Whether you’re building a new garage or ready to improve your home’s exterior and security with a new garage door, you might wonder about which door size you’d need. Standard sizes for garage doors vary, and they might not be suitable for your property. Yet, custom garage door sizes can be tricky to determine if you don’t know how to properly measure your garage to fit a new door.
R&S Erection of Vallejo, Inc. offers professional garage door installation in Vallejo, CA. We understand the complex nature of determining the best garage door size for a home. Continue reading our guide below to learn about garage door sizes and custom options.
Common Garage Door Sizes
When looking into a new garage door, you must do more than measure the height and width of the space between the walls. Precise measurements also account for the tracks or lifts inside the garage that facilitate its opening and closing functions.
You must consider other factors, like how you intend to use your garage and the types of vehicles you want to park inside. The size of the garage has little effect on the size of the door. It’s possible to have different door sizes for garages with the same square footage.
Still, you can determine which garage door type suits your property by learning about the most common door sizes.
Single-car garage doors
If you plan to park one car inside your garage, you’ll likely consider a single-car garage door. The door size for such a setup ranges from seven to ten feet wide. Anything over eight feet wide allows for comfortable parking, so eight-foot by seven-foot doors are common for single-car garages.
Garage doors for large vehicles
Doors nine feet high with seven-foot-wide clearance are ideal for trucks or large SUVs, while 14-foot by 16-foot doors are best for RVs. Though a single-car garage with a wide door will accommodate a truck or SUV, you typically need a spacious garage with an exceptionally wide door to fit a recreational vehicle.
Two-car garage doors
A two-car household needs enough width to accommodate both cars. Yet, the height can be the same as a single-car garage.
For example, you can install seven-foot-tall, 16-foot-wide double garage doors. Two-car garage door widths can go up to 20 feet, depending on your vehicle and garage size.
Small garage doors
Not everyone uses garage doors for garages. They’re also suitable for sheds. The width of a shed door ranges from four to six feet, and the height is usually six to seven feet.
Custom Garage Door Options
Custom garage door sizes are an option if you need to tailor a garage door’s size to accommodate your property. For example, you might need to order a custom door size to park a massive vehicle inside a garage or to fit a garage with unusual dimensions.
Consider installing a ten-foot by eight-foot garage door for your truck or SUV. Though it’s the best measurement for parking a truck or SUV in a garage, it’s a custom size that doesn’t come standard for new home constructions.
Ten-foot-wide garage doors are necessary for vehicles larger than a standard pickup truck or van. The extra space makes parking utility vehicles, cars or trucks with racks on the roof, and RVs easier and safer.
Three-car garages aren’t as common as the two-car variety, so they require custom garage door sizes. The most popular option is the 36-to-40-foot by eight-foot door. Eight feet is usually tall enough for a three-car garage, but the widths vary.
How To Measure For A New Garage Door
When taking garage door measurements, you must account for the door’s dimensions, not including a frame. It’s always best to leave extra room for the frame to avoid unintentionally ordering an oversized door.
Here are the general steps to getting precise garage door measurements:
- Step 1: Use a tape measure to find the rough opening dimensions of the garage door by measuring the door opening’s height and width.
- Step 2: Measure the areas to the left and right of the door opening where you’ll install the vertical tracks. You need at least 3 3/4 inches of clearance on both sides.
- Step 3: Calculate the distance between the top of the door opening and the garage ceiling, which is the headroom. There should be a minimum headroom space of ten inches.
- Step 4: Measure the backroom, which is the distance from the door opening to the garage’s back wall. The minimum backroom space will be the door’s height plus 18 inches.
Having the proper measurements for custom garage door sizes is a must. After taking the tentative measurements, consult with a professional garage door installation company to ensure the accuracy of your figures. These garage door experts can also help you measure garage door openings with unique dimensions.
Garage Door Thickness
People often neglect garage door thickness when measuring for a new door, but thickness is a major factor in determining the correct size. Thick garage doors usually have extra insulation.
How much insulation your door needs depends on the materials you use for your door and how you intend to use the garage. For example, a standard-size garage with a metal door and one parked car won’t need much insulation. If you’re organizing your garage to be a living space, it’ll need more insulation, resulting in a garage door that’s a quarter-inch to 1 1/2 inches thick.
Get The Perfect Garage Door For Your Home
R&S Erection of Vallejo, Inc. is an independently owned and operated gate and door company serving Vallejo, CA, and the surrounding communities. With our 50 years of dedicated service and experience, we offer a wide range of options from leading brands that use high-quality garage door materials. Our impressive inventory includes LiftMaster garage door openers and doors from Clopay and C.H.I.
We also specialize in custom garage door sizes, so contact R&S Erection of Vallejo, Inc. at (707) 644-5537 to schedule an appointment.