OT: Garage doors- 2 single doors vs 1 double door

[PSU95alum]

Another thing .... if you go with 2 doors, I would recommend more spacing on the outsides than between the doors. Assuming there is an entry into the house, I would want 4' on the house side (which is there if you put the front facing door which it sounds like you aren't), and the more space on the other side the better for storing all your stuff (bikes/mower/etc)

Good points.

A dilemma I face is I have a pie shaped lot, with the crust at the front and point at the back. So the wider I go, the narrower I have to go... or at least I'd have to "step back" the rear of the garage to fit within the setback. That pie shape affords me more towards the front of the lot than the rear. There is the possibility of adding a little side 1 story garage/shed to the forward left side of the main garage with dimensions of approx 8-10' wide by 7-9'' deep. That could get many of the bikes and lawn gear out of the main garage. Not sure if the added space and cost would be worth it considering it may negatively impact the overall aesthetics of the plan. Something like this, but it only goes about a 3rd of the depth as the main garage because if it goes any deeper, it starts to encroach on the side setback...

 

[PearlSUJam]

guy down the road from me put in these glass/plastic opaque doors. You can't see in unless the garage light is on. Now, he's got a shelby cobra so that has something to do with it....but it looks awesome.

If it's a true Shelby and not a kit car, I hope they are bullet proof glass panels and the dude has a good alarm system.

 

[PSUSignore]

I have 2 small doors on my garage and I would convert it to one large door if I could. The large door offers much more flexibility even if you're only parking one vehicle inside. My garage is so tight that I back the car out before letting passengers get in, the walls are too close to where I have to park to fully open the passenger door. With one door this wouldn't be an issue. Like someone else said, I can't really think of many advantages to having 2 small doors, only negatives.

 

[Creek Side]

I assume you have 8' doors? It sounds like you have a 28' wide garage? 4+4+4+8+8, correct?

I guess I should have noted that. I have 9' doors. With 8' doors I would have to fold my truck mirrors in to safely fit. My garage is 30×28

 

[searay26]

Do not do 8’ singles. Too tight for even crossovers like Ford Edge. Only inches on either side of mirrors. 9’s are Fine.

Agreed. I only have 2 inches clearance for each mirror on a new Honda Ridgeline. My doors actually measure 7' 10".

 

[GregInPitt]

I would go with the single door. More options in terms of getting things in and out. Also in a pinch you could probably even squeeze 3 cars in if you needed to. (Hail Storm, Big Snowstorm) I agree two doors probably looks better but in my experience the single door is more practical.

In regards to the width. I'm guessing on of the main reasons it is 24' is because standard building materials come in 8 foot lengths. If you go to 26 or 28 you'll end up costing a lot more and end up wasting a bunch of material as it just gets cut off.

I once built a house with a 22' garage. The builder told me he could have just as easily made it 24' for no additional cost and actually would have saved him time in labor.

As I said above my project is also 24' inside width. That puts the outside width at about 26'. My width limit is a Duquesne Light right of way that runs through my property, without getting real close to the corner of the porch I put on 10 years ago. So the actual width is over 24', and I'm not sure your multiples of 8 theory works here. I'm going 10'6" height so I guess I'm wasting 2x4 length on the walls. But much of my garage is partially below grade so the actual stick walls (above the block then block/brick) will be cut from 2x4x8's. Sure the most cost effective building is 2x4x8 walls, but many of us have waited a long time to convince our wive's on a project and now that we have the go ahead we may as well get what we want!!!!!!

I also like the 1 door design. and I guess I could squeeze 3 cars into my 24' width in the event of a hail storm, big snow,... The single door makes that easier. Also, just one door opener and less initial installation cost. The comment above about the header sagging is something I will question my architect about, but it's not a rocket science issue. Since I have no plans to build another space above the garage I don't believe I need a center beam, but I'll also pose that to my guy. I believe a span of 24' is easily designed into truss'. I may store some "stuff" on the rafters but nothing that will amount to big weight.

 

[GregInPitt]

I have a 2+ car garage with one big door. I recommend the big door for ease of parking large vehicles and for more flexibility (i.e. if I had to store a boat or something temporarily, I could).

