H aving a home with a garage is an advantage that involves plenty of storage space aside from having a place to park your car in safety. A garage also involves a door that usually comes in standard sizes, although it may vary from house to house. When it comes to choosing a garage door or replacing the old one, some things need to be kept in mind. Otherwise, you might wake up with the wrong door type or size. Nonetheless, it is important to know what is the size of standard models, how you can find out the right size for your garage, and what types you can choose from.
The size of standard doors
Standard residential doors come in three sizes – 8′ x 7′, 9′ x 7′, and 10′ x 7′. These fit regular houses with a garage that has to fit a normal car, a truck, or an SUV. An RV or a big truck will never fit in a conventional garage door. If you have several cars or a large vehicle, then you need a custom-made door that provides sufficient entrance space. You ought to also build the garage larger if you ever need extra space for storing other items.
How do I measure the door of my garage?
Be careful when you measure, and always measure twice to get the right dimensions. Keep a pen and paper close to writing down the numbers and evaluate the height, length, and width. Once you get a better understanding of the various sizes, picking will be much easier. For a clearer view, analyze other doors in person, like the ones your neighbors and friends have, and take a look at the models exhibited in shops. Thorough research will help you find the most durable and easy to use the door.
How to decide on a certain size?
Know from the get-go that it has to be just as large as your garage. Thus, you have to take into account the possibility of necessitating a larger garage over time. If you are in course of building your home, you have the freedom to pick the garage size and need to consider your future needs. You might be fine with a small garage now but, in time, you might need larger storage space. However, it’s not advisable to pay for a door that is too big without really needing it, so think this move through well. For a regular home, most people opt for either a single or a double door that is large enough to fit multiple cars and provide plenty of entrance space.
The brand also matters seeing how the more popular manufacturers offer higher quality products. It is not something you will want to change many times, so it’s best to go for a more durable and reliable one even if it costs more. The investment will pay off in time as you won’t have to pay for service or a replacement with another garage door. Clopay is among the customers’ favorite brands, followed by Amarr and Wayne Dalton.
What are the available sizes and types?
Garage doors are of distinct types, reliant on their size and the car that will need to fit through them. The most ordinary type is the single door that only needs to fit one regular car or an SUV. There are also double model, RV doors, and commercial doors. Without further ado, let’s have a look at each type to see how much they measure and how you should pick one.
Single doors
As mentioned before, the standard single door usually measures 10′ x 7′, 9′ x 7′, and 8′ x 7′ all around. These doors are also more lightweight than the larger ones and are usually made of steel or aluminum, although you can have them made of any material you want. Bear in mind that a single model will not allow you to park multiple cars and are only suitable for smaller garages.
Double doors
If a bigger version, the double door should be the perfect option for you. This one is as tall as the single door but is wider, measuring 16′ x 7′, 14′ x 7′, and 12′ x 7′, and is fitting for bigger garages that will accommodate more than one car. You can park a large van, a small truck, or two regular cars, and is also large enough to fit a larger garage. The standard 2 car garage doors are great for larger homes and are available in a variety of materials, from lightweight aluminum to stylish wood or glass.
RV doors
If you have an RV that you use occasionally for trips, you will want to park it in the garage to keep it unharmed when you are not using it, so this situation asks for a special type of door. If the average door height is 7′, the RV door typically measures 16′ x 9′ to ensure that the vehicle will not hit the ceiling on its way inside the garage. When considering an RV door, leave enough room in the garage for storing various items and possibly parking another car as well. For this, you need to build the garage a little larger than you would normally do so that you have sufficient space to fit all your belongings.
Commercial doors
The last category of doors consists of commercial doors that are the largest ones and are usually designed for office buildings or commercial garages. Their width is 32′ x 2″ and the height is 24′ x 1″ so that they will accommodate a large truck or multiple trucks at a time. However, the size can depend on the needs of the business owner and the number of trucks that will have to fit inside the garage. It ought to be larger than the biggest truck that will have to fit through it to ensure things will run smoothly.
Final thoughts
A hefty acquisition that you must carefully look into and make sure that your money is wisely spent, the garage door has to fit your requirements when it comes to the opening size it provides. You don’t want to go smaller as your vehicles won’t enter, nor would it be smart to go too big as opposed to what you need as you would be spending extra money without a reason. Use the guidance provided here to pick the right size, and you are sure to make the right acquisition.
