Sizing Garage Doors for Different Vehicle Types

It’s not just about what one wants; properly sizing garage doors is extremely important when one is buying a new garage door and even more important when one is building a garage from scratch. If a door is too small, it’ll mean squeezing a car in and out, and a user might risk adding scratches and scrapes. If the door is too large, money is spent for no reason and the garage structure is going to have problems.

The problem is that not all cars are the same. One needs to think about the vehicle they own and if they plan to have that for a while or if the next one is going to be larger than what they have.

Standard Car Sizes and Door Requirements

The standard size of a single garage door in the UK is just about 7ft (2.1m) x 7ft in height. so for a standard family car, the uk standard size single garage door is about 7 ft (2.1m) wide and 7 ft high. if ones looking to be flexible and have more than enough height and width, then if possible, they should opt for more height and width, but that height and width listed above is the minimum one should be working with when it comes to standard family cars. That way, one has more than enough to easily and not too difficultly maneuver a normal sized car in and out with ease.

Having an 8-foot width opening will make parking significantly less complicated. You will still be able to park your car if the opening is 7 feet wide, but if it’s your first time parking there, or if you’re not the most confident driver, it may take a while. Also, if the opening of the garage is right next to a fence or a wall, it may be stressful trying to park, where the extra foot would really help. In addition, if you need to retrieve any shopping or if you’re opening the car for your passengers to enter, you would be able to do that freely instead of having to wait for your passengers to get out until you get shopping or until you park.

7-foot garage doors should be perfectly fine for standard cars. With most family vehicles being 5 feet tall, a 7-foot garage door opening should be fine. Just keep in mind if you have a roof box. If you have roof box that you plan to keep on the car for your weekend get aways or camping trips, you may want to make the opening an extra foot so you do not have to keep taking it off every time you would like to park in the garage.

SUVs and Bigger

Over the last ten years, the popularity of cars called SUVs has risen and are now quite a bit bigger than average family cars. An average width of an SUV is about 6 feet, and an average height is 5.5 feet, and about 6 feet with the bigger models. When you drive an SUV, standard 7 foot garage doors begin to feel as though they are a bit too tight.

Because of this, you want to look for a garage door that is a minimum 8 feet wide, 9 feet is also perfect if it is managebable. The height of the door should also be around 8 feet for reccomendable clearance, that way it will be comfortable enough for you to not have to be perfect each time you park.

Also keep in mind that not only does the car take enough width, the mirrors when folded also factor in as extra width. Overall, certainty of that extra space is way more than enough so that you are not constantly in a position of worry about clashing with the door frame.

Vans and Commercial Vehicles

For work-related travel that requires driving a van, sizing becomes even more important. When looking to park a small van such as a Citroen Berlingo or Ford Transit Connect, your van should have no problem going through an eight-foot door as long as you have eight feet of height, as vans are taller than cars.

However, driving medium and large sized vans is a different story. A standard Ford Transit and a Mercedes Sprinter are more than seven feet wide and are usually over eight feet tall, sometimes even more, depending on the model you have. If driving or parking these vehicles, you will need a door that is at least nine feet wide with a height between eight and nine feet. Additionally, these high roof vans usually need the door to be at least ten feet tall.

Before purchasing a garage door specifically for a van, measuring your vehicle, including the wing mirrors, is wise to ensure you don’t need to replace the door. After getting the measurements, add a minimum of six inches to each measurement for breathing space. Also, think of the future and determine what van you may end up with. If there is even the slightest chance that you will do an upgrade to a larger model, include that now to avoid needing to replace the door.

Double Garages

When it comes to double garages, the standard opening size for them is 14 feet wide. This is enough to fit two cars, although it may be a bit cramped if both cars are on the larger side. 16-foot doors are a bit nicer since you can open the doors to get out of the cars without bumping into each other.

Some people prefer to place two single doors in instead of one double door. This is usually more practical for people who own one daily driver and a garage queen. It also helps against opening a large door if you are trying to keep the cold in, which can be useful in the winter.

The two single door option is definitely the more expensive one, and you also have to consider the center support column that will split the door.

Measuring Your Current Vehicle

If you’re not sure what size door you need, measure your car. Make sure to measure the length, width (including the wing mirrors), and height (at its tallest point, which is usually the roof). This is to ensure the garage is deep enough.

Once you have your measurements, put a minimum of 12 inches to the width and height. This is to allow for clearance on both sides and above the vehicle. If you are a piece of a doubting parker, add a little more. It’s better, for sure, to have a door a little larger than the other way.

Also, think about how you’re going to lose and get back into your vehicle. If the garage is only just wider than your vehicle, you may find that you can’t open the driver/passenger doors to get out after you have parked the car. This is especially an issue if you don’t have direct access to the house from the garage, as you have to get out of the vehicle while you are in the garage. If this is the case, make sure to add 2 feet of space on the drivers side.

Anticipating Future Needs

Vehicle sizes are trending upwards. Someone who drives a small hatchback may very well choose to drive a sports utility vehicle or an estate car during the next vehicle purchase. When considering investments in garage doors, which is especially the case when building a new garage, consider what vehicle you will likely drive in 5 to 10 years.

Choosing to purchase a garage door that is an extra size or two larger than what may be necessary at the moment is likely not going to cost much more. Taking this route, you will not be constrained to selecting a particular vehicle in the years to come. A garage door of 8 or 9 feet in width will be more than adequate for a family vehicle or standard SUV, but a 7-foot door will leave noticeably fewer options.

Considerations for garage doors also include property value. Selling your house will likely be easier if the garage door leads to a garage that can house a modern sports utility vehicle or a modern van. A garage that houses only small vehicles is less desirable. While considerations such as this may not greatly affect house value, they are worth considering.

Getting It Wrong

It might be possible to widen the door frame, but that makes the situation a lot more complicated and expensive. You might have to reinforce the structure, move walls, or even tear out a section of the garage. It will be a lot easier and cheaper to get it right the first time.

This becomes more and more of a problem if you try to live with a door that is too small and have to be extra careful how you park every time. It is a stressful and annoying problem to have, and the more likely risk of scratching your car becomes makes the situation even worse. After a while, this is a problem that a lot of people end up parking on the drive and out of the garage.

Garage doors are one of those products which you should definitely spend more on to get the right size doors. You will be using your garage every day, and it will be a lot more convenient if it is a garage you can park your car in. Measure accurately and consider what you might want to drive in the future. When in doubt, go a size up.