Garage door spacing?

[kevin206]

My dad is hoping to start a new parking garage very soon and I'm wondering about garage door spacing. I'm desperately trying to talk him into a very tall shop with lifts and about half the footprint. He's planning on 120'x30' with 8 bays and 10' wide doors. Can these doors be butted up next to each other? We usually build pole barn style with 6x6 PT posts. We've been told that we'll have to double the posts at the doors to get enough mounting area. Any one have any experience?

 

[Sureshot]

The door installers here insist on laminated posts for mounting the doors to save on future issues with the occasional twisted posts. Why not go 16' or 18' even 20' wide instead of so many 10' doors?
My doors are 2' apart but I don't see any reason you could not laminate a post as thick as you need to mount doors as close as possible.

 

[Iowa Mark]

You have to have enough bearing out of the posts on either side of those doors to support what roof load you have. A longer wall between doors spreads that load out more than a single spike. You also have to take into consideration the flexure of those posts as they transfer all that weight to the foundation. While huge doors may sound good, all the weight of those doors when open is transferred to the roof structure in just a couple of places. With enough money though, anything is possible (think 747 hanger doors)

 

[wssix99]

We've been told that we'll have to double the posts at the doors to get enough mounting area. Any one have any experience?

Correct. You'll need at least 4.5" for each track you'll mount. So between the doors you'll need at least 9" minimum. You should check the doors you will use as some commercial models will require 6"+. Then... if you want to use something like a jackshaft opener, you'll need even more space.

 

[Scott65]

I would consult local and national codes. There are minimum specs with regards to wall design and door spacing. Door size is also a consideration as mentioned previously when computing the load bearing capabilities and factoring in roof loads. When looking for narrow spacing between doors engineers are sometimes called in to sign off on the design.

 

[larry_g]

If you look at my build below you will see in posts 6&7 how I did it. The main 6x6 has a 4x6 along side to carry the door. I don't like the doors so close together and I surely don't like the left door so close to the end wall. I will do different if I do it again.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[Schtauffer]

Garage door track with the mounting brackets takes 3.5" of room beside the actual door sections, minimum. A single 6" post is not enough. You could set a single 6x6 post and pack a 2x6 on either side to create a post 8-9" wide-- that would work. Just be sure you set your posts at 10'3".

 

[ZRX61]

30ft is a bit oddball for 120ft length. The 30ft is more than enough to park one car with space left over, but if he went 40-50ft he could park 2 cars

 

[calven]

Don't forget sideroom needed for openers. That is, if you plan on using a jackshaft side mount opener. It will probably require at least 8 inches of space (I have seen 7 inches work) beyond the torsion bar on one side of the door to mount. If you plan on using manual operator or trolley ops then no worries. In any case you will need 5-8 inches of sideroom for standard commercial doors depending on the manufacturer. (type of springs) It is best to leave extra space so you have more room to work on the garage door if something breaks.

Secondly, you are far better off cost wise using larger doors instead of several smaller ones, both in initial installation cost and heating/cooling costs over the long run.

 

[jlckmj]

I have 5 single 9 ft. doors on my 72ft. garage / shed. If I had to do it over, I would use two 16-18 foot doors. The small doors are a pain to keep sealed up and working properly plus they are more expensive and harder to get large vehicles in.

Jim