Garage Door Size - One large or two small?

[Aftermath]

Hello all!!

I have been reading this site for about a year gathering ideas in hopes of building something of my own. I an getting close to starting and have a question.

I am going to be building a 32 x 48 x 13 pole barn. Main use will be storage and workshop/man cave. My question is what I should do for garage doors. I am either going to have 1 - 12 x 10 and 1 - 12 x 12 or 1 - 18 x 11.

If you have 2 doors do you wish you have one large one. If you have one large door do you wish you have 2?

I'm leaning toward one large door. I need the height to get my trailer inside.

Thanks in advance for the suggestions.

D.

 

[fourjeepin]

One a structure that size, I would put in two big doors.

 

[Aftermath]

I should clarify. Door(s) will be on gable end of building.

Thanks,

D.

 

[Rookie2]

I have one 10 x 13.6 and have the up stop set around 7 ft. for my pickup. pita ! wish i had a small door just to get the lawn mower in and out.

 

[Doug B]

I would go with 2 doors.(see my avatar),and why not 2 12x12? In my application,one side operates multiple times daily(the daily driver) the other side(project car,motorcycle) goes up once or twice a week in the summer,and may not be opened all winter.

Opening one smaller door at a time shows less of your stuff to everyone when its open(I can run the DD in and out and no one can see the project car or bike),and if you are conditioning the space,lets less hot/cold air in/out.

 

[nehog]

Big door. Mine (two, eve side) are 10 high x 16 wide and that works well.

 

[jim1987]

I would go with 2 doors.(see my avatar),and why not 2 12x12? In my application,one side operates multiple times daily(the daily driver) the other side(project car,motorcycle) goes up once or twice a week in the summer,and may not be opened all winter.

Opening one smaller door at a time shows less of your stuff to everyone when its open(I can run the DD in and out and no one can see the project car or bike),and if you are conditioning the space,lets less hot/cold air in/out.

this. I would go with two "medium" doors. if you are indeed going to heat/air the place. just make sure they are wide and tall enough to fit anything that you may wan to park in there in the future. ex. motor home or a dully pickup. and then maybe even a 6 foot or shorter door for lawn equipment on the back side or somewhere.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I have almost always preferred having two doors over one. INHO, it allows the distance between two vehicles going in/out and while parked. The area between the doors is great for a object that doesn't get much use like a used oil barrel.

 

[38Chevy454]

One wider door will make it easier to back the trailer in.

 

[36truck]

Always two doors. One is too big yet not big enough. If you were to look at most large door garages you see the car parked at an angle. so the can get the car doors open. Yet they are too big when you only need to get small items in & out.

 

[wnstwolf]

D,

I have three doors along the Gable end of my 60' wide barn. Two outer are 16' wide and the center is 12' wide. As all have said more doors is better at least for me. If I did it again I would have made them all 1'taller. Width has never been an issue but height, and I have plenty of room to go taller, seems to come into play every now and then. If you have room go as tll as you can. Over 7' you can have top door panel have widows too. Most folks can't jump that high to peak in

 

[Disney]

If I had the choice, i would have gone with two doors just for more versatility.

 

[imnutz]

With two doors, if one breaks down you can still get in and out, smaller doors are lighter weight so not as hard on components, if you heat or air condition it, two smaller ones make for less air exchange - down side, two are usually more expensive

 

[Flatland Dave]

I have a 16w x 14h on my heated 32 48 16. I live in farm country, so big doors are the norm. I can get just about anything in my shop except for the neighbor's combine. It kind of depends where you live and what you need as well as the future owner might need. One thing I wish I would have done is to off set the door by a a few feet to one side.

 

[nehog]

One wider door will make it easier to back the trailer in.

Two wide doors make it possible for me to drive in one door, pulling the trailer, stop with the trailer inside, and unload, finally drive out without ever having to back anything!

(I really can do a U turn in my garage with the VW or the Saab!)

 

[Sgreve32x]

Mine has 1 large door and I would rather have it that way. You don't have to worry about that small sections of wall between the 2 doors to maneuver around.

 

[spotco2]

I like 2 doors so you can hide all the **** on one side when the other door is open.

 

[rshadd]

One large door.

 

[JimVonBaden]

Two small look better. One large is usually more functional. If I had the room, like you do, I would have one of each.

 

[dirttracker18]

I have a 30x36 and went with one 12 x 12.

I wish I had done another small one as well but that would have meant turning the shop so the front is the 36. I may end up adding a smaller door on the side in the near future.

Go two, one large and one small. It harder to make it estheticaly pleasing but much more functional.

 

[Aftermath]

Thanks for all the input. I think for my application I will be happier with one door. I'm able to use the spac on the sides more efficiently. I'm sure I'll have more questions as I get closer.

Thanks!

D.

 

[Disney]

I like 2 doors so you can hide all the **** on one side when the other door is open.

Wouldn't that be basically the same as only having one door if you use the other as a wall to hide ****?

 

[spotco2]

Wouldn't that be basically the same as only having one door if you use the other as a wall to hide ****?

Yeah, but I can move the **** to the other side if I want to or open the **** hiding door to shove more **** inside.

It gives me options!

 

[G McKay]

I'd go with two doors.