When designing a new home or garage it is very important take the time to consider what garage door sizes will work best. It is important not to assume that you will only need a standard size door. Once you have made the decision it is more or less irrevocable. In addition you also should consider increasing the size of your garage and that includes the height of the garage walls as well. It really is hard to beat an oversize garage.
Even if you presently own only a single medium size car you should seriously consider spending the extra money to make your garage larger and that includes the garage doors. Standard garage door sizes include 8’x7′ and 8’x16′ sizes. These sizes will accommodate a medium size care comfortably but not a large SUV or ordinary pickup truck. In many cases an 8 foot high just will not give a pickup enough clearance vertical clearance and many times the trucks mirrors will not make through the 7 foot width.
If you work with your builder and architect you will find that it will not cost that much more to increase the garage wall height. Doing so will give you a lot more options in terms of the capability. A garage with 10 high side walls will easily accommodate a 9 foot garage door. So why do you need a 9 foot garage door? If you own a pickup truck you will sooner or later have it loaded with a high load and that load will easily make it into the garage and out of the weather. If you load up the roof rack of your SUV with a luggage box in most cases it will not clear a standard 7 foot high garage door.
When it comes to garage door sizes width is also a critical consideration. If you own a boat or utility trailer you will find that they are frequently close to 9 foot wide. This means your toys are going to be sitting out in the weather because they are too wide to fit through the standard 7 foot wide door. Even a person who handles a vehicle and trailer well will appreciate the extra width of a 10 or 12 foot wide door when back up the load into the garage. The extra width may also keep people from banging your truck mirrors.
In many cases people will opt for the standard 16 foot double garage doors. These doors do give you the width you need to back in your pontoon boat and other wide loads. Again having a 9 or 10 foot high door will allow you to back it in without taking down the bimini or hard top.
Designing and building a home with an oversize garage is a good investment in the value of your home. Even if you never use the garage to its full potential it will appeal to a larger market when it comes time to sell your home. Using large garage door sizes will allow the next owner to store all his or her toys in the garage. This is especially true if your oversize garage is enclosed with the best garage doors as well. In terms of garage doors pricing spending a small additional amount of money to oversize your garage may increase the value of your property substantially.