Installing a new garage door in Clearwater comes with many decisions. The principle one is the size of your garage door. There are many factors to consider, though understanding the amount of needed side and headroom for the particular type of garage door is an essential place to begin. Other important considerations include:
What is the size of your vehicle or vehicles?
Do you plan to use your carport for storage or an office?
These things to consider are ideal for the perfect garage door installation ready to store, protect, and preserve what’s essential to you. Ensuring you have the necessary space to accommodate your ideal garage door is something you should look into, as a mistake can limit your design space and functionality.
Standard Garage Door Sizes
It’s shocking at the range of standard sizes that exist today for garage doors. Popular garage door manufacturers usually sell garage doors in widths ranging from 8 feet to 20 feet. You can find littler sizes; for instance, in places where golf cart transportation is required. These small garage doors are typically accessible to suit these little vehicles. In large suburban or rural properties, such garage doors may work well for large lawnmowers or little tractors.
People are not installing the small 8-foot-wide doors in many new houses nowadays, yet there are still a lot of older homes with carports built to house littler vehicles. So, replacement garage doors are easily accessible for these homes. Standard heights of garage doors are limited, offered in heights of 7 or 8 feet.
Installing a New Garage Door in Clearwater
If you are installing a new garage door in Clearwater, there’s a decent chance that the builder will recommend a door 9 feet wide and 7 feet high. Usually, if you are planning one door for each vehicle in the carport. That is a decent size for most people. However, imagine a scenario in which you have a huge truck, with huge mirrors projecting from the sides.
Many large trucks have lost those mirrors attempting to squeeze into a 9-foot-wide opening. So, consider going with doors 10 feet wide, and increase the height to 8 feet. The garage needs to accommodate these bigger doors and bigger vehicles.
Another important decision to make when installing a new garage door is whether to have it attached to the house. Although attached garages are the standard nowadays, detached garages have more advantages. Particularly, if you are storing large vehicles, a detached garage may give greater flexibility in design.
Replacing garage doors
When you are replacing a garage door, the best way to determine the size you require is to measure the current door. However, if you’re installing a new garage door without one, carefully measure the width and height of the opening. Also, check the clearance above the opening to ensure there is enough space for the installation of the door tracks.
This tip works well if you intend to purchase and install the garage door yourself. If you will let an expert handle the job, it is ideal to let them determine the right size of the door you need. In fact, a garage door professional will measure the door correctly, which a DIY practitioner can make a mistake that may cause the door not to fit.
Changing the Size of a Current Garage Door
From a construction viewpoint, it is straightforward to reduce the size of the opening in a garage, therefore making the requirement for a smaller garage door. But it is uncommon for anyone to do this project. Often, homeowners look to expand the garage door size to fit vehicles that don’t easily fit through the current opening.
Regrettably, increasing a garage door opening is almost impossible without increasing the size of the garage. The greatest obstacle to overcome is the headroom over the current opening. The span above the door opening is framed with a long header that supports the wall area above the door. And you need to raise this header or rebuilt to increase the overall door size.
When there isn’t sufficient room above the opening, you must raise the roof of the garage. Even though it is a complicated task, it is possible in the hands of an expert. You also need to consider permitting space for the opener.
Garage Door Renovation
Sometimes the best way to accommodate large vehicles is to remove the old garage and make a new one. With great design and careful construction, this can improve the value and functionality of your home. With enough available space, you can even wall in the current garage and transform it into living space, then include an all-new garage size in the manner that works best for your needs.