Garage Door Specifications

Drive System

• Power garage doors come with three types of drive systems: belt, screw or chain. A belt-drive system is remarkably quiet and can be used on very heavy doors of almost any material. Screw chain drive systems rely on a threaded steel beam to raise and lower the door. Chain-drive garage doors use a rotating chain to pull the garage door up and lower it. They are typically the least expensive option.

Safety Features

• Garage doors are required to have an automatic stop and reverse mechanism and sensor to prevent people, animals and objects from being injured by a lowering door. Most contemporary garage doors will come with a sensor that is installed along the sides of the garage at a given height. An invisible beam between the sensors is established, and when broken triggers an immediate halt and reverse response by the garage door. Alternatively, some garage doors will have a digital safety feature, which monitors and changes the speed of the door and halts it upon contact with an object.

Lighting

• Garage doors come with a variety of lighting systems. Most commonly, the light comes on when the door is raised or lowered and remains on for a given amount of time, generally not more than a few minutes. Some models have additional options for lighting, such as a light switch on the remote control or wall mount, or a motion sensor.