This is gonna sound silly but one of the nicest home improvements we’ve done recently is install a new garage door opener, the Liftmaster 87504-267. It works so much better than my ancient old insecure garage door!

Internet access is the surprise best feature; I use it all the time. Mostly to walk in and out of the garage door without my car. There’s also a keypad remote I can mount outside so someone can punch in a code to open the door. Setting this all up was easy and reliable. There’s even a way to give Amazon access to open your garage for deliveries.

The opener also has a camera. I would have skipped that

• • • if I’d known, saved some money. But it’s actually quite useful! If I get a notification the garage door opens I can easily see on my phone what’s going on. Basic live views seem to be free, there’s a subscription if you want stored video.

Ken’s favorite feature is the motion sensor that turns the light on. The lights on the unit are bright, it’s enough to light the whole garage without having to flip a switch. I also appreciate there’s a battery backup built-in so if the power goes out I can still easily open the door. The drive itself is smooth and quiet too, belt drives are a real improvement.

The #1 upgrade you should do for an older house is a dishwasher; they got a lot better about 15 years ago. But #2 may well be the garage door opener.