Garage Door Questions ?

IMO, Chamberlain, which is made by Liftmaster who also make Craftsman,

If the garage is attached, I suggest a belt drive for quietness. IF you want connection to the internet, get the Chamberlain My-Q. You can control the door via phone app as well as be alerted when the door opens and closes. Chamberlain also offers other controllers for lamps and devices which you can turn on/off from the app. Great when/if you're on vacation.

Price varies on the type of features and drive, and if you get internet connection but typically $200 to $300.

I have a Liftmaster that's 33 years old now, it's the main opener and still working. I also have a Craftsman on the second door, 10 years works fine too. I've had another Craftsman in another house, no problems with that either.

Noise and whether to go with a belt, I'd say it's more than just if it's an attached garage, it's where the garage is located. If it's adjacent to a bedroom, that's usually when noise becomes an issue.

How much they are now, IDK, that Craftsman one 10 years ago was ~$150, I put it in myself. Whether it's worth more for extra features, eg to be able to check on the door, close it via internet, is a personal choice. On mine, it would be nice to have a feature where it alerts if it's open after a set time, like 10PM.

Chamberlain

$99-$249 plus install

Took me about 90 minutes to install mine but then I'd never done one before.  I suppose a factory-trained trunk monkey could knock one out in an hour.

belt drive models are more expensive but much quieter.

I've been happy with a Chamberlain for about 10 years now, belt drive. I don't know about other brands as this is something you don't buy often and don't do a lot of trying out.

My advice is to avoid the cheapest model from any brand and expect to pay about $200. It is not hard to do DIY but you can probably get one installed for about $100. At work we had a couple from Overhead Door and they worked well too.

I found the reflectors a PITS to set up so they reside in the rafters looking at each other for eternity. No little kids here.

One nice thing about the light beam sensors is that at night, if the door is open and the light is out, when you walk in and break the beam, it turns the opener light on for you. But the downside is that they can be a PIA, typically with a dangling leaf making it reverse. Or they can go out of alignment. And they are one more step in the install process, running the wires, etc.

Some cut about a garage door opener.

Some on Amazon if you want some more opinions.

Installing a replacement takes a lot less time than a fresh install. Changed mine last time in about half an hour - replaced an old Stanley with a used Genie Track Drive on a one piece swing-up - side mounted with mechanical limit switches.