As you’re going over options for your new garage door, you might be faced with the decision of whether to go for one double garage door or two single garage doors. While such a choice may be easy for some, others will have a harder time deciding which option is better for them, so we’ve put together some information to keep in mind when selecting the best size for your garage door(s).
The Size of Your Garage
Perhaps the most important thing to consider is the size of your garage. Since the minimum size for a double door is 16’ (any less and you won’t be able to park 2 vehicles), and you need additional room on each side for the door hardware, the minimum inside width of your garage needs to be 17 feet. Keep in mind that this allows no room for opening your car doors after you drive in so a more practical minimum garage width to park 2 vehicles is 20 feet from wall to wall. With two single doors, you also need to allow for a minimum of 1’ between the doors so the overall garage width should be increased by a minimum of 1 foot. For double doors, the standard and most popular width is 16 feet. An oversized 18’ width is a great idea if you need to turn as you are entering your garage. The minimum width for a single door is 8’ but with many vehicles, this would require folding in mirrors to drive in. 9’ is the most common width but full-size suv’s and trucks will be a tight fit. A great oversize single door width is 10’ which doesn’t cost a lot more, but driving in is much easier as you don’t have to watch as closely for mirrors.
Heating Costs
The less you expose your garage to the elements, the lower the impact on your utility bills will be. With one big double door, each time you open it up you expose a large part of your garage to the elements. Opening your door in the winter will naturally drop the temperature in your garage. If your garage is heated, this means that your heating system will need to work harder and ultimately results in increased heating costs. In this regard, it might be better to install two single garage doors which allows you to only open up the side you need to access at that time.
Practicality
Another practical benefit of two single garage doors is that if one malfunctions, you still have the other! Similarly, since double garage doors only make use of a single door motor, if the motor fails then you’ll have to resort to more ‘manual’ methods of accessing your vehicles.
Appearance
Appearance is a bit of a tricky one as it’s hard to generalize everyone’s tastes. Environment and practicality aside, your personal preference as to what looks better will also play a part in whether you opt for two single garage doors or one double garage door.
While other factors may also come into play, we hope that you’ve at least got an understanding of the basic points to consider when deciding on your new garage door. There are some real benefits to having two single doors as opposed to one larger door. While it does cost a bit more, you may find the benefits are worth it. If you’re still stuck or need a bit more help to choose the right type of door for your garage, contact The Door House today and we’ll be happy to lend a helping hand.