Standard Garage Door Sizes and Measurements
Many garage doors are standard sizes. Many home builders will use the same door sizes most of the time. So, if you are looking to replace a door for functionality or curb appeal, there is a good chance your door is an average size.
But this doesn’t mean that all garage doors are a standard size. There are many doors that are very custom to the opening size. For this reason, it’s important to know how to measure a garage door.
Popular garage door sizes include:
- 8×7
- 9×7 and 9×8
- 10×8
- 16×7 and 16×8
Measurements that are critical to know in order to buy a garage door are as follows. You will need a tape measure, pen, and paper.
Measure Garage Door Width and Height
In the overhead door industry, garage doors are always measured by width first, then by height. So, a double garage door 16 x 7 would be 16 feet wide and 7 feet high for example. A garage door should be the exact size of the opening. So, if you want to have a single door that is 9×7, the opening should be exactly 9×7.
Measure Headroom
The headroom is the distance between the header to the ceiling. To put this another way, it’s simply the measurement from the top of the door to the ceiling. This distance determines what type of hardware will be used. Ideally, there is at least 14” of headroom. This will allow for standard garage door hardware. But there are many different scenarios that don’t allow for standard hardware. Common types of hardware are 15” radius track, 12” radius track, 6” double track low headroom and 3” double track low headroom track and so on. This is the second most important measurement to know. If you don’t buy the proper hardware for the garage door, it will not work.
Measure Side Room
Another measurement to take into consideration is the side room. The side room is simply the measurement from the vertical jamb to the adjacent wall. There should be at least 4” to 6” of room for the vertical tracks. If you don’t have enough side room the door will be too tight in the tracks and could bind.
Measure Ceiling
The ceiling measurement has two parts. The first part is similar or an extension of the headroom. You will need the same consistent amount of headroom all the way back in the room. The second part of the ceiling measurement is how far back in the room you will need for the track to fit. This is generally making sure that there are no obstructions in the room that will prevent the track and door from operating properly.
Measuring and Fitting in the garage door opener
Another important measurement is for the garage door opener. For a regular drawbar opener, you will need at least 2”. So, if there is only enough headroom to install the door, you might want to consider using different hardware or reducing the height by building the header down to create some more headroom.
Although most situations are standard, it’s highly recommended that you have a professional measure your residential garage doors. Mister garage door provides competitive pricing in London, Sarnia, and the surrounding area.