Two single doors or one 16-foot door?

Whether building a new garage, renovating a current garage or thinking about altering a garage door opening, there are a few design and ergonomic elements to consider. Most importantly is the decision between one large double garage door or two smaller single garage doors.

How wide is your garage?

The architectural aspects of a home might limit the options, such as space. A standard two car garage should measure 18 feet wide by 22 feet deep to ensure that both cars will fit; however, for two single doors the garage width needs to be 22 – 24 feet to allow for a dividing wall between the doors. This doesn’t include the optional front facing access door which would require a few extra feet of width. Another space consideration is storage within the garage. For storage along the walls of the garage, space must be allowed for shelving or hooks. However, these decisions are merely technical and, in the end, there may not be much leeway for altering the size or orientation of the garage.

Now that the size issues have been thought about, the next step is figuring out one garage door or two. If the garage is temperature controlled to an extent, such as slightly heated in the winter and slightly cooled in summer, the two doors might be the best option. Opening a smaller, single garage door will let less hot or cold air out and thus reduce the utilities bill for maintaining the garage temperature. In the rare case of a major garage door malfunction, such as faulty or broken door lifts and springs, having a double garage door could mean that the vehicles inside are trapped. The same situation with two single garage doors means that at least one car can be extricated with the possibility of the second being maneuvered out. The advantage of a double garage door is exponential if attempting to park three cars. In an 18-foot garage door opening three compact cars can be parked nice and snug with easy drive in and drive out capabilities. With two single garage doors, parking three cars is near to impossible unless a large amount of maneuvering is employed.

From a practical stand point

Lastly, from a practical stand point, three garage doors might be the best option. Three, an unlikely jump from one, could be the best option if the third vehicle is a motorcycle, boat, or ATV and only needs a small entrance or if the third garage door is merely an access point to an extra storage bay. On the other hand, if the space allows it, the third door could be larger to fit an RV, camper or other larger trailer. The current real estate trend is three single garage doors where the space is available. It is rare to see a double garage door combined with a single garage door unless requested by the homeowner.

The appearance

Apart from the practicality of the garage door, it is important to have the appearance of the doors match the design of the rest of the house. The general consensus of home designers is that two single garage doors enhances the curb appeal to a greater degree than one double garage door. The drawback on curb appeal for a double garage is mostly because of the size; a double garage door occupies nearly one-third of the street facing area of a house and tends to draw the eye away from the other features of the house. That being said, if a double door is the best option on a front facing garage, decorative features such as large potted plants or an over door pergola can enhance the curb appeal and diminish the effect of a large double door. A rising trend for garage doors is the carriage‑style garage doors which are only available in 8-foot or 9-foot widths. The two color option and X-style or V-style decorative overlays of the carriage house doors add elegant charm to any home. Since the carriage style is only available in single garage door widths, it would be an excellent option for two or three single garage doors situated to look like a colonial stable or carriage barn.

What about the cost?

With all these exciting options available, its might be easy to get carried away. So, the next topic for consideration is cost. It always comes down to cost. The difference in material costs between two single garage doors and one double garage door is minimal. Single doors and double doors are made of the same material and getting two singles evens out with one double, the budgeting snag is the garage door opener. An electric garage door opener is an everyday luxury often taken for granted, but the mechanism is an intricate piece of machinery and multiplied by two it can add up. Take note that a double garage door does not need to have a larger or more power full opener to lift. The weight of the garage door simply needs to be well balanced to allow the spring or counterweight system to do the work. A person should be able to use one hand to lift any size garage door when the mechanism is properly balanced. One last cost consideration for two single doors is the construction cost of the small dividing wall between the doors including framing, sealing and siding that small piece to match the rest of the house.

To conclude…

Finally, with all this information, it simply comes down to one door or two? After making a decision, let us help bring it to fruition. We are available to explain the many varieties of garage doors and openers on the market today. Use the our Design Centre to customize the many garage door options for the perfect fit and view the image gallery for more ideas and images of other satisfied customer homes. Call us at 815-657-8173 and speak to an expert today or visit online to peruse the options and online request a free quote online.