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Writer's pictureEllard

How to automate an existing garage door.


Sectional garage door

In the age of automation with smart homes on the rise, many homeowners are looking at ways they can optimise existing features on their property, and they are asking themselves can manual garages be automated?


The answer is that in most cases, smart automation does not mean that you have to start from scratch.


With our range of garage operators and panels, you can simply modify your manual doors to advanced electronic control.


Before you think about moving to an automated solution, here are some things you need to consider…


How old is your door?: Most doors that were made in the past 10 years, by a mainstream manufacturer, should have the potential to be automated.


What condition is your door in?: If your door has taken any significant and irreparable damage, your door may not be in the condition to automate or the price to automate it could rise significantly.


What type of door do you have?: The style of door that you have will impact the automation process. Ones that are more difficult and time-consuming will have a higher price range. At Ellard, we have the products to automate up-and-over (retractive), sectional and roller doors.


So how do you automate a garage door? Each automation process and requirement differs depending on your door:


How to automate different garage doors...


Retractable up and over garage door.

Retractable up and over garage doors:


Let's start with the simplest door to automate. Due to already being fitted with a tracking mechanism, retractable up-and-over doors are less complicated to convert. This makes them one of the easiest and most cost-effective doors to convert.


To automate a retractable up-and-over door, simply install a boom above the structural opening and a motor at the other end.



Sectional garage door.

Sectional garage doors:


Almost all sectional garage doors can be automated, providing that their condition is acceptable. The nature of sectional doors makes for an easy conversion, due to their simple and consistent smooth operation model.


All that is needed to automate, is a boom and an operator. The only point to consider is the height of the sectional door. We offer booms from 3 metres to 3.6 metres that suit a variety of opening sizes.



Both up-and-over and sectional garage doors can be automated with the help of our Black Edition Garage door operator. This innovative opener features, soft-start/ soft-stop, obstacle detection, energy release and an integrated alarm system that keeps your property safe.


Roller garage doors:

Roller garage door.

Out of the garage doors that we provide automation for, roller garage doors are the most challenging to convert. To automate your roller door the motor needs to sit inside of the barrel, however, the average roller door is relatively compact. This means that automating requires some form of deconstruction.


With this in mind, it may be more time and cost effective to purchase a fully automated roller door to replace your old roller door.


To automate your roller door we have the option of three different controls; the TVNRG, The Simple and the TVRDS. Each panel is exemplary, and they each provide different solutions to the user's needs, such as the option for wired or wireless safety edges, door security status and the ability to activate holiday mode. Pair these panels with one of our tubular motors and your installation is ready to go!


Get in touch with us!

If you would like to learn more about how Ellard can help you restore your door and move to smart automation, you can get in touch with our customer service team here.


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