To help you make the right choice for your home, here’s a guide of some of the advantages of both chain drive and belt drive garage doors.
Just like any other aspect of your home, your garage door needs will be a matter of personal preference, the style of your home, as well as your garage and storage needs. There are lots of options for types of garage doors, but don’t be overwhelmed: many of these options boil down to two of the main garage door opener styles. These styles are drive chain garage doors and belt drive garage doors. To help you make the right choice for your home, here’s a guide of some of the advantages of both chain drive and belt drive garage doors.
Drive Chain Doors
Generally considered to be the most economical garage door, drive chain doors are incredibly common. They function using a chain that works much like the one in the gears of your bicycle. This chain pushes and pulls a trolley across a track that brings the garage door with it, often up across the garage ceiling.
The advantages of drive chain doors include their general low price. Drive chain garage doors are considered to be the most economical, with a long lifespan, and therefore are some of the most popular on the market. For this reason, they come in a broad range of styles.
Belt Drive Doors
Similar to drive chain doors, belt drive garage doors utilize the same trolley-and-track mechanism to open and close the door. However, rather than a chain, belt drive doors use a belt, which is often made of steel-reinforced rubber, fiberglass, or polyurethane. Because a belt is generally stronger than a chain, belt drives can carry a much heavier door.
Given the increased strength of the belt drive, an advantage of this door opener type includes the ability to carry a much heavier-duty door, which can be excellent for very large garages. Additionally, they are the quietest garage door opener type, which can make them ideal for an attached garage. They also operate more smoothly than a chain, allowing for faster opening and closing of the garage door. However, both of these types of door opener can be automated with a smart door opener.
All in all, the choice between drive chain and belt drive garage doors depends on personal preference and what’s right for your unique home. Be sure to consider strength, maintenance, and noise when making a decision about the right garage door opener for you.
Unmatched Garage Door Expertise
At First Choice Garage Doors, we’re proud to employ a team of highly experienced individuals who are prepared to assist with any job in Maryland, Delaware, Northern Virginia, and Southeastern PA. We install only the best manufacturers: Clopay, Wayne Dalton, Amarr, LiftMaster, Genie and more. To take the stress out of your project, we’ll arrive with the right tools to get the job done promptly and professionally. Our areas of expertise are Garage Door Repair, Installation, Replacement, Retrofit, Door Openers, and Accessories. If you’re interested in new garage doors for your home or business, call us at 410‐770‐9800, and be sure to visit our website. To stay up-to-date on the latest First Choice Garage Doors news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, YouTube, and be sure to follow our blog.