Jaguar Fan
Well-known member
Are standard two car, sectional garage doors always 16 feet wide? Or are there some that are 18 or 20?
garage door widths?
- Thread starter Jaguar Fan
- Start date
PhantomEB
Well-known member
Standard is 16 but 18 and probably 20 can be ordered. This was a constant arguement between my boss, he ended up goin with the 18 ( so he can swing his 4x4 on trailer into shop if he needs to), I am goin dual 9x8s just since I like to work with the door open and dont need the lookyloos always rubberneckin when they drive by.
I suggest 20' wide door for double garages, and a 10' wide door for single garages. I have had these widths and narrower doors, and it is much easier to get a full size truck or SUV in and out. You can go from the standard 7' high up to 8' high while you at it. That would give you some more clearance for that jacked up 4x4 you might one day own!
BillK
Well-known member
Jag fan,
Yup . . . if I ever move to a new house it will have at least an 18 ft door on a double garage. Mine has a 16 ft door and it takes some close driving to get the Tahoe in next to my Wife's 84 Riviera
Yup . . . if I ever move to a new house it will have at least an 18 ft door on a double garage. Mine has a 16 ft door and it takes some close driving to get the Tahoe in next to my Wife's 84 Riviera
rburke65
Well-known member
I had originally figured a 16x7 door on this proposed shop and have since changed it to two 12'x8 doors.I think these will be real nice.
R6 Racer
Well-known member
Mine are singles @ 9x8. The standard was 8x7 & am I ever glad I went with the bigger size. If I was going to do it again I would go with 10x9's. I don't know what your circumstance is but if you still have the option available to you I strongly recommend you go with 2 singles instead of 1 large double.
2 singles makes it easier to park your cars a bit farther apart than 1 double does. I like PhantomEB's comment about security also.
Steve
2 singles makes it easier to park your cars a bit farther apart than 1 double does. I like PhantomEB's comment about security also.
Steve
Truck Addict
Active member
My 24x32 is getting a 18'x9 door. I too went around and around about door size. If I could have gone wider than the 24' then I would have considered two 10' wide doors but 24' total width was the most I could fit....or so I thought. I ended up placing the garage another 4' closer to the property line and now that my walls are up I'm realizing I could have gone 30' wide after all! Not even done building the thing and it is already too small! LOL!
Seriously though I think one big door leaves a lot more flexibility. You can pull one vehicle in, in the middle and have tons of room to work on it, or you can park two side by side with enough room for most people. Just make sure you get a GOOD door if you are going big and live where there is a lot of wind.
Seriously though I think one big door leaves a lot more flexibility. You can pull one vehicle in, in the middle and have tons of room to work on it, or you can park two side by side with enough room for most people. Just make sure you get a GOOD door if you are going big and live where there is a lot of wind.
megalo
Well-known member
I will be going with an 18x8 door for the same reason as Truck Addict - my garage will only be 24' wide. Two 10' doors might technically be possible, but it would require stong-walls, etc.
larry4406
Well-known member
I have two 9x9 and one 18x9.
KELLHAMMER
Well-known member
Size increments is going to be different from each manuf and within each of their models. Clopay for instance has a line that is pretty much in 1 foot incremental width increase. Up to 24 foot wide
BillK
Well-known member
Steve,
The only thing I dont like about two singles is that you cant pull one car in to the middle of the garage if you want to. If I want to give one of the cars a good cleaning, I like being able to pull it in right in the middle and opening both doors etc. Plus much easier to move around to wax etc.
Just my opinion,
Kevin54
MEMBER EMERITUS
I made the mistake of putting 9' doors in my garage. Backing my full size truck in, you really have to watch that you don't take a mirror off. As far as my car trailer, with a 9' wide door, I literally have about 1 1/2"/side clearance. If I had it to do over, I would have put 10' doors in minimum.
Backing my full size truck in, you really have to watch that you don't take a mirror off. As far as my car trailer, with a 9' wide door, I literally have about 1 1/2"/side clearance. If I had it to do over, I would have put 10' doors in minimum.I made the mistake of putting 9' doors in my garage.
I completely understand Kevin. When I painted my car trailer, I moved the trailer in by hand as the opening was only 3/4" wider than the trailer on both sides.
If I were to build a new (from scratch) shop, I think it would have one door, atleast 10' wide maybe 12'.
I have a 9' and a 16' on my shop, both 7' tall. I had no problems getting the '73 Charger, the '78 Cordoba, and the '82 D350 Crew Cab into the garage.
Yes, a wider door at either would be a little bit nicer, but if one is using the garage as a project shop and not bringing stuff in and out constantly then wider might not necessarily be better. I do wish my shop was taller and had taller doors though. My plans to work on a Class-B RV are thwarted by such a low height, but even an 8' door is probably inadequate as Roadtreks like I'm interested in are 8'3".
Don't forget that the bigger the door, the less that wall insulates the shop from the outside. They make insulated doors, but they can't provide anywhere close to the same insulation rating as a wall. The bigger the door, the more you'll spend to climate-control the shop.
Yes, a wider door at either would be a little bit nicer, but if one is using the garage as a project shop and not bringing stuff in and out constantly then wider might not necessarily be better. I do wish my shop was taller and had taller doors though. My plans to work on a Class-B RV are thwarted by such a low height, but even an 8' door is probably inadequate as Roadtreks like I'm interested in are 8'3".
