lower the door, this uses a belt. It tends to run quieter and is considered, by many, as the top end in garage door openers.

For many people, the driving factor when they choose a garage door opener is cost at the time of purchase. But, if you extend that cost over time, for instance, the belt drive garage door opener is often less expensive than a garage door opener that cost less at the time of installation.

The chains on the chain drive garage door openers tend to wear out and replacement chains are more expensive than belts. Additionally, the belt drive, by its very design, absorbs vibration and abuse better. In the long run, the belt drive garage door opener is probably the best bet for someone in Vernon Hills.