Would you prefer a large double garage door, or two single doors?

If you find yourself with developers presenting you with options on your home design, and stuck choosing between a wide, single garage door and two single doors, how can you decide which one of the designs is best for you and your home?

Let’s go over some insights and information that will hopefully help you in making the right decision, based on the architectural style of your home and your needs.

First, what’s the size of your garage?

Whether or not the garage on your home is attached or detached, if your intention is to park two vehicles there, you’re going to want your garage to be at least 18 feet (5.5 m) wide by at least 22 feet (6.7 m) deep. If instead you choose 9 foot (2.7 m) wide doors, your garage should be no less than 24 feet (7.3 m) wide, and even wider if you choose to have an access door installed in the front of the garage as opposed to the side.

Make sure to think about the kinds of vehicles you plan on storing in your garage, whether they are SUVs, vans, a small RV or the like. Additionally, you’ll want to keep enough space along the sides of the walls for storage. Remember, the narrower your garage, the more difficult a time you’ll have opening your car doors, as well.

Those are technical considerations to keep in mind as far as the size of your garage goes. The final decision will ultimately depend on the kind of budget you want to put behind your project.

Let’s look at some of the PRACTICAL points

• Cold and humidity

  With two single garage doors, the amount of cold air that flows into your garage will be reduced, which will also have the effect of reducing your heating bill if you keep your garage between 45 to 50 °F (8 to 10 °C)

• If your garage door ever malfunctions

  If there is a major technical breakdown like a torsion break, and you have a 16-foot (4.9 m) door, you’ll wind up with two cars trapped in the garage. But with two single doors, you’ll be able to get at least one of them out.

• Three car family

  If you own three small or compact cars and are planning on parking them all in the garage, a 16 ft.‑18 ft. double garage door is the best choice. If you opt for two single doors, you’ll struggle to manoeuvre the three cars through the doors for parking.

• Now what about a triple garage?

  Most real estate developer’s plans find it hard to place a double door (16 feet) along with a single door (9 feet). But in the US, triple garages are found more often, especially in areas where the cost of land is lower. Typically, the smaller door is used in parking a smaller vehicle such as motorcycles, ATVs and sometimes even boats. Usually this does of course require a larger garage, of at least 900 ft² (84 m²).

Now let’s think about the APPEARANCE of it

• We all have different tastes, but…

  Home designers and architects would be quick to tell you that a garage on the front of the house, having two single doors will create a much more aesthetically pleasing appearance, and enhance the look of the whole home. On the street, double garage doors leap out at a viewer, sometimes becoming all one sees. But this effect can be lessened by constructing something like a pergola, or flowers and creeping vines on trellis around the door.

  But, you can reduce the impact of a double garage door by installing decorative features such as a pergola or trellis for climbing plants.

• What you want is acarriage‑style doorsstyle

  The choice is clear for picking two single garage doors. With a style so reminiscent of years gone by, it lends itself well to doors that are only 8 or 9 feet wide.

But isn’t choosing two single garage doors more expensive?

Just looking at the cost of material while comparing two single doors to one double door, we find that it’s very similar. The real difference in price appears when you begin to look into the cost of having a second electric garage door opener installed. And that’s without taken into account the costs of carpentry for having a narrow wall built between the two doors, should you decide to go with two instead of one.

It’s definitely worth mentioning that just because you choose a double door, doesn’t necessarily mean you will require a more powerful door opener. The important thing to remember is that no matter the width of your garage door it must be well balanced and allow the spring system (counterweight) to do the bulk of the work. The door itself should weigh between 8 and 10 pounds (3.5 to 4.5 kilograms). The motor on the garage door opener does only what you would do with your hand, but be careful! Electric garage door openers can lift substantially more, as well as push it down. So be careful you do not place your foot or anything else in its way while in motion.

In conclusion…

If you are interested in getting started please feel free to contact us at 607-687-5126. It’s our pleasure to explain everything, from the wide range of doors and door openers available in the market to you. We would also be more than happy to advise you on making the best choice to suit your personal needs, and the needs of your budget. You can also always send us a request for a free online quotation.

Also, if you’d be interested in visualizing what your next garage door might look like, consider taking the time to use a Design Centre like the one we offer, where you can create and customize your very own garage door. We also proudly present an image gallery to help inspire you and give you some ideas.