Garage Door Size & Source.....thinking 16x8

[River19]

So as plans for our garage are coming together we are probably looking at 28x32 Gambrel style with 10' walls and I'm leaning towards a single 16x8' door for many reasons, not the least of which is my truck would barely fit in an 8' wide single even with the mirrors folded in.

My question is really more around....what am I looking for in a door, knowing budget is important so a NORAD quality door is not in the cards. We are leaning towards no windows as this is our second home and making it easy for people to see what is inside isn't exactly high on my priority list.....and paying more for that privilege makes even less sense.

Our log cabin is a medium stain with green windows, so we are thinking a paintable surface so we can match the hunter green (from Andersen windows).

Looks like a Home Depot/Lowes special will be about $1500 and R value of about 14-16.........is this a reasonable quality door or should I explore elsewhere?

What is a reasonable budget? What should I avoid?

Thanks for the help.....

Steve

 

[east_tn_emc]

I have an 18x8 (glad to have that extra two feet in width and definitely the extra foot height)

I ordered mine from the local garage-door company. It is a top of the line Clopay. They sold it, delivered and installed it for significantly less than I could have ordered the same door for from Home Depot (and me picking it up and installing it).

Check for your local garage door dealer/installer.

Something to consider with a door that wide...get the best, thickest insulated door you can....it helps with wind load against the door!

 

[River19]

I have an 18x8 (glad to have that extra two feet in width and definitely the extra foot height)

I ordered mine from the local garage-door company. It is a top of the line Clopay. They sold it, delivered and installed it for significantly less than I could have ordered the same door for from Home Depot (and me picking it up and installing it).

Check for your local garage door dealer/installer.

Something to consider with a door that wide...get the best, thickest insulated door you can....it helps with wind load against the door!

Fantastic suggestion about the wind load.

I'm concerned about the R value since we regularly see -20 to -30 air temps.

 

[Elginz]

Two 10 x 8 doors if you want 2 parking spots. I have the 16 x 8 for 20 years and I am going to replace it with a 10 x 8 and a man door. Opening the 16 x 8 is not a problem, the span is not a problem. I heat all winter, opening that big of a door lets out a lot of heat. It also gives me less wall space. I still can not fit two vehicles side by side in a 16' door, maybe the tiny little things some drive would fit fine. I am also looking at the looks of the 10 wide and it would be fine for me and what I have in mind. Personally I would not go 16 again.

 

[kramarj]

I suggest you order it through a door dealer and have them install it as well. We have run into so many situations where a homeowner tries to save a buck and install doors themselves and they install it wrong. So then we come in and fix it and then their cheap door ends up more expensive than the better door that we sell.

As for windload, it isn't so much about the thickest strongest door, although that is a plus, but there is a certain standard that they have to meet to be windload rated. For example, we sell two different steel two sided insulated doors. One just has stacked poly insulation and the other is a foam injected. Both doors are rated for like 80 mph wind.

As far as insulation though look for a door that is foam injected. They offer the highest R value.

 

[east_tn_emc]

With the 18' door I can easily get a big Tundra truck and full size passenger car in....not sure I could with the 16' door.

 

[NES]

Keep the 8' tall garage door. However go 18' wide. This way you can have a suburban and a truck next to each other with room in between. Having the garage door be 2' wider makes a nice huge difference.

If anything go with Raynor garage doors. Such awesome quality and options to choose from. My parents have one it's been flawless.

 

[River19]

Great points and advice here.

I'm intrigued by the 18x8 idea and the dual 10'x8's......I am concerned a little bit about the 10' width if I want to back in a sled trailer, horse trailer etc. Not that we can't do it, but things have to be closer to perfect, where the 16 or 18' have plenty of room for error.

The largest vehicle going in will be my 2014 Ram 2500 which is on 35s and for an 8' I have to hit the mirror button and fold them in as it is. 10' would work fine.....

Good call on the foam injection and I will absolutely be using a local dealer if possible, however options can be limited as we are 40 miles from the Canadian border, but we will see what is available.

We also have a 2001 Tundra that may be left at the cabin (in this garage) as a dedicated hunting rig over the next couple years so that would potentially always be there.

We would also be storing our 1975 Wheel Horse tractor, cart etc. in there along with various lawn equipment etc.

 

[purplezr2]

What's the location? I would suggest Going 18thx8 myself as that what I plan to do.

 

[River19]

What's the location? I would suggest Going 18thx8 myself as that what I plan to do.

Northern VT.....built a log cabin there in 2009 and we are getting around to planning out a garage/barn building of 28x32 for now with a side "car port" type covered area away from the prevailing winds.

 

[tms0425]

I have an 18x8' CHI Carriage House style door, 2" stamped steel panels, sprayed in urethane foam R16.5, on our new 2c garage (~$1600 installed). I added nylon rollers and a set of The Green Hinges (Alliance Partner here) to keep it sealing tight in the wind. The extra 2' of width makes a big difference with 2 larger vehicles or a trailer parked in the garage already. I already have two of the CHI doors 10x9' on another building and have been very happy with them.

 

[MWC104]

I'm in the midst of getting bids for a 3 car attached garage and after discussing this in a thread I made, we decided to go with an 18x8 door. My neighbor has a 16' wide door and it looks so tight. He says he has no problems parking his GMC Sierra and his wifes Buick Century inside but when I see that he can't open his doors all the way to get in, it made me really think about the door. He's tried to talk me out of it a couple times but there's no way I'm going less than 18' wide.

 

[justanengineer]

JMO, I've got a 16'x8' door and the width isnt an issue. The problem I have is the height, moving lifted vehicles and/or heavy iron in/out with an engine hoist is either impossible or very tight given the low headroom. I really want a 10' tall door in my next garage.

 

[River19]

JMO, I've got a 16'x8' door and the width isnt an issue. The problem I have is the height, moving lifted vehicles and/or heavy iron in/out with an engine hoist is either impossible or very tight given the low headroom. I really want a 10' tall door in my next garage.

I think we all would love the largest possible door/garage around, but I think I'm going with 10' walls so I'm limited to 8' height, and I do have to be realistic about what will go in there and what I can afford.

What I can't do is end up with a smaller garage because I blew money on a huge door.....lol

 

[chops101]

I just ordered and installed (myself) two 9 x 8 single doors.
The best pricing all around was at HD, and Clopay at that.
The local door dealers wanted pathetically overpriced amounts for the same doors, and about $400 per door to install. The doors were very simple to install.

Wind load is more complex in my latitude, engineered lateral struts are designed to meet/exceed code. My doors are 150mph+ and have 10 struts per door.