Does anyone have the minimum width a garage door can be?
It would be for a small/medium size car.
I suppose there is a standard minumum size. Thanks!
Will Rogers
Does anyone have the minimum width a garage door can be?
It would be for a small/medium size car.
I suppose there is a standard minumum size. Thanks!
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Replies
standard is 9' w 7' tall but you can order pretty much any size.
like mike said.... standard is 9 w x 7h
to save room on the front of a garage i've done 8'wide.....
but some people ( who shall remain un-named ) went thru a couple two-three mirrors over the years
a small car would have no trouble with an 8' w door... big sedans have to be careful
large suvs and trucks.... no way.. stick with 9'
on ht.... you an go 7'.... 7'-6..... 8'... 9' and 10'.. all pretty common sizes
of course on width.. you can also go 16' wide, but i really dislike them and have never used one in any of our projects
The reason I'm asking is because I want to build my own swing out doors.
I have a double car garage with a typical overhead door.
I will measure and see if there is room for two sets of doors plus a middle post.
8' feet minimum. There is plenty of room outside on the driveway for larger vehicles. "There are three kinds of men: The one that learns by reading, the few who learn by observation and the rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves."Will Rogers
The problem is often not the door size, but where it leaves you in the garage once you have passed through it. The door only has to be large enough to squeeze the car through, but that may leave you against the garage wall with no way to open the doors. The space needed for access on both sides is considerable.
I agree. I'll take a look at what is inside that would keep someone from being able to get out.
Usually it is just the driver that needs room. Everybody else is just passengers.
I could make the right bay the bigger one so the driver has plenty of room. "There are three kinds of men: The one that learns by reading, the few who learn by observation and the rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves."Will Rogers
And the passengers won't want to get out (or in) too?
Right now I use the garage as a shop.
I don't think cars need garages.
But I want to build it so the future onwers can use it as one.
The solution to the size of the garage might be a compromise.
Lifes full of them. "There are three kinds of men: The one that learns by reading, the few who learn by observation and the rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves."Will Rogers
>> I don't think cars need garages. << If you had a vintage Porsche like in the video you would thing differently. BTW - no cars in my garage either but it is more of a space issue.
I used to value cars like most people but I've changed.
I would have a nice car "if" I could afford it.
Most people I see driving nice cars can't afford them.
And there are a lot of nice cars out there. "There are three kinds of men: The one that learns by reading, the few who learn by observation and the rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves."Will Rogers
My garage is a shop too - we last parked a car in it in 1986. - lolAny home improvement project should consider the impact on eventual resale, but I think that can be overdone. My parents lived in their last house for 45 years and talked about changes that they would like to make for at least 30 of those years. Other than putting in central AC, no changes were ever made because "the place has great potential for someone, ........someday."If you're building a new "garage", I think your best bet would be to build it as a "standard" garage with "normal" opening(s) for the garage door(s), and "normal" clearances for people to get into and out of the car(s). The garage door opening could be filled in if you like, but could be easily returned to full size if some future owner wanted to park his 'n hers Hummers in there.As far as garage doors, I've seen roll up doors that look just like swing out (or roll back) doors.
Part of the issue I have with overhead doors is the space they take up on the inside when they are open.
If you are using the space for a shop there is a whole wall and the area where the door goes when it is open that you can't do anything with.
Space is at a premium. My last garage had overhead doors but the ceiling were around 11'. So there was a lot more wall area and when the doors opened they were about 9-10' up.
when the doors were closed the tracks were 9-10' up. In this garage the track is right above my head and extends 8-9' into the room even when the door is closed.
That's right where I want to put my tablesaw and assembly table.
I don't like working under close things. It makes me nervous."There are three kinds of men: The one that learns by reading, the few who learn by observation and the rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves."Will Rogers
Yeah, the loss of overhead space is a downside to roll up doors - although mine is seldom a problem.I would still, however, build a "typical" garage building with a 16' opening and adequate space on the sides. You could wall in half of the door opening and do some kind of door for access. Personally, I think I would use a door that would roll to one side (like on old barns) and avoid having to try to support the weight of a swinging door.A future owner could easily restore the full size opening - thanking you all the while for the foresight that made his life easier. - lol
I agree. But my garage is existing with a typical ugly overhead door.