Don't forget that the bigger the door, the less that wall insulates the shop from the outside. They make insulated doors, but they can't provide anywhere close to the same insulation rating as a wall. The bigger the door, the more you'll spend to climate-control the shop.
Rudyjr
Well-known member
Same here, it's nice to have the extra room both directions.
csp
Well-known member
18x8 on my double and 9x8 on the single. Standard cookie cutter house will be 16x7 for a double.
GarageEnvy
Well-known member
I have two 18' doors and an 8' door. The 8' door is simply a function of the room I had left. I found that the options for 20' doors were significantly more limited than the 18' width and the price was quite a bit higher. Plus, my 3-layer, steel backed doors with glass windows already require four springs.
Falcon67
Well-known member
The old shop had an 8' x 7'. Backing a car off the trailer was like threading a needle. I could get the Super Crew in there with the mirrors folded in, but it was TIGHT.
I will put a standard 16x7 door in the new shop. The cars are not that wide and 16' is OK. I would have done two 9' wides, but it cost more wall space than I wanted to spend and entry/exit from Door #2 would have been iffy due to the landscape. Besides - even with 9' wide doors, I still could not back a car trailer in there for service. The trailers are 9' wide at the tires. This way I can kick a car out and back in a trailer for winter service.
I did price 18 and up doors - price goes WAY up when you get off standard sizes. My complete door kit was around $450.
I will put a standard 16x7 door in the new shop. The cars are not that wide and 16' is OK. I would have done two 9' wides, but it cost more wall space than I wanted to spend and entry/exit from Door #2 would have been iffy due to the landscape. Besides - even with 9' wide doors, I still could not back a car trailer in there for service. The trailers are 9' wide at the tires. This way I can kick a car out and back in a trailer for winter service.
I did price 18 and up doors - price goes WAY up when you get off standard sizes. My complete door kit was around $450.
K'ledgeBldr
Well-known member
Amarr has a commercial line and a residential line-
Here's a breakdown of their doors:
Here's a breakdown of their doors:
Lkdelta
Well-known member
This garage has 2 doors.. 9'w X 7'h and it works great for the "shop and repairs" going on here
Keeps some of the eyes from checking it all out
the inlaws have 18 X 7..that works good for backing the boat trailer or full size van into
We have had full size trailers and the van here..it was real tight
Both places work perfect for they are used for
It all depends on what needs to fit inside
Keeps some of the eyes from checking it all out
the inlaws have 18 X 7..that works good for backing the boat trailer or full size van into
We have had full size trailers and the van here..it was real tight
Both places work perfect for they are used for
It all depends on what needs to fit inside
Charles (in GA)
Well-known member
I consider 10x10 a minimum for a single door, would not want any less. I have a 10x10 roll up and a 12w x 14h sectional...... oh yea, a 14 h x 53w also.
Charles
Charles
jvitez
Well-known member
Standard sizes seem to be 16x7 double and 9x7 single.
I put 16x8 and 9x8 doors in my attached garage. Ditto about the knocking off mirrors on a full size truck with a 9 ft wide door.
If I build a detached garage as I hope to, it'll have an 18x10 door. 7 ft high doors are just too low unless you drive subcompacts only. It's quite a chore to drive 2 full sized vehicles through a 16 ft wide door. It all depends on what you drive.
I put 16x8 and 9x8 doors in my attached garage. Ditto about the knocking off mirrors on a full size truck with a 9 ft wide door.
If I build a detached garage as I hope to, it'll have an 18x10 door. 7 ft high doors are just too low unless you drive subcompacts only. It's quite a chore to drive 2 full sized vehicles through a 16 ft wide door. It all depends on what you drive.
nehog
Well-known member
Sheesh, some people need a huge door...
My doors are 16 ft wide. I park the H1 (about 8 ft wide) on one side of a bay. Then I back in my generator trailer (again about 8 ft wide) next to it. (OK, I'll admit not many people could back an 8 ft wide trailer into a 12 ft wide area... )
OK, to be serious... I suppose that I'd rather the doors have been 18 ft instead of 16, but when I bought the building the manufacturer strongly recommended 16 ft--wider would have required some additional expense and bracing.
My doors are 16 ft wide. I park the H1 (about 8 ft wide) on one side of a bay. Then I back in my generator trailer (again about 8 ft wide) next to it. (OK, I'll admit not many people could back an 8 ft wide trailer into a 12 ft wide area... )
OK, to be serious... I suppose that I'd rather the doors have been 18 ft instead of 16, but when I bought the building the manufacturer strongly recommended 16 ft--wider would have required some additional expense and bracing.
I don't think those people should be pulling trailers then. When I was an adolescent we had three ATVs and a single axle flatbed trailer for them. Dad stored the trailer on the side-yard behind a gate. The space was so narrow that if he didn't keep the tire pressure up, the bulging of the tires at the ground would scrub along both sides where he backed it in.
Steevo
Well-known member
On my house, there is one double door and one single for the "third car" bay. My dodge Ram mirrors will not fit through the single door without swinging one of them in, which makes backing in/out nearly impossible, so I only tried parking the truck in there one time. I hate narrow doors.
When I built my shop, I made the main door 10' wide and 10' high.
When I built my shop, I made the main door 10' wide and 10' high.