Garage door size?

[Harv]

I'm in the planning stage of a 22X50' garage with two one car garage doors on the front and one on the side.
The SIP manufacturer asked me what size doors I want? So, what size do I want? I tend to own smaller cars (a 5 series BMW would be a big car in my family).

John

 

[boiler7904]

Do you have or plan on ever having a trailer, full size truck / suv, boat, snowmobile trailer, RV etc.?

Bare minimum would be 9' wide x 7' tall for any car. I'd prefer 10' x 8'. Size accordingly for what you think you might park there in the future.

When you spec the doors, have the tracks go as tight to the ceiling as possible to avoid head room clearance issues later on.

From my experience, everything has to be planned out in advance with SIPS. They're a one shot deal. You can't call a "do over" with SIPS like you can with studs. With a door opening in a stud wall, you can rework the width or height down the road if you have to.

 

[jamesgpeck]

So what size of doors did you go with? How did they work? What would you differently if you had the chance to do them again?

 

[Kevin54]

Second vote for no less than a 9' x 7'. if per chance you ever would have a full size truck, trailer, etc going into an 8' wide opening, you would wish you went larger. On my door I have 9' wide. My car trailer was an extra wide at 84" I believe, and with the fenders I had just 2" on each side of the door to get the trailer into the garage. And that is just on the sides. There was no way to get a car on a trailer into a garage with a 7' tall door. So if you would ever think that you need to pull a trailer into a garage with a car on it, go tall. I can't even get a lifted truck into my garage due to the standard door height. So really what Boiler stated...10' x 8' would be ideal.

 

[PAToyota]

I have two 9'x9' doors. For the K2500, it is a bit tight if I have it parked halfway in and have to get past it. But a 10' wide door would have been overkill 90% of the time. And with the 9' height I have no problem backing the truck in with something in the bed, backing an enclosed trailer in, or carrying something in with the Bobcat.

 

[Wardrum]

I agree with Boiler. Plan for what you might need to get into your garage (trailer, pick-up truck, tractor, skid-steer, etc.). Putting doors in that are larger than you might need now is a wise idea IMO, and run them as close to the ceiling as possible. Mine are 10' wide x 9' tall (with bumper posts inside and out) and it is so much easier moving things in and out of the garage.

 

[twostory]

I would recommend you get 8 ft tall door, if your garage ceiling allows this. Many SUVs will just barely clear 7ft. I have a 18ftx11ft door. But my ceiling is 12.5 ft and I park an RV inside. The doors go up in price quite a bit once you go over a certain sq ft size.

 

[E46M3]

Harv,
No less than 9 feet wide. More if your design can take it.
As follows is what you can expect from a 8 foot opening, my wife swerved unsucessfully to avoid the garage opening that jumped in front of her SUV.

cheers,
E46M3

 

[Harv]

Thanks for all the ideas. I'm starting to think of going to one 2 car garage door on the front and a single still on the side. I like the ease of the two car door but I like the look of the single car door......

Hmm.....

John

 

[IDASHO]

Go big if you can.

I LOVE my 9x18

 

[BillK]

Harv,
I like a 2 car door because I can pull 1 car in to the middle of the garage to wax it, detail etc. I will say that in the next house, the door will be at least 18' wide as compared to the present 16' one. It is a real tight squeeze with my Tahoe and the Wife's Riviera.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

No, its not what you might plan on having in the future, its what the next owner of the house, and the one after that, and so forth, might plan on putting in the garage. Go as big as you can. I have a 60x60 building. One door is 12w x14 high, the side door is 10x10. Of course, on the other end, the door is 53w(clear opening) x 14h, but still, I've come to like the big doors, and would never want anything less than the 10x10.

Charles

http://charles-dusty.tripod.com/hangar2.html

 

[pinebarkauto]

I have 10x10 doors and sometimes think I could get by with less height, but never regretted the width. Came in handy one time when I needed to back in a small boat on a trailer. Those things get tall in a hurry.

My biggest concern is the 22' depth you are planning. Even with small cars, a workshop gets tight with less than 24' . Unless you are having to work within space or zoning constraints, You may want to think about that. As another poster stated, think about the next owner and never say never about selling. Most guys would take one look at 22' depth and turn on their heels. Just my .02.

 

[rburke65]

The 22 foot depth is not enough in my opinion, but I don,t know if you have restrictions on this in the form of codes or money.