Detached garage and large door options...

[Innovate1]

Getting plans together for a 30 x 40 detached garage/shop building. Want to be able to put an RV in it so that means 14' ceiling and tall door. I don't expect to be opening and closing it often so am considering something other than conventional garage door with horizontal panels. tall door are expensive and openers for them are too.

Have seen a few pictures of vertical bifold doors that seem like they might work well. If I make 4 panels each 3 ft wide that is 12 feet. Making them fold inward would keep the track inside and shed water better and could be sealed without too much trouble I think. Space will have heat and cooling as this is the midwest with hot, humid summers and cold winters.

Plan to put in a half bath in a corner and build a larger room around that with the HVAC so I can just heat those rooms in the winter when I am not using the rest of the space. Would do radiant floor heat but also need cooling.

Looking for advice on the space and especially the door. I also planned to put in a standard 9'W x 8' high garage door for more frequent use. Maybe a platform above it for storage so the space isn't wasted.

 

[yucholian]

For an RV, strongly suggest going with 16’ walls and 14’ tall doors.

 

[gnpenning]

I would agree with the 14' door. Also go at least 12' wide.

The smaller door go 10' or wider.

 

[longez]

I would agree with the 14' door. Also go at least 12' wide.

The smaller door go 10' or wider.

This is exactly the advice I received when building my 40x60 shop. Walls were planned for 14', but wisely decided upon 16' walls with 12'x14' high doors... if I ever get an RV. The door on the 60' wall is 12'x12'

 

[Innovate1]

Don't expect to ever have a huge RV so thought 12' high door would be sufficient. Hard to go up though so perhaps I should increase...

Thinking I should just go with a standard roll up door for both. They aren't THAT much.
Noticed in the pictures it looks like the small door track extends vertically up the wall above the door. How do the openers work if you have them? Looks to be near the torsion springs...
We may skip openers and can always add that later if we decide to.

Thinking the 12' width would be worth doing, especially for the tall door.

So I will have lots of upper space. I have lots of light bulky things. Wondering how to utilize the space if (when) I need it. Have seen winches used to lift things up to the ceiling...

 

[38Chevy454]

You may not have a tall RV and 12 ft is sufficient, but consider that when selling in the future, a 14 ft high door will be good if you want to have any RV be able to fit under.

 

[kbs2244]

Do a you tube search on "hanger doors"
The air plane guys need big doors.

 

[Voi]

Tall doors are expensive and openers for them are too.

Have seen a few pictures of vertical bifold doors that seem like they might work well.

I got a quote from Schweiss (bifold.com) for a standard 8' x 7' residential bifold door and it was very expensive, I think over $5,000, and this was several years ago.

I agree with others, go 14' door and 16' walls and put it on the gable end if possible so future owners can fit bigger rigs in. RV storage is a bonus for resale in my area.

 

[Innovate1]

Turns out that 16' walls are going to add a lot of cost. 2x6 walls on 12" centers to meet code here at that height of walls. Guess I could look at steel buildings. But I am not planning to have a large RV and doubt it will be a bit selling point. I need to figure out if I really need that much headroom as I expect to have a modest RV. Need to give some more thought to what I really need and trade offs.

 

[Fsm09]

Did you ever decide how tall you were going to go? I can’t decide if I want to go 14’ tall or 16’ tall.


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[kbs2244]

When I put in my door I went with a 10 foot height.
But knew I may want more later.

I built the door opening with the header all the way up, just under the wall top 2 x 4s.
The wall the "hangs down" from the header to the top of the opening.
This means no structural worries if I ever want to go higher with the opening.

 

[rajeevx7]

The way I “cheated” was to pour in a 6” curb around the perimeter of the slab. A 2x8 and 2x6 stack horizontally on this. Then, 2x6x14’ walls. I may be an inch off on my 2x’s, it’s been 7yrs. Then my biggest of three doors is 14tallx18wide regular garage door with jack shaft opener. That is my main parking door and I operate it multiple times a day. Class C RV only comes in for service with plenty of room.

Basically agreeing, get the 15-16’ walls and 14’ door!

 

[Innovate1]

Did you ever decide how tall you were going to go? I can’t decide if I want to go 14’ tall or 16’ tall.


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Going with 12' framed walls on 2' stub foundation walls for total of 14' high walls and 12' high door. It won't fit a large motor home but I don't want to drive a huge rig. 12' high is the highest I can do framed walls without custom engineering so they get around the rule by making the foundation higher.

 

[Certified Drunk]

longez, nice garage!

 

[maxpat82]

14' door is kinda a must for an rv space..

and for the regular use door: go 10' wide. I have 9' and damm it kinda **** to drive my f150 in.(mirror stress everytimes)

 

[rajeevx7]

Going with 12' framed walls on 2' stub foundation walls for total of 14' high walls and 12' high door. It won't fit a large motor home but I don't want to drive a huge rig. 12' high is the highest I can do framed walls without custom engineering so they get around the rule by making the foundation higher.

Please don’t forget to account for the rooftop ac units and the air bags of the rv, which also raise the body. What are Dometic ac units, ~18” and bags will give 4” of stroke.

 

[bmwpowere36m3]

Father put in a 13' tall door for his class A... BARELY makes it thru. 14' door for sure.

 

[Hot Rod Grampa]

A little suggestion before you build. Get exact height from the kind of RV you plan on having. The height of a class C may not be as low as you think. If you have exact numbers it will be easier to make a more informed decision. You may be able to go to a 13' high low headroom door in 14' wall. Go with 12' wide and be comfy backing in or out.

 

[Noggie]

This is exactly the advice I received when building my 40x60 shop. Walls were planned for 14', but wisely decided upon 16' walls with 12'x14' high doors... if I ever get an RV. The door on the 60' wall is 12'x12'

I love the way this looks
Steel building or pole?
Exactly the dimensions I want to go with, only I'm planning on a 14 by 12 + two 10 by 10 all on the 60' side. And a smaller (8 by 8 or similar) on one of the short sides.
Do you have a build thread?

 

[HoosierMark]

While 14 may be plenty tall for a 12 foot door also consider this. If you go 16 foot high you will be able to inspect the roof of the motor home when it is parked inside and have some room to do minor repairs on it. FYI I just bought two 12 x 16 doors well insulated with one row of windows for roughly $4K plus installation. I went with jack shaft openers 8500W units so I did not have the center rail to deal with. I like the wider doors so I can I have easy access to the space without worrying about the edges.

 

[earl84]

I have a mid size RV travel trailer, 26 feet long, plus the tongue, overall about 31 feet long. It is 11’-2” tall to the very top of the air conditioner cover. Just throwing that out there, FWIW.

 

[kbs2244]

When I built my shop it was 12 feet slab to soffit.
When it came time to frame for the 10w x 8h door I had the header put at the soffit level.

The false wall hangs down below the header.
It is not structural.

This will make any door height increase much easier.

 

[Huffie]

This is exactly the advice I received when building my 40x60 shop. Walls were planned for 14', but wisely decided upon 16' walls with 12'x14' high doors... if I ever get an RV. The door on the 60' wall is 12'x12'

I love your shop, looks great! What did you buy for lighting?