2 doors, same height or

[prostock3]

so im building a big garage on my house in walled lake. I would like to have a hoist inside and higher ceilings.

My question since i live in a neighborhood should i do a 16x8 door, along with a 9x8 or should i do a 16x8 with a 9x10. Would the different door height look silly?

 

[tomshep]

9x10. The difference is minimal and it will give it character from the street.

Tom

 

[upndown]

I don't think it looks silly at all! They do that out here all the time, one side for parking, one side for working.

 

[nolimits76]

I'm not familiar with the area, but are there any restrictions on what type/size of structure you can build and how it must look? If so, review carefully as this may dictate the direction you go.

 

[soapii]

Walled Lake MI?

--Joe

 

[Ron Fletcher]

I think it would look OK. Each side for different uses can cause a need for different sized doors, sometimes. Right?

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

Two different heights is common around here usually the taller door is 12' or more.
Depending on the style/size of the building and the positioning of the doors it can look strange. For a 2' difference I'd consider going with 10' on each, for a lift I'd go to 12' tall.
I would definitely go wider than 9' on the shop door. Mine are 10' and I should have gone 12'.

 

[volleyball]

How about a 16 x 12? how many doors do you need? Maybe a door on the back side.
If I were going for 3 doors on the front in a neighborhood with a big door, I'd design it so that the facade was broken up and it looked almost like an addition. Having a normal height and a tall door on a straight facade looks tacky.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I think it would depend on what the place will look like from the outside.

 

[kbs2244]

I have to disagree.
Having a common horizontal top line for windows and doors is a long standing building design standard.

Try and find someone that can run the design software that allows you to input a digital PIC and then add to the PIC with various additions, colors, etc.
It will let you play with all kinds of “looks.”

 

[finn]

Try adding some archetectural features to build on the fact that the doors are a different size, ie stone facing, stepped front wall (recessed or protruding), roof features, etc.

 

[prostock3]

yes walled lake, mi. 48390....im actually in wolverine lake but no one has ever heard of it

 

[bczygan]

We're going to need to see some photos...

I designed a house on the south side of Walled Lake, where the two stalls of the 2 car garage needed to be staggered, so the turn into the garage would work, making the use of two doors necessary.

As mentioned above, if the 2 spaces are different heights or sizes to begin with, then that will reflect on the exterior roof line or walls, so the different sized doors will look appropriate for the masses of their respective stalls.

The rule about multiples of something. If they can't match, make them obviously different. If they are just a little off, it will look like a mistake.

 

[AndyL]

Depends on design...

And your installer to some extent - I did one recently where we used ranch panels (and glass) for the bottom 5 - then used a flush panel on the top of the taller door - did an amazing job of hiding the fact that the other door was a different height. Because that extra panel was closer to the stucco - it really looked like they matched.

 

[RVDan]

Why wouldn't you want both to be as tall as possible?

 

[ez-duzit]

Make some copies of the front elevation so you can sketch different approaches. But why would you need a door opening higher than 8'? Do you own a tall camper or?

Nevertheless, make both doors the same height.

 

[Hpozzuoli]

9x10. If you have the chance from the beginning to do it that way take advantage of it.

 

[volleyball]

Universal design homes have taller doors on them for the vans the occupants will likely be going in.
As the 8' ceilings become less common than taller ceilings, taller garage doors will become the norm.

 

[prostock3]

my boat for one is taller than 8ft. enclosed trailer is bigger than 8ft