Garage door question?

[PERFORMANCE-RED]

On a two car garage would you prefer 1 big door or 2 small garage doors? I am still up in the air on this and would like to find out how the board feels about this.

 

[Kevin54]

I have both. And of both I prefer the larger door over 2 small doors all for the fact of pulling in a trailer, backing in a vehicle, projects, and above all, if it is warm out, I like the door open and a breeze blowing through. As a matter of fact, I'd like to have one like E-Teks with a door on both ends.

 

[Piper]

while function should always trump looks, I think you have to take a lot of factors into effect. We have a 24 deep by 32 wide garage with 2 doors at the front, 1 at the back (allowing thru traffic). It really suits our house and while I originally wanted a single large door it just didn't look right. Having 2 doors also allowed us to have a load from above transferred between the 2 doors. So, I think there are more factors at play here. Bottom line, wider is more convenient for driving thru, turning trailers etc.

 

[kbs2244]

I like 2 doors as long as you can make them at least 10 feet wide.

It just gives you more flexibility as to how to use that big wall.
You can open one or both for ventilation.
You can keep one closed to save heat in the winter.

If you do regularly back a trailer in you might want to go bigger.

And style does play a part.
A 1960’s or later style looks OK with a single big door.
But with a Colonial they seem out of place.

 

[NUTTSGT]

On the house garage (24x32) I spaced the doors apart more than the normal16"-24". I put mine at 32" (2 block at the foundation) This keeps the doors of both vehicles a little father away from each other preventing spousal door dings.

 

[Torque1st]

If you have a narrow garage one big door is better because you can pull the vehicle into the center so there is space on both sides to work on it. This only applies if there is no center post in the middle of the garage.

If you have a wider garage that allows you to have room on one side at least for working room then 2 doors are OK. The vehicle can be parked in the side towards the wide side and the other bay can be empty to allow good working space.

 

[ddawg16]

I voted 2 doors...but only because no other details were given.

I currently have one large door....I don't always want the whole thing open....

With 2 doors, you have have a project veh behind one of the closed one's out of eye view.....

And after having to push that big header beam up into place....yea, 2 doors would have been a lot easier.

If you have to pull a trailer in and out....then a single large door might be the ticket. Or just go 10' doors....

 

[D KRAGER]

On the shop, 1 large door, mine is 16' wish it was 18 though. For backing in projects ect.

Parking garage 2 10' doors.

 

[PERFORMANCE-RED]

Wow this poll is a lot closer then I thought it would be. It seems arount this area 1 big door is the norm. I would have to for sure go with a 10' wide door or the big **** mirrors on the superduty won't go in unless fold them in and out all the time. I can see the advantage of the single big door as well but is seems if you don't have a very deep garage or one with work benches in front your cars would sit kind of at a V angle to get thru the door and have enough space between them to get in and out easy. Doors on the superduty are big as well.

 

[TRC51]

I like the looks of two doors, but I decided on one big door because it's easier to get stuff in and out of it without hitting anything. I also have my 16ft door all the way to the left of the garage with the man door on the right.

Another good reason... I have 1 big door on my garage attached to the house, so I wanted them to look the same.

 

[volks_voodoo]

/lurk

For me and my small VWs, the single large door makes the most sense. Current shop has 2 8' doors and it takes a good deal of shuffling or vehicle dollies in order to get a vehicle centered to work on it. Old shop had a single 16' door, and was narrower than the current, but always easier to work around the car in. I think 2 smaller doors looks better and would be extremely workable given a margin around the sides, but at least in my older house, there isn't enough area to the sides to park a car in each bay and still move / work around them. If I had 3' more on each side, it would probably be a non-issue.

 

[mmhouse]

I've had both and prefer two doors to provide more separation between the vehicles.

 

[Chris Adams]

The question isn't really fair. I would prefer two 10 foot doors to a single 16 foot door... Or two 16 foot doors to a single 10 foot door.

If you only have say 20 feet wide, a single big door makes the best choice.
If you have say 26 feet wide, I think two 10 foot doors would be great.

Two 8 foot doors would be too narrow.

 

[FlameOut]

My garage is 28 x 34 and I have 2 - 9' wide doors. Wouldn't want it any other way. If someone can't back into, or pull straight into a 9' wide opening, they shouldn't be driving anyhow. Plus the 2 doors looks much better than 1 monster door

 

[Steevo]

I voted for one large door, because I was thinking of how I use a garage. If it is a parking garage, then two (or more) doors, each wide enough to easily slide a pickup in without banging mirrors, so probably at least 9' x 8', but bigger is always better. My house came with a double and a single door, and the single is so narrow that my truck mirrors clear by no more than a half inch on each side.

For my 24x40 shop (separate from my 3-car attached garage), I went with a single 10x10 on a 24ft end wall, so that I could slide a long trailer in there if need be, and backing a trailer in to load/unload projects is easy. I also put a 6x8 at the back of one side wall for bringing small equipment in and out (garden tractors, etc).

 

[kwb]

10' wide is tough for trailers like RV's, Boats, many cargo trailers unless you have 75-100' in front of the door to get things lined up just right.

I have one 16'w x 14'h in front wall of 36' wide building but it is offset and I might add an 8' wide door next to it to run lawn tractor out and when space allows to drive my car in and out and leave boat parked straighter in the big bay.

