A few weeks ago I mentioned that my garage door opener had gone kablooey. Here's a quick follow-up for those of you who may be in a similar situation one day:
After a little research I ended up going with a Craftsman 1/2 horsepower chain-drive opener from Sears. The box included the opener; mounting hardware; primary console with light switch; wireless keypad; safety sensors; and two 3-button remotes for our vehicles. On sale the package cost me about $150. So far it has worked flawlessly. The unit is notably quieter than our previous opener. In fact, I'm glad I didn't shell out the extra bucks for a screw- or belt-driven opener, both of which are supposedly even quieter. I can't imagine the difference would be all that great.
We also opted to have Sears install the unit. The decision was a gamble. At $120, the installation service nearly doubled the cost of the opener. But how long would it take me to remove the old opener and hardware and install the new equipment? And what if I screwed it up? In the end it was clearly the correct decision. The installer showed up on time, removed the old equipment, and installed the new opener and all the related accessories. I don't know exactly how long it took him, but I know it was longer than two hours. (He had to leave at one point to fetch something he had forgotten.) He gets bonus points from me for neatness. For me, the hassle-free installation was worth the extra money. It would have cost me much more -- in terms of time and stress -- to have attempted it on my own.
So it's all smiles and lollipops in the Wilson garage for now. I will, of course, follow up again if the whole thing comes crashing down onto our cars. Next project: remodeling the bathroom.
Comments
See what your friends and neighbors have to say about this.
Niiiiiiiiiice. I had a heck of a time with mine and there is not much neatness going on.
I probably would have happily paid the $120 as well.
I agree. Why do yourself what you can pay someone else to do?
My brother installed my last opener while I held the flashlight, fetched tools and tried to be of some help. It was clearly not something I could have done on my own. You made the right decision to have Sears install it.
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