door size??

[clawman]

I'm building a 30 x 40 shop and deciding on size of the two doors. Is 10' adequate or 12' necessary? Should I consider 1 large, say 20' door? The side wall will be 14' so looking @ 12' high

 

[sst30399]

If your going to try and put any kind of trailer in it I would advice at least 12' otherwise can be difficult to get it in.

 

[ItsNemo]

I'd do a pair of 12x12's over a single large one or something not quite as wide. The width makes pulling things in/out so much easier.

 

[maxpower_hd]

It really depends on your needs and wants. I only have a 24x28 but I have a 16' wide single door that is 9' high. I did it that way because of the shape of my lot and orientation of the driveway. It was the only way I was going to be able to make the swing into my garage.

 

[Falcon67]

Depends on what you're sticking in there and how much wall space you can stand to lose. Two 12' doors coming off a corner are going to eat up nearly 30' depending on spacing between the doors. You'd really want to be 3' off a corner to have any usable space between the door edge and wall.

If your going to try and put any kind of trailer in it I would advice at least 12' otherwise can be difficult to get it in.

Trailers run about 9' wide. Both our car hauler and the 24' box are the same width. I can stick either in a 10' hole, but I've had practice.

 

[rburke65]

Well this is obviously and individual preference. I had a 10' wide sliding barn door and when I pulled my '65 impala out, it was close. Because of this when I built my shop I chose a door size of 12'x8'. I love the 12' width.

 

[pmiranda]

Totally depends on how many vehicles you're going to put in there and how wide they are.
I'm thinking about a pair of 16' doors on the short side of a 45x60 so I have easy access to 4 cars and then plenty of less-used access and workspace behind them.
Some people would say that's not enough width, but it's still more than twice as wide as my 2-car is now.

 

[Bluedodge]

Bigger is always better.

...that's what she said.

 

[matemike]

I put 10H x 12W doors on front and back. Very glad I went with the 12 wide. It has not come up yet that the 10H is an issue, but only because I don't own a boat or RV. If, and that's a big IF, we ever decide to acquire a rec vehicle I know the 10H will be a limiting factor, but I built the shop to be a shop, not a storage shed with over half of my 30x40 being taken up by a single seldom use toy.
There's an 8x8 on the yard side as well for the 4 wheeler and tractor.

 

[Cyberbear]

After putting up a 10' wide door, I'd recommend a 12' wide x 10' high instead. The extra two feet makes a big difference. I've come close to clipping the door jambs.

 

[Train]

Here's something to think about. My shop is 45 feet wide, with a 14 foot door in the middle of the wall. Inside, to the right we have two cars we're working on, so they're not pulled right up to the side wall. As a result, they stick out a bit into that 14 foot pathway, so even though the door is 14 feet, I don't have that much space to pull in. Now if I had other projects to the left that stuck out a bit, I'd have a little less space yet. If you keep everything neat and tidy and uncluttered, no problem. But if you have a lot of stuff on the go, things might encroach into the opening a bit.

 

[astroracer]

Depends on what you're sticking in there and how much wall space you can stand to lose. Two 12' doors coming off a corner are going to eat up nearly 30' depending on spacing between the doors. You'd really want to be 3' off a corner to have any usable space between the door edge and wall.

Agree with this guy. I would shoot for 4' minimum from inside the end wall to the door. Leaves room for opening car doors and having benches or storage along the wall.
If the doors are going on the long side 2 12' doors will work great. Put one door 4' off the inside of the wall with a 4' space between the doors. That leaves you with about 7' on the other end of the shop for a work bench and elbow room.
If you went with a 10' and 12' with that same spacing you would have more room for working.
Depends on what YOU want it for...
Mark

 

[Onewolf]

I use a 12' wide door for the boat and a 10' wide door for the Excursion.

 

[metschers]

My building is 36 x 48, I installed 3 doors. 8 x8, 10 x 10, and a 10 x16.
Its been about 2 two years now and I've not had any issues yet.