Residential Garage Door Openers

Prices include two remote transmitters. Additional transmitters are $25.00. Add $50.00 for outside keypads. Prices below are for 7' high doors; add $20.00 for 8' high doors. The Liftmaster and Allstar openers all have one-piece rails.

Free spring adjustment and door lubrication is included with the opener. Prices do not include 110 volt wiring for the opener nor extra angle needed for ceilings over 10 feet high. Installation only price is for openers purchased by customer from some other supplier, and warranty covers labor only. Prices are predicated upon a visual check of your door, as certain space limitations require additional installation costs.

* Prices for just the opener do not include any applicable shipping charges.

Our warranty for Liftmaster openers includes one-year parts and labor. Warranty for the I-Drive openers is one year for parts, six months on labor. Allister openers are are warrantied for two years parts and labor. Failures due to photo eye misalignment, power surges, abuse and acts of God are excluded.

1. I often see Sears openers on sale for about $150.00. Why do Lift-Master openers cost so much more?

Though both openers are made by Chamberlain, the Lift-Master has a heavier drawbar system with a solid chain, metal front idler sprocket and a one-piece drawbar track. Sears openers have half chain and half cable, a plastic pulley for the cable portion, and track divided into three or more parts. Cables fray and track junctions loosen, resulting in future expenses down the road. I would value this difference in quality at about $25. Sales tax on Sears openers would add another $10, and installation with heavy-duty angle about $100. Adjusting the springs and oiling the door would add another $15, and dealer warranty covering parts and labor is worth about $30. When the hidden costs are tabulated, $150+25+10+100+15+30, the total comes to $330. You pretty much get what you pay for.

2. Why does the Allister opener cost more than the Lift-Master?

Mechanically, the Allister opener is built like all the v-belt drive openers of the past that have lasted for decades. The motor pulley turns a v-belt, which turns a larger pulley which is secured to the drive shaft. At the other end of this shaft is a sprocket which moves the opener chain. Over the 20 years I have serviced Allister openers I have never replaced a drive shaft or worn bushing. Nor can I remember ever seeing a bad motor. V-belts, which cost $5-10, are easy to replace and require no special knowledge or tools. Allister openers come with a 20-year motor and drive train warranty.

Chamberlain openers, while a good value, generally start to have mechanical breakdowns after 8-10 years, and sooner if the door is out of balance or if it runs poorly. The drive gears wear out, the drive shafts and bushings wear out, and the motor shafts, on older openers at least, also wear out. I usually charge about $100 to replace the drive gear and about $140 to replace the drive shaft/gear assembly. When the motor shaft is worn, it is time to replace the opener. Chamberlain now warranties its motors for 20 years, but unless you diagnose and replace the motor yourself, you will pay for two service calls totalling atleast $140, in addition to having to get the motor from Chamberlain yourself.

Allister's Allstar openers are the best openers we have been able to find. The difference in quality is worth the price difference.

3. Should I buy 1/3 or 1/2 horsepower opener?

Unless you have an 18-foot wooden door or a double-wide door with wood siding attached to the outside of the door, I see no advantage to having a 1/2 H.P. opener. If you believe that more is always better, get a 1/2 H.P. opener. You will have the same power that opens many of the industrial doors that open for tractor-trailer rigs to park their trailers. In the early days all the openers were 1/4 H.P. The rest is mostly marketing ingenuity.