Currently, the garage has two wooden sliding garage doors, so you can open one door at a time.

Should we get automatic openers for the sliding doors?

Alternatively, we could replace with an overhead door. This will be more involved because we'll have to move a beam in the ceiling support, as well as get a new door, tracks, etc.

Do they make automatic openers for sliding doors? Any leads on where to find them? It seems rare.

Also, there is no door to the garage besides the sliding doors. If they are on openers and the openers fail, will we still be able to get into the garage?

Thanks!

But first I would search the various overhead door opener companies to see if they also have what you need. Lots of garage door opener brands are named in the headings of the postings here. I suppose they all have websites and you could search those sites.

If the existing doors are in bad shape, maybe a conversion to over head doors would be smart. Along with installing a regular door located where it gives you the quickest route into the house.

I found a website where someone had rigged the opener crosswise across the garage ceiling and then attached a post to the garage door, so maybe something like that would work. You don't see too many sliding doors anymore, but there are a bunch of Eichler houses in this area who have the original sliding doors, so we may be able to find an installer.

I think that we are thinking replacing the doors would probably be the best solution , though, and then we'll need to add a door to the garage. $$$. Of course, we also have a gated driveway, so we'll need an opener for that if we want to leave it closed when we're gone.

Our COE is not for another week, so I'll have to wait until then to look closer at the doors.