Garage Door Opening Size

Frame the rough opening for the garage door to 3 inches wider than the garage door you have selected.

Garage door opening size.

Measure the distance from the bottom plate of the wall to a point that is 1 1 2 inches higher that the garage door height. If you have an older garage door opener manufactured before jan. Frame the rough opening to 3 inches wider than the garage door size you have selected. However if you are putting bricks thick river rock stones marble or anything else on both sides that is more than 1 thick you will want the rough opening the same.

Modern openers generate electronic beams that extend across the garage door opening to provide entrapment prevention and protection. How to frame a garage door 1. 1 1993 consider upgrading the device to take advantage of safety features. From a structural standpoint it is fairly easy to reduce the size of the opening in a garage thus creating the need for a smaller garage door.

Begin by using a tape measure to determine the width and height of the door opening in inches. Standard garage doors in our area are 8 9 16 and 18 wide. If you are installing a 9 wide door the opening will be 9 3 wide. A 8 x 7 feet door will be the perfect option for any mid size sedans and most of suvs.

Therefore making the width of the garage door rough opening the same size as the door would be fine if you are going to use a thin layer of stucco vinyl siding or 1 by lumber. Cut four 2 x 4 trimmers to this length and nail two each to either side of the rough. If you are installing a 9 wide door the opening will be 9 3 wide. Much more often homeowners seek to increase the garage door size to match vehicles that don t easily fit through the existing opening.

However it is quite rare for anyone to want to do this. Always consider the car dimensions while designing a door opening and choosing right size of the garage door. A heavier single door or a double steel door may need a 1 2 horsepower opener and a wooden double door may need the full 1 horsepower to open. This post is intended for purposes of clarifying how garage door sizes work and opening preparation.

Bigger trucks will fit in 9 x 8 doors with very few exceptions. 1 2 or 1 in one direction of the other will won t typically.