hi guys, i have a canopy style garage door & want to motorise it , any recomendations ? oh & i want to fit it myself any drawbacks

It's doable, but not entirely easy... especially with canopy doors. A neighbour of mine self-installed his last year and spent most of the time tearing his hair out about how the door's running tracks weren't entirely free-running (which apparently they need to be, the motor overheats if it has to push against resistance all the time). 

2009 Outstanding Contribution Award - Joint Runner Up
2009 'Tech-Head Of The Year' Award - Runner Up

Like it here? Then Donate to RRSPORT!!

I've got a canopy door on my house, and had a motor fitted last year.
Took a bit of research.. i used these guys fitted them for me, in about 1.5 hours..

Cost me around £400 fitted.. no problems whatsoever with the unit..
its not 100% free running, as it stops about 75% of the way up, the motor steps up a gear then suddenly its at 100% up.. but you don't notice it unless you're watching.. im either driving up to the house/away at that point, so don't care..

http://www.kingsburygaragedoors.co.uk/2411/frames.php

Not the best website, think i was given their card by someone.. and they had the quickest lead time..

We had motor's fitted to the garage doors that come with the house when we got it they packed up and we just spent 3.5K on new doors and motors much much more secure and no gap's so no more s**t being blown in to the garage from the street

Can't remember what called now will find out and let you know RRS TDV6 Gone but still around
SL55 AMG
760Li Alpina
BMW 535D M Sport
BMW X6 XDrive35D
BMW 320D Coupe M Sport
And A Van For Rex!

WINNER - 2008's Idler Of The Year
WINNER - 2008's Comedian Of The Year
WINNER - 2008's Funniest Incident

I love boobies i love boobies i love boobies cuz i'm a big kid now! (Come on everybody sing with me you know the words!)

I have a motorised canopy door too, but these days I cannot get the car inside the garage! It was installed professionally for about £600 15 years ago. The only problem I have had with it is the radio link/ transponder going haywire and also when some of my neighbours (after ridiculing me for years for being a lazy sod) got them fitted it transpired one of them picked the same 4 numbers in the code so my door would open when they opened theirs and vice verse, but that was easily solved. I have now had 3 different radio activators and when the last one gave up I didn't bother replacing it and just use the emergency button in the garage when I wnat to open the door. It will stay like that until I get a smaller car that will fit under my door, the wideth isn't a problem just the height!
As Jay says one thing I can recommend having as an extra is the heavy duty seal instead of the standard one - I don't get any leaves or rain blowing under the door in bad weather like I used to with the old manual door that I had. Also it has never frozen to the drive or stopped when we have had heavy snow fall, I thought this would be a possiblity, but my opener has an anti trapping device so as soon as it comes up against an obstruction it stops and returns to the position it started from so you don't burn out the motor. My door is a herringbone pattern wooden one in a steel frame supplied by Garador the original motor was made by Stanley but when the first transponder gave up I replaced the whole works with a screw drive as the Stanley one was a clunky chain drive that needed maintaining every 6 months
If you already have an up and over/canopy door that runs really freely then it isn't that difficult to fit the motor yourself - you used to be able to buy the kits from B&Q 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW