designing a new garage

[drboompa]

Greetngs to all.

I am a new person on the forum and need some advice on garage design. We are designing a new retirement house and want to make sure the garage will accommodate our vehicles.

Currently our garage is 19 ft wide b 20.5 long. We have a Ford double cab f-150 and Ford Explorer. In this configuration, the space is very tight for opening vehicle doors in the garage. I park the pickup on the right side and it is almost impossible to open that side of the vehicle without backing out on to the driveway. If we are not carefull in parking the two, we bang the doors on the other vehicle. With a 20 ft long garage, there is hardly space to walk around in front of the pickup. I am looking for a design in the new one that will allow me to have cabinets in the front and walking space in front of the vehicles.

As our design/plan is now, I have a spce that is 23 ft wide and 28 ft deep. The length is fine but will I still have issues with the width?

Can I get at least a 20 ft sturdy garage door that will hold up under winds, etc.???

Any thoughts on this will be appreciated.

 

[akdiesel]

I like the single 9' wide doors for each bay myself. Reason being you don't have to manipulate your vehicle pulling in, the door situates your vehicle for you, and it allows for a more sturdy build. There is little more cost due to double equipment.
My house garage is 28' deep and I park my 21' long pickup in the middle bay. I have plenty of room for a 24" cabinet and room to open the doors in front of the truck with about a foot of room behind it.

 

[drboompa]

Thanks. that is very helpful. What is the distance between the two doors? You mentioned the middle bay, do you have a three bay garage?

 

[boiler7904]

I'd go wider than 23 ft wide if you don't have limitations such as building setbacks, buried utility lines, or other buildings in the area you want to build. Sticking to a 2 ft module for exterior dimensions make for the most efficient use of material.

28 ft deep is a good number but you'll be surprised how quickly it fills once you have the space. With a 2 ft deep workbench and my truck parked in the garage, I have about 2 ft of working space between the rear bumper and the bench.

If going with 2 single doors, I would go with at least 2 ft between the doors and the same between the doors and the corners of the building.

I like a large single door so that I can park a vehicle in the middle of the garage for full access all the way around - nice to be able to do when washing a car in the winter or doing a full detail with all doors open.

 

[akdiesel]

I have a three bay garage. The middle section are approx 18"' wide with 4' spread on each side wall. I am able to open my doors fully on all sides. I have the 2002 GMC 3/4 crew cab and a 2003 Denali XL.

 

[PCMusicGuy]

Go wider if you can. You don't know what vehicles you'll have down the road. From door to door (while open) a C6 corvette is 14' wide by itself without worrying about touching anything on either side. I was shocked when I measured it. And there are plenty of vehicles with wider spans too.

 

[Kevin54]

I like the single 9' wide doors for each bay myself. Reason being you don't have to manipulate your vehicle pulling in, the door situates your vehicle for you, and it allows for a more sturdy build. There is little more cost due to double equipment.
My house garage is 28' deep and I park my 21' long pickup in the middle bay. I have plenty of room for a 24" cabinet and room to open the doors in front of the truck with about a foot of room behind it.

I have 9' doors on my garage and hate them. If I back in my truck I have to be extra careful that I don't hit the mirrors. As far as backing in a car trailer, I literally have 2" on each side to get it in. If I had it to do over, it would be a 16' door or (2) 10' doors.

 

[rsa]

Short version: I get either a minimum of 27'W x 25' 4"D or 25' 2"W by 27' 2"D depending on if you enter the house from the side or front of the trucks. Those are interior dimensions.

Long version: Get out your calculator and take a look at this article on designing garages by Katie Hutchison. She's recommending 4' clearance between trucks (I assume trucks get 4' on the outside too), and 2'6" front and rear clearance. If it's an attached garage, she allows 22" for trash/storage on the side. Depending on your layout that 22" could go on the deep end instead of the side.

A 2012 Ford Supercrew with 6.5 bed is 20' 4" long and 6' 7" wide (8' 1" with mirrors). A 2012 Ford Explorer is 16' 5" long and 6' 7" (7' 6" with mirrors). So according to Katie, you're looking at interior dimensions of 27'W x 25' 4"D (trash/storage on side) or 25' 2"W by 27' 2"D (trash/storage in front).

As far as a single doors go, you can use an average of the with mirror and without mirror widths and add 4' to size your door. In this case that method totals 18' 1/2". Add a foot on either side and your proposed 20' door looks good.

If you want double doors, the Supercrew is 8' 1" wide at the mirrors. A 9' opening only leaves 6" clearance on the sides. Less depending on how the opening is framed out and finished. Don't forget that many doors are available in increments smaller than one foot if you don't want a 10' door.

Adjust your calculations if you want to fold your mirrors when passing through the doors.

 

[Doozer]

What about parking both vehicles next to each other in the driveway and opening all the doors, and measure the width. i doubt you will ever have a situation where both vehicles are in the garage and all the doors are open. But this gives you some space to have things on the walls. The last thing you want to do is build it, and it's still too tight.

 

[akdiesel]

I have 9' doors on my garage and hate them. If I back in my truck I have to be extra careful that I don't hit the mirrors. As far as backing in a car trailer, I literally have 2" on each side to get it in. If I had it to do over, it would be a 16' door or (2) 10' doors.

I will agree that 10' would be better. but for the size the OP stated (23'), and it sounds like that is the max for width, then the 9' doors allow for room on the sides as well as the middle. Painting lines can help for backing in.
As for the 16' door if you have two vehicles in there then you have to snake them in and out to clear mirrors.
There are advantages for each door. Simply weigh the options.

 

[drboompa]

Thanks to all. That is a lot to take into consideration. Wow!

Thanks

 

[99D1SS]

I would def put 10'x 8' doors in! That's what's in my shop, no problems with lifted trucks or big SUVs getting in and out!