What door for new shop?

["Jacob Robinson"]

I have pretty much decided on a 30x48 shop building, and with my land configuration the door must be on the gable end. My question is would you go with 1-16x8 garage door or 2-9x8's. what would be the advantages of your choice

not that it will matter five years from now but 2-9x8's will be about 1400 and a 16x8 is about a 1000 or so

Also what do you think of 10' vs. 12' ceilings??

[Jamie Buxton]

If it is only a shop building, there is no reason to have a door which is 16 ft wide. You only need it to be as wide as your equipment, or maybe your truck to load or unload something. If you put in more door than you need, you're costing yourself money, and you're using up walls which could be otherwise used for storage.

12' ceilings are great. You can wave planks around in the air without taking out any lights.

[Doug Shepard]

I'd be in heaven with a 30x48 space. But I'm not sure why I would need (or want) that much door opening. Seems like the interior wall space would be just as desirable as an extra wide door(s). I'm in a 2-1/2 car garage shop where 1/2 is still used for a car. The other half is occupied my machines so the door on that side doesn't do much for me anyway except in summer for air circulation and light. But I think I'd rather have a wall on that side. Is there a reason you want that much door width?

["Jacob Robinson"]

I am definately going to put either 2 9x8's or a 16x8 for vehicle and boat storage (not all the time but sometimes) so I guess what I am asking is which would you have?

[Jim Becker]

I would not use garage doors unless they are roll-up. Overheads take up too much, um...overhead...room when they are open, blocking lighting and interfering with other potential uses of that space. As an alternative, a slider or double, out-opening hinged doors (I have two sets of the latter on my shop) should be considered. All IMHO, of course....

[Tom Godley]

I have had both types and it depends

Having a large door is great - I have a two car garage with an 18' door. It makes getting things in and out very easy. Especially a trailer if you are backing in. This becomes especially important if you do not have a straight section of driveway in front. With the wide door - get heavy duty track and wheels - it adds almost nothing to the cost and the door will not sag, and the better wheel have ball bearings and hold up as well as remain quiet.

I hate the way they build most developments -- with two single doors and a two foot space between them - not enough space . The 9x8" doors are a lot better then the normal spec house doors.

What ever you do get insulated ones -- I also like it when you have a separate door to come and go. In the cold weather a big door lets lots of cold air in when opened.

My current shop has two doors at the gable end totaling about 8.5 x 8.5 -- They are insulated doors on hinges. I did not build the shop and at first thought I would not like the hinged doors. But they are much better for a shop. They are so much more energy efficient -- and quiet! I do not use the area for cars on a regular basis so not having a door opener in this location is not a problem.

[Jason Beam]

I would personally do a 16' wide door and a smaller, man-sized 36" door. For the reasons Tom stated, too much cold is allowed by a full sized door when it's just for letting people in or out.

Also - for maneuvering things in and out, having the ability to steer into the door at an angle can sometimes prove beneficial whereas having a post in between two might be a challenge.



Edit: Also - you have fewer seams that can leak cold air, too, with a single door. Plus it's cheaper.

[Von Bickley]

The more door space you have means the less usable wall space you have.

[Karl Brogger]

Get a 12' sidewall, and a 10' tall door. 8' is pretty low.

For me I'd go with the wider door. Just for air flow when its nice out.

Folding doors are an option too, (like airplane hangars). Its something I've kicked around. You don't lose anything inside for ceiling hieght. The down side is they can be tough to seal well, and there isn't a partial open at all. As soon as you crack it open its basically open. Not a big deal if you live in a warm climate.

[Rollie Meyers]

I would not use garage doors unless they are roll-up. Overheads take up too much, um...overhead...room when they are open, blocking lighting and interfering with other potential uses of that space. As an alternative, a slider or double, out-opening hinged doors (I have two sets of the latter on my shop) should be considered. All IMHO, of course....

Roll ups are the best way when my shop was built it was decided by me to have 10' ceilings so it was planned on to have 2- 8'X8' roll-up's because would have lost ceiling height & blocked lighting w/ sectional garage doors when they were open but was too cheap to spend the $900-1100.00 for them, so shop stayed open for years ended up building a couple sets of swinging doors for a hundred bucks, but in hindsight the roll-up's would have been nice.

[John Keeton]

Jacob, for what you are contemplating, I would simply do sliders and have a dividing wall for the heated area of your shop.

My shop is a finished, heated section of a metal building as I have indicated in previous posts. The unheated storage area in on the gable end that has sliding doors. The insulated, dividing wall going into my shop has a 3/0 steel door centered in that wall. This has worked very well for me and is the cheapest option. I don't intend on building anything that would not pass through the 3/0 door.

You could divide off the appropriate portion of your 48' length for this purpose. This would give you a lot more wall space in your actual shop area, and provide a better insulated situation. You don't have to worry about air leaks, etc., and you can have a nice storage area for wood, etc. The sliders allow me to back my truck up to the doors and actually over my concrete slab. I can unload directly onto the shop floor.

I have several heavy metal shelf units in that area where I keep all my fastener bins and other "clutter" items I don't want in my shop. It is also a good place for garden and yard tools, etc. Of course, there are the Christmas decorations, too!! They seem to multiply on their own!

[Mike Lamberth]

I just signed the contact on a 26 X 46 shop. I plan on putting a 10 X 9 roll up door in one gable end and directly in line an 8 X 8 roll up in the other and a 36" door for entry. This is a compromise between ventilation/access and wall space. The bottom line is what works for you, work for you.

[Matt Meiser]

sounds like you are looking to build aa very similar building to mine. I have 12' ceilings and I might choose 10' if I had to start from scatch. (I didn't build mine.) They are really nice, but add a lot of volume to heat and cool. also, working up there to install the ceiling, lighting, and duct wasn't the easiest thing to do. I'm not sure I'd lose that much at 10'. On the door, I have 1 12'x12' door on the end. At first I didn't think I'd like it but its grown on me. It lets in tons of light and air on nice days and there is still a good amount of room on either side. Its also big enough for a delivery truck to back right up.