One thing I don't think anyone has mentioned is that if you have a big door you need a more powerful garage door opener. Even though mine is theoretically powerful enough, on very cold days, it struggles to open the large single door (sometimes I have to help the door by hand).

Just another consideration...

Good point on the door opener, but you only have to buy one door opener instead of two. But the new doors are lighter, and I believe I was told that a new 18'x8' door will be lighter than the old wooden 16'x6.5' door on my integral garage (that I will replace to match the new garage door...)

 

[ClarkstonMark]

Good point on the door opener, but you only have to buy one door opener instead of two. But the new doors are lighter, and I believe I was told that a new 18'x8' door will be lighter than the old wooden 16'x6.5' door on my integral garage (that I will replace to match the new garage door...)

I'm sure this $50k+ project can handle 2 $150 door openers.

 

[PSU95alum]

I'm sure this $50k+ project can handle 2 $150 door openers.

Haha. I’ve been thinking the same thing every time I hear someone say that. Lol.

 

[PSU2UNC]

Haha. I’ve been thinking the same thing every time I hear someone say that. Lol.

To be clear I didn't bring up the garage door opener info based on price.

Only to make sure you get a powerful enough model to handle the heavier door.

 

[emrtmakesshiteup]

Did not read the replies so this may have already been mentioned, ONE! Put one car in the turn around or driveway, then pull one in to work on. Plus only one side view mirror to worry about in and out.

 

[SLUPSU]

I would love too, but it's too wide as I would be encroaching on my setback.

A three car tandem is the same width as a two car with one side the depth of two cars.

 

[the rigger]

Interesting that you pose this question. Yesterday I received the first draft final plans for a detached garage I am planning. 24 wide by 26 deep inside dimensions. I chose one door, 18' wide and 8' high. The door in my small double garage integral to my house is 6.5' high by 16' wide, but is positioned perpendicular to the new garage door. I chose the new door size to accommodate tall SUV's, although I have not plans to purchase one. I believe the 18' width will allow easy access to any point in the garage, as there is only 4' of garage to either side of the door, and I plan to do considerable work on cars in the garage so I will need jack space between the car and the wall anyway. But if you put in two garage doors, likely more expensive, you could get the doors to align closer to the sides of the garage if that is a priority for you.

My garage plan is for a 10'6" height, as I plan to purchase a lift to stack two cars on one side of the garage. With the height of my garage, the wide and tall door should look pretty proportional with the look of my integral garage door, which I plan to replace to a matching door at that time the new garage door is installed....

Down here Myrtle Beach a single door will cost a lot less than two individual door

 

[PSU95alum]

A three car tandem is the same width as a two car with one side the depth of two cars.

Yes, but a tandem needs to be deeper. And the deeper I go, the narrower it needs to be due to my pie shaped lot. Unless I keep stepping the back of the garage off the setback line. But then it starts to get weird looking.

 

[RLCookie]

The comment above about the header sagging is something I will question my architect about, but it's not a rocket science issue. Since I have no plans to build another space above the garage I don't believe I need a center beam, but I'll also pose that to my guy.

My house is similar to the one above with a three car garage, one double door and one single door. To answer a couple questions. Today's doors are very light and most openers will have no problem lifting a double door. Also as wide and as deep as my garage is, I have no posts anywhere. The master bedroom closet, and bathroom are all over the garage and we have no problems.

 

[bmw199]

Pros and cons of each for a new attached garage build. Would love to know what the brain trust thinks.

Details:
- garage width is about 24'
- garage depth around 30'
- the garage will be front facing, meaning, the doors facing the street the same way the front of the house does.
- EDIT- garage will have a 2nd story livable space above it.

I have a very small amount of room to make it a bit bigger in either direction if needed.

I asked my (hopefully) future father in law this week why he went with two doors instead of one on his new house in South Carolina and he said, “because I learned early on in marriage that women don’t know how to park only on their side of the garage.”

 

[PSU95alum]

I asked my (hopefully) future father in law this week why he went with two doors instead of one on his new house in South Carolina and he said, “because I learned early on in marriage that women don’t know how to park only on their side of the garage.”

LOL! Valid point.

 

[RLCookie]

LOL! Valid point.

Can't argue with that logic. I have a three car garage with one car in it! Ha!