So I don't have the option of building a new garage the "right" way.
If I had the land and the money I would have a detached shop.
Something I could spend time in with all the accoutrements.
I also like garages that are off a back alley so the front of the house has no garage.
A significant amount of the front of our house is garage with a lot of concrete in front of it.
In my opinion it is the ugliest part of the house. I landscaped the front yard and the large pad of concrete was a huge concession. "There are three kinds of men: The one that learns by reading, the few who learn by observation and the rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves."Will Rogers
Oops, my bad. Somehow, I had the idea that you're buiding a new garage.Forget all thoe other stuff I mentioned except the part about the roll aside door. That style doesn't require a lot of support like for a swinging door, and you don't have to worry about opening clearance due to snow, cars, etc.
It's no problem. I roll with most posts.
One other thing I don't like about a 16' door.
If I want to have access to the garage from the front i have open the whole thing.
I don't like doing that since I'm in town. To much exsposure.
I like the idea of opening one of the 4' doors most of the time. "There are three kinds of men: The one that learns by reading, the few who learn by observation and the rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves."Will Rogers
the way i see it you live there now make it the way u want it. a new owner will do it the way he wants too.
I guess it's a balancing act.
When I go sell I don't want to have to explain or make excuses.
So I do take the future owners into consideration,
but it is my house for now, and I do have pretty good judgement I think.
That's one reason i come here. For the forums advice. "There are three kinds of men: The one that learns by reading, the few who learn by observation and the rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves."Will Rogers
If you're going to build the doors, here's some fine examples that would work for a 16' opening. Might even go this route myself next spring.
Are you saying two 8' foot doors?
That's a lot of weight to hang.
The wall are brick so they aren't going anyhwere.
"There are three kinds of men: The one that learns by reading, the few who learn by observation and the rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves."Will Rogers
Yes, did you check that link? They had a few, so it can be done.
Don't know the specifics just yet but I'm seriously considering going that route next spring.
I emailed them for the hinges to use."There are three kinds of men: The one that learns by reading, the few who learn by observation and the rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves."Will Rogers
JSan, I just recieved an email form them. $ 154 each for the least exspensive ones.
24" heavy duty. I figure I would want three on each door.
http://realcarriagedoors.com/hardware-item.php?prod-id=h-rw-fs24&page=hinges
Yikes! I've been doing some welding and fabricating lately so I could make some.
I could send out my fabricating for the welding. My welding isn't that good. "There are three kinds of men: The one that learns by reading, the few who learn by observation and the rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves."Will Rogers
Yikes is right!! Wow, hate to think what they sell the doors for-$$$$$$$$
If I make the doors myself, I thought about adding a small HD caster on the inside of each door to lighten the load on the hinge.
I was thinking about the cost of the hardware as opposed to the doors.
I think they sell nice doors at a price that is reflective of the doors.
They don't want to price them to high.
But for the hardware, they don't care if you buy it or not.
The hardware sales isn't their thrust in the business.
I've wanted to make ornamental hinges for a while and this would be my chance.
I can buy the steel flat stock and cut it out.
the tricky part would be rolling the flat stock into a barrel for the pin.
I've found that a good pair a vicegrips and a hammer can get results that are close enough.
The welding I can sub out."There are three kinds of men: The one that learns by reading, the few who learn by observation and the rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves."Will Rogers
How much snow do you get up your way? A 2' snowdrift in front of those swing out doors would be a real PITA, especially if your snowblower is in the garage!
I just shoveled my drive around and behind my truck. Nice workout. It was light snow today.
I don't use a snow blower. I don't need it. Yet! ;^)
I've thought about buying a snowblower. I could use it to do my nieghbors houses. "There are three kinds of men: The one that learns by reading, the few who learn by observation and the rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves."Will Rogers
I have two eight-foot door openings on my garage which was built in the 1920s. Been here three years, it's not seen a car yet (though it's seen motorcycles).
The garage mostly serves as a workshop.
I'd like to put nicer looking doors on it someday. I also need to figure out some way to keep the doors from blowing around when opened without the expense of an opener. Maybe some spreaders from a step ladder.
It is hard to keep swinging doors steady when there is a breeze or wind so they don't flop around and hit the back of the car parked next to the garage, or slam shut on the garage.