 

[RobSmith]

I have seen and will buy when the time comes. 8ft wide roller doors with a removable track in between. For single access for the daily driver, one door is OK but when you want to do some moving around. Roll up both doors, remove the centre track and then you have a 16 foot wide opening. Too easy

 

[CBR9Seadoo]

I've had both and prefer two doors to provide more separation between the vehicles.

+1 Less chance of door dings.

 

[AffableCurmudgeon]

I have a two car garage with 2 small doors. I hate it. Keep damaging my cars.

 

[nissan_crawler]

My garage is 28 x 34 and I have 2 - 9' wide doors. Wouldn't want it any other way. If someone can't back into, or pull straight into a 9' wide opening, they shouldn't be driving anyhow. Plus the 2 doors looks much better than 1 monster door

That would give about 2" on each side to back my trailer in. No thanks.

I'm with the other guys, depends on the size of the garage, but the two doors would have to be 10' wide minimum, or I would go to a 16-17' single.

My garage is only 19' wide with a 16' door. Having two doors wouldn't work at all.

 

[PERFORMANCE-RED]

My garage is 28 x 34 and I have 2 - 9' wide doors. Wouldn't want it any other way. If someone can't back into, or pull straight into a 9' wide opening, they shouldn't be driving anyhow. Plus the 2 doors looks much better than 1 monster door

I am leaning this way more and more.



Seems the poll is pretty dang even.

 

[rwhite692]

Is this a garage for the day-to-day parking of your daily drivers, or is it a "shop" / garage where you will be working on various projects?

Will you ever want to, say, roll a boat on a trailer in there?

If it's a "shop" or project/hobby garage....IMHO...Do one 16' wide door and go 9' high, if you can. This is my 24x36...I like my "monster door" LOL!

 

[D.J.]

So you guys with single "Monster Doors" have still not said if the other parties who use the garage for daily parking crowd your side when returning from grocery trips. My MIL and FIL have a single wide door and I always noticed that one of them would be crooked when they attempted to park a Ranger ans a Impala in it for the evening. I'll have to vote for two minimum 10 foot wide.
________
Ferrari f2007 specifications

 

[Chris Adams]

So you guys with single "Monster Doors" have still not said if the other parties who use the garage for daily parking crowd your side when returning from grocery trips. My MIL and FIL have a single wide door and I always noticed that one of them would be crooked when they attempted to park a Ranger ans a Impala in it for the evening. I'll have to vote for two minimum 10 foot wide.

My wife would park a car sideways if she could, so I solved it in several ways.

One, I put a LARGE store mirror, the kind you use to let the shoplifters watch the counter. Got them free (well, my stores were throwing some away) but they are not too expensive. You can watch as you park in the mirror.
My wife won't park without it.


Two, I hung a tennis ball (well, a Nerf tennis ball) where my truck parks so you line it up with the windshield mirror and when it touches you are set.


Three, I put a laser pointer on the ceiling, a parking kit, not very expensive. It puts a laser beam on a preselected part, in the case of the Tracker it hits the day/night sensor. When the beam is on the sensor the Tracker is parked perfectly.

None of these things is perfect but since I put them in no more scrapped mirrors, no more door dings and no more having to climb over the front fender of the truck to get to the other car.

 

[rwhite692]

.....So you guys with single "Monster Doors" have still not said if the other parties who use the garage for daily parking crowd your side when returning from grocery trips....

Doesn't apply for my 24x36 with monster door, as it is strictly a car hobby shop...no daily drivers in there.

 

[NUTTSGT]

My wife would park a car sideways if she could, so I solved it in several ways.


Two, I hung a tennis ball (well, a Nerf tennis ball) where my truck parks so you line it up with the windshield mirror and when it touches you are set.

Doesnt work for my wife.

 

[Chris Adams]

Doesnt work for my wife.

What kind of parking problem does she have? Sideways? Clip the mirror, if so which side?
Pulls not far enough in? Pulls in too far?

My wife clips mirrors, both sides, can't tell where the center of the garage is.

She has no idea that if you park on the closest side, the other side 'takes care of itself' same as driving a boat.

I use three systems because she has three problem areas.
Each one addresses one problem area.

 

[TRC51]

I agree that the question of "daily driver parking" vs. "hobby shop" is the crucial one to answer. I hate smaller doors because it is just so much easier with a large one. However, I can see the point of having them for daily drivers. As I mentioned before, I have a large door on my house and my wife likes the fact that it's so much easier to just drive right in too. The only problem is...... she doesn't leave me any room because she just parks in the middle!!

That said, if daily driver parking, go with the two door. Hobby shop, I stick to my original reply of 1 big door.

 

[Torque1st]

People that can't even pull into a garage should not be driving period.

 

[Chris Adams]

People that can't even pull into a garage should not be driving period.

You know, I have said that a couple times, but really, I was wrong.
My wife has a fantastic driving record, 300k miles in twenty years, only one accident her fault (overpowered car, blind overpass, stopped traffic) and one ticket (5 over on the freeway, cop didn't like her Corvette. Actually told her that).
So really, can't complain about the parking.

She has very little vision in her left eye, thus no depth perception, thus parking is a real challenge since unlike parking in a parking lot she has to fit within one or two inches to fit both cars in and still access both doors.
Plus my cars tend to 'hop' because they are modified, thus making it hard to ease up over the hump going into the shop.

So don't be too harsh on everyone who needs a little help parking in tight quarters.

Save it for TAILGATERS....