Converting a Manual Up-and-Over Garage Door to Motorized

If you have a manual up-and-over garage door, you may be able to convert it over to a motorized model. Why struggle raising and lowering your garage door when you can simply press a button and have a motor do all the work for you? Depending on the type of garage door your home already has, the entire conversion process may only take a few hours and require no special tools.

Converting a manual up-and-over garage door to motorized: Which type of door?

The most important consideration when converting an up-and-over garage door to a motorized model is the type of the existing door. Your existing garage door will either be the retractable type or a one-piece canopy door. This will determine the type of motorized retrofitting kit you will need when converting your manual garage door to an electric-powered model. The tilting mechanism used and the support system for each of these types of up-and-over garage doors are quite different.

Converting a manual up-and-over garage door to motorized: Canopy-style doors

The manual canopy-style garage door employs a cheaper and more basic support system than the retractable type. Unfortunately, this actually makes it more difficult to convert to a motorized garage door because more supports and lifting mechanisms must be installed during the conversion. Unlike a retractable door, the four corners of the garage door are not supported throughout the entire raising and lowering process. This requires installation of an entirely new framework before you can put in a motor to move the garage door itself. Because of these complications, it can often be less expensive to purchase a new electric retractable door than to convert your existing up-and-over garage door to a motorized model.

Converting a manual up-and-over garage door to motorized: Retractable doors

Retractable model up-and-over garage doors have more of a support system that can be used during your conversion to a motorized version. These types of manual garage doors use a complete metal frame that includes guides on both the horizontal and vertical axis. This support system secures the door at all four corners throughout the process of opening or closing. Because all of the support structure and tilting mechanism is already in place, all you need to convert your up-and-over garage door to a motorized operation is a chain or belt lifting setup and a motor. These parts are sold together as a garage door conversion kit and can usually be installed in only a few hours. Most of these pre-made kits are also designed to minimize the amount of manual calibrations that must be performed after installation.