Another problem is that without an automatic opener you have to unbolt/latch the door from inside. This is difficult when tools and junk are in the way. My neighbor simply has a clasp with a padlock outside his similar garage. I'm sure there is a nice way to solve this.
The last difficulty I've had is in sealing the doors. A small twist can create a substantial air leak if you are using the garage as a workshop and have a space heater going.
All said, I still like the look of swinging doors for this neighborhood and will hopefully someday replace them with nicer looking swinging doors.
One hidden benefit is that if they are tall enough you can pass long boards directly into a loft above the garage.
-Nate
As far as the door moving around. I've always thought the a cane bolt is the way to go.
http://www.hardwaresource.com/Store_ViewProducts.asp?Cat=1210
You pull the bolt up and move the door to where you want it and then "set" the bolt.
You just drill a hole in the concrete.
As far as the doors twisting. you can have a stop at the top of the door and at the bottom.
the stop at the top can be as big as you want because it is out of the way.
The one at the bottom should be big enough to stop the door but not to big of a tripping hazard.
When you pull the door closed it should register against the stops and bolt.
"There are three kinds of men: The one that learns by reading, the few who learn by observation and the rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves."Will Rogers
Edited 12/7/2009 11:28 pm by popawheelie
I checked the opening at it is 16'.
But if i put a center post in I'll end up with less that 8'.
Should I just move over the post to make sure one side is 8'.
another issue is that even if the opening is 8', the doors won't get completely out of the way.
"There are three kinds of men: The one that learns by reading, the few who learn by observation and the rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves."Will Rogers
Edited 12/5/2009 5:54 pm by popawheelie
What - are you looking for a certain look? Don't like the looks of the regular overhead door? What?
There's a bunch of reason I don't like them.
I've been following this thread over a JLC and he is doing something similar to what I want to do woth this house.
http://forums.jlconline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=48707
That post thread led me to this link for garage doors.
http://www.realcarriagedoors.com/hardware-cat.php?page=openers
If you scroll down to the second video you get an idea of what i want.
But i don't need to put the opener on. Just build the doors.
The doors i plan on building won't have glass. Who needs glass in a garage door?
I can build these and they will look great. Easy and pretty inexspensive.
I just don't want the opening to be to small for future owners.
"There are three kinds of men: The one that learns by reading, the few who learn by observation and the rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves."Will Rogers
your really starting to push the limits on width. a 8' door is pretty narrow,but like someone said a car will go in.
but you start losing a couple inches for a post,then a couple inches for the doors ,i think your too narrow.
if it was mine and i didn't need 2 cars to go in, i would probably come off one side 6"-12" then frame up for a 9' maybe even a 10' door .then off to the side where you still have 5' frame up for a nice walkin door..
if the next guy don't like it,he can tear it all down and put a new 16' door upthe older i get ,
the more people tick me off
Have you considered bifolds? Your sill should be pretty level already, and a swivel caster would take some weight off of the hinges.
But be careful -- doors that only open 90º create a narrow tunnel.
I like to be able to back my F-150 partway in in rainy weather, since it's my biggest toolbox. But it's over 8' wide at the mirrors, more like 13 1/2' wide with both doors open. And if you don't allow for both doors open, you'll regret it, banging-up your doors, and having to squeeze out of the vehicle if it's a little off-center.
My last shop had 10'-wide doors, and that was too narrow. I could never fully open the doors, and I had to fold the mirrors in to squeeze by the truck.
I wouldn't build your opening down, since anything less than 14' will start to reduce function. I'd go for curtains -- I'd love one of those vinyl-strip warehouse-door curtains for cold weather! But I'd probably get a couple of old theater curtain -- they're fireproof.
AitchKay
From what JSan said, I can put two 8' doors on with the right hardware.
The swing will be larger than I'd like but the opening will be huge.
Almost all the time I will only swing one door open.
And even then only partially. Just to let some light and air in.
I've downsized considerably from my past. I'm getting old.
I drive a mini pickup with a 4 cylinder.
If people want me to do big stuff it will be on thier dime, not mine.
I tend to be a precision type person anyway. Precision usually means smaller.
I try to make up for my lack of big tools with a great attitude. ; ^ )"There are three kinds of men: The one that learns by reading, the few who learn by observation and the rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves."Will Rogers