One big roll up or two smaller ones?

[tfrasca]

I'm planning a 24x36' detached garage, and wondering if anyone has opinions on one large roll up door vs. two smaller ones? At 24' wide, it looks like I'd want either a 16' door or two 8's.

Seems like it might be nice to not have to wrestle with the bigger door all the time, which makes me lean toward the two 8' doors.

 

[iagsxr]

16' all day, but what's going in and out of these doors?

I wouldn't have an 8' door for any reason. My trucks won't go in an 8' without folding in the mirrors.

 

[tfrasca]

Two small cars (Porsche and Volvo) and an older Land Rover Discovery. 8' would fit them all pretty easily, but it may be annoying trying to maneuver around the lift that will hopefully end up going in there too. Maybe you just talked me back into a 16'...

 

[FredWanaker]

I've had both and prefer the larger. Sometimes one needs to pull something into the middle of a garage to work on it easily. I haven't wrestled with any garage door in 40 years. My finger pushes a button and the opener does the rest.

 

[finn]

For that size building, one 16’, unquestionably.

If the building was wider, then two 10’ doors.

Actually, I prefer 12’ or 14’ doors in my own building. Haven’t had a 16’ since I lived in the suburbs, where it’s a predominant width.

For height, 8’ is the absolute minimum, 12’ is workable, and 14’ is preferred.

 

[tfrasca]

I've had both and prefer the larger. Sometimes one needs to pull something into the middle of a garage to work on it easily. I haven't wrestled with any garage door in 40 years. My finger pushes a button and the opener does the rest.

Eventually, I'm sure I'll put an opener on it, but for now the budget dictates that it'll be manual.

 

[CraigStu]

If the door springs are adjusted properly a 16 won't be that hard to open. I much prefer a 16 vs two 8s also. These are obviously hobby cars so I suspect there might be a day when a car trailer will be used. Aiming for a 16 opening is a lot easier than aiming for an 8 opening. We have a 28D x 32W attached. I put the 16 door on the left. That gives me kind of a guaranteed work area but the depth means we can get three cars in if we need to because of a storm.

 

[wssix99]

Never do a door smaller than 9'. As said above, trucks are hard with 8' and trailers can be up to 8.5' wide and won't go in a small door.

 

[jmountainjr]

Since it's detached, I would consider constructing it to accommodate 8' high doors. As to width, 9' would be my minimum. I would install the doors on one of the 36' sides. Two 8'X10' doors spaced 4' apart leaving 6' on each end. Put the pedestrian door on a 24' side.

 

[bottom feeder]

Stuff tends to accumulate on both sides of the garage, narrowing the space for both cars, and with two doors there's a temptation to store stuff in the space near the doors in the middle. With one big door, you can move one car (temporarily) out in the street and easily pull the other car into the middle of the garage to work on it.

When you upgrade to an automatic door opener you only have to buy one.

 

[PassnThru]

I'm pretty happy with two 9's on the 24 side. I had to put a post in my garage so pulling straight into the middle would be an issue even though the post is pretty far toward the rear. Basically it gives me even spacing of the cars - about 2 feet on each side and in the middle. A 16 would theoretically give me 4 feet on each side but then the cars would be much closer together. As it is now I can store my motorcycle at the doors in the middle and still get around it with both cars in. You have to keep the storage on the sides dialed back a bit but even with 12 inch deeps shelves I can still open the doors a good amount and working on it isn't really an issue.

 

[FredWanaker]

Garage door openers are quite easy to install and inexpensive.

 

[tfrasca]

Thanks, everyone. You've definitely talked me into a 16' door, and as high as I can fit on the 24' wall. The space will primarily be used as a shop and to work on 1 car at a time, so optimal multiple car parking isn't the top concern. Hoping I can at least fit a 16x9' door.