Garage door opener installation
A new opener installed runs $620 to $980, and that includes the battery backup that California law has required on every residential opener installed since 1 July 2019. We take the old unit away. Where headroom is tight we install a wall-mount unit beside the torsion shaft instead of a rail down the ceiling.
The battery backup rule, and why it matters here
California Health and Safety Code section 19892 has required battery backup on every residential automatic garage door opener manufactured, sold or installed in the state since 1 July 2019. The penalty is $1,000 per opener. A replacement door may not be connected to an opener that doesn't comply.
It's a good rule for practical reasons as well as legal ones. In a power cut, a door with battery backup still opens, which matters in a household where the only way out to the street is through the garage.
No competitor site in this area mentions this. If you're comparing quotes, it's worth asking whoever else you're speaking to whether the unit they've priced has it.
Chain, belt or wall-mount
Chain drive is the cheapest and the noisiest, which is fine when the garage isn't under a bedroom. Belt drive costs more and runs quietly, which is what most people want in an attached garage with rooms above it.
Wall-mount units sit beside the torsion shaft rather than on a rail down the middle of the ceiling. They cost more, and in a low-ceilinged garage they're often the only thing that fits. That's the situation in a lot of the townhome garages around Warm Springs and in the older openings in Niles.
What we check before quoting
Headroom, backroom and side room, because those decide what can physically be installed. The condition of the springs, because a new opener fitted to an unbalanced door will fail early, and that's a warranty argument nobody enjoys. And the existing wiring for the wall control and the sensors.
If the door itself is out of balance we'll say so and price the spring work separately, so you can see what you're paying for.
How the visit goes
- We measure headroom, backroom and side room and confirm which drive type fits.
- We check the door's balance by hand, because an opener sized for a balanced door won't survive an unbalanced one.
- Old unit comes out and goes with us.
- New unit goes in with the rail or shaft mount, the safety sensors are set and aligned, and travel and force limits are dialed to the actual door.
- We test the safety reversal with an obstruction, program the remotes and the keypad, and show you the manual release.
Where we do this work
Newark, Fremont, Union City, Hayward. In Hayward that means 94545 and 94544 in the south of the city, not the whole of it.
Questions we get asked
Does a new opener have to have battery backup in California?
Yes. Every residential opener installed in the state since 1 July 2019 has to have it, under Health and Safety Code section 19892, and the penalty is $1,000 per unit. Every opener we install includes it.
Can you install an opener I bought myself?
Talk to us first. We'll tell you honestly whether the unit you've bought suits your door and your headroom, because the common problem is a rail-drive unit bought for a garage that doesn't have the clearance for it.
How long does an installation take?
Two to three hours for a straightforward replacement, longer if the wiring for the wall control or the sensors has to be rerun.
Get a price for opener installation
Call (510) 509-9998 and describe the door. We'll tell you what it usually is, what it usually costs, and when we can get to you.
Newark · Fremont · Union City · Hayward